Planetizen Newswire
Keep up with essential planning news and commentary, delivered to your inbox every Monday and Thursday.
Controversies
The Washington Supreme Court struck down an initiative that would have cost state and local governments an estimated $4.2 billion in transportation funding.
Crosscut
Developers are frequently cast as a kind of monolithic bad guy in the politics of development, but developers are cut from different cloths, each with distinct interests and motivations.
Strong Towns
There are significant differences between Proposition 21, a statewide rent control measure on the ballot in California, compared to a similar measure defeated soundly by voters in 2018.
Los Angeles Times
As California moves to hold local governments accountable for housing production goals, a report finds a 900,000-unit discrepancy. Offered here is the Embarcadero Institute's response to criticism received regarding the report's conclusions.
The Planning Report
Feature
An article from the journal Urban Studies is inspiring debate and controversy over a year after publication, presenting opposing opinions on fundamental questions about how land use regulation affects the housing market.
The final demise of a closely watched, controversial affordable housing project was reported this week in Honolulu.
KITV4
The Federal Railroad Administration has granted two key permissions for Texas Central to operate a high-speed trail between Houston and Dallas.
Houston Chronicle
One of the big questions of planning is up for debate with a proposed rezoning in the SoHo and NoHo neighborhoods of New York City: Can upzoning be an effective tool for affordability?
CityLimits
The seven states of the Colorado River Compact usually stay out of each other's business once the water is divvied up, but in a surprising move, six of the compact states have signed a letter to raise concerns about Utah's pipeline plans.
KJZZ
A lawsuit argues that Houston's Historic Preservation Ordinance is a form of de facto land use control, equivalent to zoning, which isn't allowed by state and local laws.
Houston Chronicle
The battle for the future of Colorado River water, and whether it will be used for agriculture or new development, continues in Arizona.
Arizona Republic
The city of San Jose will charge developers a fee to help fund affordable housing projects in the city. But critics say the fees are insignificant compared to the scale of the need.
The Mrecury News
The local councilmember is seeking a rezoning from commercial to residential in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, but local community members say the development will be priced out of their range.
WHYY
A proposal to link local and regional buses with the East Link light rail expansion in Mercer Island, already under construction, threatens to boil over into the courtroom.
Mercer Island Reporter
The saga of the three-county sales tax upon which the future of Caltrain depends is now in the hands of voters.
KTVU
The wind strewn and sunny parts of California are home to many species threatened both by climate change and renewable energy facilities like wind and solar power facilities. What is an environmentalist to do?
Los Angeles Times
Or a historic preservation fight, 34 years in the making, depending on your perspective.
Queens Daily Eagle
San Jose banned new billboards in 1985, but a proposal making its way through the planning department would allow for a wave of new billboards in the city. One local columnist isn't buying it.
The Mercury News
Planners in Plano, Texas are ready to pick up the pieces and move on from the demise of the Plano Tomorrow comprehensive plan.
The Dallas Morning News
Four developers tried, and four developers failed, until the San Francisco Board of Supervisors changed the story in August 2020.
San Francisco Chronicle
