A new proposal in Washington could help fund urban infrastructure by transferring development rights from rural areas to cities.
Developers can already transfer development rights, but this new proposal from a land conservancy hopes to tap into the increased property taxes in developed areas to fund infrastructure.
"The Cascade Land Conservancy has drafted - and Rep. Larry Springer and Sen. Scott White have introduced - legislation, HB1469 and SB 5253, that would set up a system to transfer development rights from working farms and forest - and, if counties choose, other rural land of ecological significance - to urban developers, who could, within willing cities, build at higher densities. The sale would take place either directly, perhaps through private brokers, or through a city or county that would bank the rights and then resell them."
Read the full story: A new tool for fighting rural sprawl
Value Capture Replaces Congestion Pricing as Governor Cuomo's Subway Funding Fix
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) appears to be backing away from a controversial plan to toll midtown Manhattan but shows no reservations about embracing land value capture, which some regard as a "taking" by taxing land proximate to subway stations.
The Saga of a Patch of Underwater Land in Silicon Valley
The Santa Clara Water District is buying back a piece of land of very little value from a developer who intended it to be part of a "new town" of 100,000 residents. From dream to discard, here is the story.
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.
Los Angeles just elected an urban planner as its mayor
Transportation analysts are optimistic that Raman will be more aggressive in addressing transit issues than Bass.
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.
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