Land Use
Better Zoning Codes for Better Quality of Life
As Los Angeles continues the five-year process of re-writing its zoning code for clarity, one Zoning Advisory Committee member considers who should really care.
Nontraditional 'Family' Questions Hartford Zoning Code
After a group of unrelated adults bought and moved into a large house in Hartford, Connecticut, they were found to be in violation of local regulations. They are asking for a broader definition of 'family.'
Allowing Higher Density to Fix Slums
Despite its economic dynamism, Mumbai is known for a lack of adequate housing. Citywide increases to maximum Floor Space Indices (i.e., Floor Area Ratios) will increase living space per resident, provided the right redevelopment takes place.
Making the Most of Cleveland's 'Opportunity Corridor'
Officials planning the divisive Opportunity Corridor in Cleveland are working to catch land use considerations up with transportation considerations for a proposed road connection to cut through the city's East Side.
So Why Doesn't CEQA Change?
Developers, public officials and others complain about the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). But the law doesn't change because everyone—even developers and public agencies—has something to gain from the leverage it offers.
Are We Approaching Peak Land Use Control?
With an increasing reliance on development regulations and requirements on land owners to satisfy policy goals, are we approaching an unsustainable point in land use controls?
The Future of Urban Planning: Zoning for Drones
Efforts to regulate the use of drones within the United States have consisted entirely of banning their use, rather than taking advantage of their utility. Yet an alternative approach does exist, relying on municipal zoning ordinances.
More Great Research Quantifying Smart Growth Benefits
New research can help planners understand how specific decisions will affect transport activity (how and how much people travel), and their ultimate economic, social, and environmental impacts.
Planning For More Than Sports
The recent attempts to lure a NFL team to Los Angeles shows how successful site design will depend on the cultural characteristics of the uses of the site as much as it will depend on planning for land use and logistics.
Community Benefits Agreement in Brooklyn Draws Criticism from Local Organizations
An agreement between Related Developers and a community organization that has gotten substantial support from an area councilman to support a job training and referral program draws criticism from some groups who feel left out.
Do You Walmart?
Saying "no" to Walmart does not remove the wants and needs they exist to serve. If you want a more locally-oriented community, you need a more local-friendly system, says Scott Doyon.
Agency, Developer Wrestle Over Atlantic Yards Affordability
A look at negotiations between developer Forest City Ratner and New York City's Housing and Development Corporation around the Atlantic Yards project shows that there will be less housing units set-aside for low-income families than promised.
Coney Island Meets the Grid
In order to save Coney Island from dwindling unemployment rates and high poverty levels, developers rezone the 46-year-old amusement park, but the plans may never actually leave the paper.
Smart Growth For Conservatives
According to James A. Bacon, "Smart growth is too important to leave to liberals." In a new essay, he argues that "Conservatives must articulate their own vision for creating prosperous, livable and fiscally sustainable communities."
A Fresh Design Concept for Mixed Use Development
Eric Laine and Suzanne Steelman present LiveWork, a new take on the changing nature of living and working in a design for a mixed use development in Athens, GA.
A Profile of the Most Conservative Zip Code in Texas
Highland Park, ZIP code 75205, represents the top of the 1% in Texas, and is the most enthusiastically Republican community in the country.
Diagnosing Sprawl...in 1959
A prophetic film from 1959 offers a diagnosis of the causes and emerging challenges associated with what came to be known as urban sprawl.
Walmart Talks Sustainability, But Keeps Sprawling
Walmart talks big about climate action, but its land-use strategy is anything but climate-friendly: It builds massive new stores on virgin land in sprawling areas, then abandons them in favor of still newer, still bigger stores, says Stacy Mitchell.
Struggling Centers Revitalized With New Tenants
With the increasing popularity of online shopping, many shopping centers are losing retailers left and right. More unusual tenants are filling in the gaps, like gun ranges and bounce houses.
For Two Days Only TWA Terminal Re-Opens Its Doors
In 2001, Eero Saarinen's famed TWA Terminal in John F. Kennedy International Airport closed after American Airlines bought the airline out. Completed in 1962, this terminal is now rarely accessible by the public.
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 Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
