Sarah Laskow notes the latest battlefronts in the growing 'war on gardens' being perpetrated by cities across North America.
Following on the recent demolition of a Tulsa resident's edible garden, and similar episodes in Georgia, Michigan, and New Jersey, a recent battle in Quebec has Laskow seeing an all out assault on our right to bear veggies.
"Across the country and even in Canada, cities' thinking about front
lawns is more than a little bit antiquated," writes Laskow. "It comes down to this simple
formulation: Grass good! Vegetables bad...If
building a few bike lanes counts as a war on cars, this is definitely a war on gardens."
And Laskow is out to the marshal the troops: "It's not the 1950s anymore: Not everyone needs to grow a perfectly
manicured lawn, especially when vegetable gardens can look just as
attractive, improve the soil (instead of requiring tons of pesticides),
and provide fresh food. If the problem is that these types of front
yards are illegal in current city codes, then the codes need to change,
along with people's assumptions that a burnt-out, water-sucking lawn is
better than a few patches of thriving tomato plants and string bean
vines."
FULL STORY: City officials are waging a war on gardens

Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.

Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?

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.

Has Anyone at USDOT Read Donald Shoup?
USDOT employees, who are required to go back to the office, will receive free parking at the agency’s D.C. offices — flying in the face of a growing research body that calls for pricing parking at its real value.

EPA Terminates $116 Million in Grants for Reducing Emissions from Construction Materials
C-MORE grants were earmarked for industry trade groups and universities.

BART Closes $35 Million Deficit
Cost control and revenue generation measures prevented service cuts.
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.
City of Moreno Valley
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
City of Piedmont, CA
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland