And an update from Codes Study about the 600 places that really are upping their game with form-based codes.
Hazel Borys and Emily Talen have "just updated the Codes Study, the real life examination of the places where people are starting to change the ways cities are put together, by prioritizing walking and biking, over driving. These cities have legalized a mixture of compatible uses – something that’s been generally illegal to build for the last two generations. These mixed uses are allowed, provided the form of the building fits in with the character of the block. That’s why we call them form-based codes instead of use-based codes."
"Not all form-based codes in the Codes Study are created equal. Some are short and sweet. Others are long and comprehensive. Some are clear and direct, while others are complicated. But all of them have something to teach us about making our places livable and resilient."
Borys goes on to talk about 3 things that are essential in form-based codes, using SimCity as an illustrator.
SimCity Screen Grab: No Parking in the First Layer, Please
Read the full story: SimCity Adopts a Form-Based Code?
Codes Study: Trends in Zoning Reform
The Codes Study is updated! These are the cities that are rewriting their land use laws to promote wellness, economic strength, and environmental resilience.
Code Score: A New Aid for Aligning Policy and Vision With Outcomes
A compendium of benefits of walkable urban places, put together by Hazel Borys and Kaid Benfield.
The Codes Study Is Updated
618 form-based codes made it on the latest Codes Study. The authors are requesting your additions to the update.
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.
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.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
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