In his fifth entry in a lengthy examination of the successes and failures of New Urbanism, Peter Katz looks at one of the movement's key blindspots: the failure to help improve the processes and practices of local governments.

"Although it’s easy to criticize local government staffers for the sprawling patterns that continue to predominate in the suburbs, as I did in the prior installment, and have in earlier writings—there’s plenty of blame to go around," says Katz. "If one is looking for a villain, I might point also to the leadership of the New Urbanism movement for its failure (with some notable recent exceptions) to engage local government on its own terms."
"Unfortunately, it’s a blind spot that’s every bit as pernicious as the one I described in the prior installment that exists among local government planners. It may even be more so, because as new urbanists, we possess the understanding and skills to address, and possibly solve, many of the chronic planning problems that local governments struggle with on a daily basis."
"Twenty years into this endeavor, I’m coming to realize that New Urbanism (and its cousin Smart Growth) really needs its own policy framework if the larger ambitions of these interrelated movements are to be realized," Katz asserts. "It will be tedious and difficult work, but it has to happen if the New Urbanism is to be more than a minor footnote in a mostly sprawl-bound future; It will also require the engagement of people with both the knowledge of the current local government system (and its 88,000 different municipal variants around the nation) and that of current New Urbanism practice."
FULL STORY: Planning in local government: New Urbanism’s blind spot

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

San Francisco Mayor Backtracks on Homelessness Goal
Mayor Dan Lurie ran on a promise to build 1,500 additional shelter beds in the city, complete with supportive services. Now, his office says they are “shifting strategy” to focus on prevention and mental health treatment.

How Trump's HUD Budget Proposal Would Harm Homelessness Response
Experts say the change to the HUD budget would make it more difficult to identify people who are homeless and connect them with services, and to prevent homelessness.

The Vast Potential of the Right-of-Way
One writer argues that the space between two building faces is the most important element of the built environment.
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.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont