Land Use

Not Just Use: More Zoning Regulations to Unlock Housing Equity
Prohibiting single-family zoning alone won’t accomplish the needed transformation of the built environment in the United States.

The Local Causes of Inflation
Although it is widely seen as a national issue, decisions made at the local level often have a stronger impact on inflation than federal policies.

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

What Is Floor Area Ratio?
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.

What Is Market Rate Housing?
Market-rate housing is a term used to define housing generated by the real estate market without direct subsidy. The price the market sets for housing, even without subsidies, is a direct outcome of policies and practices of planning.

What is Single-Family Zoning?
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.

What Is Density?
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.

What is Affordable Housing?
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 Race Barriers of American Cities
The United States has a long and insidious history of erecting structures to control the movements of African Americans in urban and suburban spaces.

What Is a Form-Based Code?
Form-based codes are a variety of development regulation that departs significantly from the land use control approach of most zoning codes in the United States.

What Is Land Use?
Land use might seem self explanatory, but it has a very specific meaning in the context of U.S. planning history.

New York Parking Is a Pricey but Valued Amenity
In a city where owning a car can be an expensive burden, off-street parking spaces are still highly desired commodities.

'Economic Mapping' to Help Regional Planning
Identifying potential hubs and activity centers allows regions to foster economic growth and density.

What Is Mixed-Use Development?
Long an urban norm, mixed-use neighborhoods fell out of favor in the United States in the automobile age as single-use zoning became common. These days, mixed-use development is back in vogue, but implementation remains a challenge.

What Is Local Control?
State preemption and local control are two of the most controversial and contested concepts in land use. Understanding when and where one or the other takes precedence is key to understanding the politics and governance of planning.

What Is State Preemption?
State preemption and local control are two of the most controversial and contested concepts in land use. Understanding when and where each one takes precedence is key to understanding the politics and governance of planning.

Generative Codes Yield Better Plans
Ngoc Hong Nguyen of the University of Danang writes about a recent article he authored in the Journal of Planning Education and Research

New Ideas in Urban Research 2019
Research questions and findings from Penn IUR's emerging scholars.

Orange County Streetcar Project Ignoring Equity Issues, Say Activists
Critics say transportation officials have failed to address the potential equity and displacement effects of the Southern California streetcar project.

Private Golf Courses Closing in Chicago's Suburbs
Failing golf courses pose a choice for cities that can use tax dollars to turn them public or put the land to use in other ways.
Pagination
City of Grand Prairie
City of Grand Prairie
West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
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.