A new interactive map feature launched by the Chicago Cityscape website maps all the zoning changes up for approval around the city.
Steven Vance posts key findings from a newly released tool that maps zoning changes in the city of Chicago.
Among the findings:
- The city of Chicago has approved118 zoning changes so far this year.
- The average amount of time a zoning change takes to be approved, after the ordinance has been submitted, is 116 days. The longest zoning change ordinance took 714 to be approved.
- The shortest amount of time for a zoning change was 35 days—16 zoning changes were approved that quickly.
The zoning changes map is designed to alert residents of proposed zoning changes—along with city-owned land sales, property tax incentives, and historic landmarks considered by Chicago City Council.
Read the full story: The slowest zoning change approved this year took 714 days
A Small Town Makes its First Zoning Update Since 1997
Mixed-use development and a floodplain overlay are the big-ticket items when the small community of Akron Borough in Pennsylvania recently updated its zoning code.
'Anti-Conversion Ordinance' Considered in Chicago
New zoning controls would make it harder to convert multi-unit residential buildings into single-family homes to prevent displacement in single-family neighborhoods in Chicago.
Boston to Begin Zoning Code Update, Mayor Announces
It’s been nearly 60 years, but the city of Boston is finally ready to do a comprehensive rewrite of its zoning code.
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.
In Texas, data centers are swallowing promised parkland
Residents who moved to Taylor, Texas for a rural community now have to contend with three data centers in their backyard.
How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on
The project spanned five presidential administrations and a standoff with a U.S. military base.
MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court
The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.
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
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority