Communities and municipalities have deployed a surprisingly creative menu of policies to increase or restrict access to beaches. The Public trust doctrine, it turns out, is in the eye of the beach-holder.

Tobias Armborst, Daniel D’Oca, Georgeen Theodore, and Riley Gold share an excerpt from their new book The Arsenal of Inclusion & Exclusion for Next City.
The book "examines some of the policies, practices and physical artifacts that have been used in the United States by planners, policymakers, developers, real estate brokers, community activists, and others to draw, erase or redraw the lines that divide," the authors write.
The excerpt focuses on a particularly scarce and coveted geographic resource, the beach, listing six "legitimate and illegitimate ways in which homeowners, municipal governments, and others restrict and expand access" to the beach.
Among the methods of exclusion listed are beach tags, like used in some communities in New Jersey and Connecticut, "Fire Zones" that restrict parking near beaches in New York, and fake garages that require curb cuts that minimize parking availability in Malibu.
FULL STORY: Six “Weapons” Cities Use to Keep You off (or on) the Beach

America’s Best New Bike Lanes
PeopleForBikes highlights some of the most exciting new bike infrastructure projects completed in 2022.

Massachusetts Zoning Reform Law Reaches First Deadline
Cities and towns had until January 31 to submit their draft plans for rezoning areas near transit stations to comply with a new state law.

Green Alleys: A New Paradigm for Stormwater Management
Rather than shuttling stormwater away from the city and into the ocean as quickly as possible, Los Angeles is now—slowly—moving toward a ‘city-as-sponge’ approach that would capture and reclaim more water to recharge crucial reservoirs.

Seattle Historic District Could Remove Street Dining
Despite the popularity of Ballard Avenue’s outdoor dining pergolas, some district board members argue the patios don’t match the district’s historic character.

South L.A. Complete Streets Project Back on Track
First proposed in 2015, the Broadway-Manchester redesign would add bike infrastructure, pedestrian improvements, trees, and other amenities.

Santa Barbara Expands ADU Program to Boost Housing
The city hopes that permitting larger ADUs and making adaptive reuse easier will help it meet its state-mandated goal of building over 8,000 new housing units by 2031.
Ascent Environmental
California Polytechnic State University
City of Albuquerque Planning Department
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Harvard GSD Executive Education
City of Hercules
City of Fitchburg, WI
City of Culver City
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.