Santa Cruz is encouraging infill by offering blueprints for seven prototype accessory dwelling units.
"Like many desirable places to live, Santa Cruz, California, suffers from a lack of affordable housing. But in recent years the city, located 70 miles south of San Francisco, has initiated an impressive program to combat the problem by promoting Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), or "granny flats," on single-family lots. For years the state of California has been pushing its municipalities to loosen restrictions on ADUs, seeing them as a low-cost way to accommodate surging population growth without increasing sprawl. But the Santa Cruz program--which recently won an AIA award for urban planning--goes several steps further in its embrace of the humble garage conversion."
FULL STORY: The Granny Flat Grows Up
Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.
HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands
The agency will identify federally owned parcels appropriate for housing development and streamline the regulatory process to lease or transfer land to housing authorities and nonprofit developers.
Conservatives’ Decongestion Pricing Flip-Flop
When it comes to solving traffic problems, the current federal administration is on track for failure, waste, and hypocrisy.
San Francisco Turns On California’s First Speed Cameras
The city is the first in the state to use automated traffic enforcement to reduce speeding and traffic deaths.
Shaping LA’s Future: Public Voting Opens for LA2050 Grants
The LA2050 Grants Challenge invites Angelenos to vote on the top issues facing Los Angeles, helping direct $3 million in funding to organizations working to build a more connected and resilient region.
Chicago Transit Agencies on Brink of Major Crisis
Without additional funding, regional transit agencies will be forced to cut services by 40 percent.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Florida Atlantic University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
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Harvard GSD Executive Education
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NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland