Planners in San Jose, California, say the massive conversion of industrial lands is eroding the city's jobs and tax Base. Housing developers disagree.
"Since 1990, San Jose has converted 10% of its industrial land to housing and other uses. In the past three years alone, it has rezoned 800 acres and created over 34,000 housing units. Thanks in part to these changes, San Jose is now the 10th largest city in the nation. But according to the city's planners, the rezoning has also eliminated the capacity for up to 110,000 jobs and strained the municipal budget. This fiscal year, the council had to close a $16 million general fund deficit. New housing generates property taxes but requires more services than industry and commerce."
"'We are just adding to the problem of the structural deficit we have been creating, of how we are going to pay for the police, fire, parks and recreation,' said Deputy Director of Planning Laurel Prevetti. To housing developers' dismay, Prevetti and her colleagues are asking the council to make it harder to convert industrial land to housing. The issue challenges elected officials, who typically depend on developers to bankroll their campaigns. San Jose's predicament highlights tensions between housing development on the one hand and fiscal and employment concerns on the other--tensions that are coming to the fore in other cities in the Bay Area and beyond."
FULL STORY: San Jose wrestles with rezoning of industrial land for housing

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Milwaukee Launches Vision Zero Plan
Seven years after the city signed its Complete Streets Policy, the city is doubling down on its efforts to eliminate traffic deaths.

Portland Raises Parking Fees to Pay for Street Maintenance
The city is struggling to bridge a massive budget gap at the Bureau of Transportation, which largely depleted its reserves during the Civd-19 pandemic.

Spokane Mayor Introduces Housing Reforms Package
Mayor Lisa Brown’s proposals include deferring or waiving some development fees to encourage more affordable housing development.
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.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont