During the 1920s, the federal government passed a pair of laws that continue to this day to be hugely consequential to the modern practices of city planning and zoning. The two laws also planted the seeds of the planning profession.
What are these existential Acts? The Standard State Zoning Enabling Act (SZEA) of 1926 and the Standard City Planning Enabling Act (SCPEA) of 1928.
"In terms of the American experience, and even the international experience, these two Acts have been responsible for shaping our cities -- and for that matter, planning in our counties -- for close to a century," says Mitchell Silver in an interview with KCET.org's weekly Laws That Shaped LA column.
Silver is the President of the APA and Chief Planning and Economic Development Officer for Raleigh, North Carolina.
"To put this in context," Silver says, while discussing the late 19th and early 20th centuries, "people were flocking to the cities in massive quantities. Cities weren't equipped for mobility. There wasn't adequate housing or sanitation. People were getting sick and dying. So the reason why this is so significant is that it put in place model legislation that states could adopt, which could in turn enable cities, counties, towns and villages to put these mechanisms in place that helped manage and plan for growth."
Read the full story: The Birth and Growth of City Planning
Even Parks Are Going Online During the Pandemic
Parks departments in New York City and Pittsburgh are offering videos and livestreams to cooped-up residents.
An Interview With New York Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver, FAICP
Mitchell Silver, commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, former planning director of Raleigh, and former president of the APA, discusses the aspirations and realities of a long, successful career in planning.
Large Capital Infusion for New York's Community Parks Initiative
$285 million in capital dollars through 2019 will help fund parks in New York not called the High Line and lacking high-profile private backing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
NYC DOT wants faster, more permanent street upgrades
The city is examining ways to build more concrete infrastructure without getting entangled in 'decades-long' projects.
'Something we’ve never seen before:' rising utility rates could strain city finances nationwide
Data centers, climate change and other factors have caused utility rates in the United States to increase by 38% since 2020.
Trump to overrule local leaders, lease millions of acres of America’s Pacific Island territories’ seafloors to mining companies
International law says that the Indigenous people of America’s territories have a right to prior and informed consent regarding projects that impact their countries.
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.
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello