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
The Inequities of Beach Access
Over 80% of Californians live within an hour’s drive of a beach, but that does not mean that everyone has easy access to beaches.
Proposed Law Would Open Beach Access in Massachusetts
It's harder to access the ocean in Massachusetts than any other coastal state in the country, but that could soon change.
Beachfront Residences Can't Extend Yards Onto Public Beaches, CA Coastal Commission Decides
"It's like squatting by the rich," said one commissioner.
Phase 1 Revealed for $20 Billion Chicago Megaproject
Plans for One Central, a proposed megadevelopment that would add 22.3 million square feet of buildings to the city of Chicago, are taking shape.
Boston Introduces 'Maximum Parking Ratios' for Large Buildings
Large buildings with uses of all kinds will be subject to Boston's new "Maximum Parking Ratios."
5 Tips for Planning Safe Post-Pandemic Events
As community events start move off-screen and become available to the public again, here are five ways organizers can ensure public health and safety.
Getty Conservation Institute
University of Calgary
MetroBike LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Symbium
Rowan University's Department of Geography, Planning, & Sustainability
City Of Oakland
Hillsborough County Public Schools
City of Raleigh
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.
Hand Drawing Master Plans
This course aims to provide an introduction into Urban Design Sketching focused on how to hand draw master plans using a mix of colored markers.
