Focusing on her Armani outfit, her upscale background, and the beet salad she was ordering, Vanity Fair finally gets down to brass tacks with New York's Planning Director Amanda Burden.
Reporter John Hellpern asked, "For a layperson like myself, please explain what zoning actually means."
"It's a three-dimensional blueprint for what any area of a city can be," she [Burden] obliged. "It's about how high and wide the buildings should be, what uses they can have, the correct width of the sidewalk, the shops along it, the trees planted, whether it really feels like a neighborhood you want to walk in and bike in, maybe want to live in and invest in."
FULL STORY: Princess of the City
Judge Throws Out Plans for New Residential Skyscraper on Manhattan's Upper West Side
A residential skyscraper proposed for Manhattan's Upper West Side included a mechanical void that predated new rules in the city prohibiting the height-enhancing building practice. A judge still rejected the project as planned.
Op-Ed: SoHo and NoHo Need a Zoning Overhaul
Two SoHo residents argue that outdated zoning holds the Manhattan neighborhoods back, requiring special permits or variances for many current residential and commercial uses.
Manhattan Community Group Resists 'Super Tower'
Plans for an 800-foot tower have attracted well-funded opposition from a community group. Its campaign to regulate the structure's height has spiraled into a big fight.
Coming Soon to Ohio: The Largest Agrivoltaic Farm in the US
The ambitious 6,000-acre project will combine an 800-watt solar farm with crop and livestock production.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
Dallas Surburb Bans New Airbnbs
Plano’s city council banned all new permits for short-term rentals as concerns about their impacts on housing costs grow.
Divvy Introduces E-Bike Charging Docks
New, circular docks let e-bikes charge at stations, eliminating the need for frequent battery swaps.
How Freeway Projects Impact Climate Resilience
In addition to displacement and public health impacts, highway expansions can also make communities less resilient to flooding and other climate-related disasters.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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.
