When the vision's all right but the outcomes are all wrong, zoning's often the problem. And the public realm is left holding the bag.
"Sometimes all the right people seem to be at the table, all singing from similar hymnals, and all seemingly focused on transcending growth-as-usual and yet, still, the results fall flat."
Scott Doyon describes a planning event that says and does all the "right" things, and then gets a result that looks more like business as usual than market-responsive planning. He says “pedestrain-friendly” zoning is getting it wrong, in three acts:
1. Dictating sidewalk entrances while making no provision that those entrances remain unlocked;
2. Regulating a percentage of window glass with no stipulations for transparency; and
3. Encouraging sidewalk proximity while allowing for nature band-aid plantings that separate pedestrians from the businesses they’re expected to patronize. The results are predictable. Also laughable.
Read the full story: The Sidewalk to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions
Bring Back the Corner Store
‘Accessory commercial units’ were once common across U.S. towns and cities. Now, zoning regulations make them illegal in many places.
Seeking '20-Minute Neighborhood' Status in Texas
The neighborhood of Montrose in Houston has undertaken a self-funded study to assess the facts on the ground about walkability in the neighborhood.
Ground-Level Grocery Stores Proliferate in Boston
Being able to get groceries without a car can be a big draw in walkable, mixed use neighborhoods. Many Boston grocers and developers are taking that to heart.
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