The rough economy has made code officers negotiators between irked neighbors and entrepreneurs trying to make a living in their living rooms.
Imagine being a planner who's called in to broker a solution between one neighbor who opens a hair and tanning salon in a garage, and another neighbor who's mad about the sudden lack of street parking. It's happening in cities across the country, including Nashville Tennessee, where city managers are attempting to change zoning codes to accommodate home-based businesses while preserving neighborhood peace.
Nashville planning director Rich Bernhardt tells the Wall Street Journal's Jennifer Levitz "we've got to recognize the changing and evolving economic environment of today without changing the character of neighborhoods." Unemployment in the Nashville metro area is over 9%. Bernhardt estimates there are now 14.000 licensed businesses operating illegally because they're located in residential areas.
New Jersey is looking to loosen zoning laws on a state level, to make it easier for municipalities to approve home-based ventures. State Republican Rep. Jay Webber says its important to offer a "save haven for the temporarily unemployed."
From SoHo to SoDoSoPa
How zoning made great neighborhoods illegal to build, and preordained gentrification.
What the ‘Walk Score’ Misses
A popular walkability assessment omits key factors that impact different demographics and can direct development resources to already wealthy neighborhoods.
The Impact of Local Entrepreneurship on Neighborhood Revitalization
Explore how local entrepreneurship boosts neighborhood revitalization, driving economic growth, creating jobs, and enhancing community bonds. Learn about the supportive role urban planners play in fostering sustainable business ecosystems.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority