Planopedia

Historic preservation is a controversial, highly contested cause, with a long history of failures and successes in the United States.

Born out of the progressive ideals of the New Deal and a desire to improve the standard of living in poor urban neighborhoods, American public housing has taken several forms as political opinion about subsidized housing shifts.

Now frequently associated with retirees and sprawling developments in the U.S. Sun Belt, master planned communities, also known as new towns or planned communities, were invented as an escape from the haphazard growth of urban areas in the mid-20th century.

Ostensibly intended to improve "blighted" neighborhoods and provide better housing conditions, urban renewal often involved displacement and the wholesale destruction of urban communities.

Farther out than suburbs but still connected to a major urban center, exurbs lie at the ever-shifting border between urban and rural spaces and are defined by economic ties to a city, low density housing, and high population growth.

Named after the mode of transportation that made their existence possible by dramatically reducing travel times, streetcar suburbs are communities located along streetcar lines farther out from city centers, on the periphery of the urban areas in the late 19th century.

Regional planning is most commonly practiced to address specific issues that cross local jurisdictional boundaries, like transportation or watershed protection. In other examples, regional planning offers a holistic approach to the interconnected systems and dynamics that shape physical and cultural landscapes.

Height limits are a critical component of almost every zoning code in the United States.

Often discussed in contrast with single-family zoning, multi-family housing includes buildings and complexes that house more than one household in the same property.

Part of a movement that sought to modernize cities through a rational reorganization of the urban form, "Towers in the Park" is a style of housing development that emphasizes a separation of uses and access to communal green space and amenities.

Housing subsidies can work in numerous ways, all with the common cause of easing the cost burdens of housing.

Displacement—the forced relocation of existing residents and businesses was once a desired outcome of the "urban renewal" projects of the 20th century. In the 21st century, displacement is a highly contested, hard to trace, effect commonly linked to gentrification and urban revitalization.

Known as the archetypal post-war American suburb, Levittown was the first mass-produced housing development and set a standard for planned subdivisions for decades to come.

Thought to be one of the first major urban centers in human civilization, Çatalhöyük was a Neolithic settlement that, at its height, reached a population of close to 10,000 at a time when most humans still lived in small hunter-gatherer bands of several hundred people.

Upzoning is a term used to describe changes to a zoning code made to increase the amount of development allowed in the future.

Floor area ratio (FAR) is a critical measurement to the field of planning. FAR defines development intensity and determines numerous other regulations and development outcomes.

Inclusionary zoning refers to a range of policies and practices that mandate or provide incentives for the inclusion of affordable housing units in new developments to encourage mixed-income neighborhoods and increase the supply of affordable housing.

Redlining is the practice of restricting investment in areas deemed high-risk by banks. The term refers to the red color used to denote undesirable areas on maps used by lending institutions to determine loan eligibility.

Market-rate housing is a term that defines the real estate market and is a direct outcome of policies and practices of planning.

Single-family zoning is by far the most common form of zoning in the United States, but it's facing increasing criticisms both for its discriminatory origins and its sprawling effects.

Density is a controversial topic, but public opinion on the opportunities and risks of density have shifted in recent decades. To many, density now has a positive connotation.

The effects of the landmark Americans With Disabilities Act are visible throughout the built environment—on sidewalks, on buses, and in almost every building and public facility in the country.

Parking requirements determine by law the amount of parking developers must include when building new developments. Though a standard of zoning and development codes nationwide, parking requirements are undergoing a process of reform.

Criticized as a key factor in perpetuating housing inequality in the United States, exclusionary zoning refers to a range of policies that, explicitly or implicitly, seek to prevent people of certain races, ethnicities, or income levels from buying homes in specific neighborhoods.

The term affordable housing refers to housing units that cost less than a predetermined percentage of household incomes. Planners use affordable housing as a general term to describe housing that doesn't put an excessive financial burden on occupants.

Gentrification is a process of neighborhood change, usually resulting from an influx of relatively wealthy, white residents to a neighborhood. But that definition, and the controversies that follow, vary greatly by location, and there is no universally accepted definition of the term.

The term affordable housing refers to housing units that cost less than a predetermined percentage of household incomes. Planners use affordable housing as a general term to describe housing that doesn't put an excessive financial burden on its occupants.

The American Community Survey offers a treasure trove of social, economic, housing and demographic data.