Vacant Land
Opinion: Richmond, Virginia Needs a Land Value Tax
Switching from property tax to a land value tax could rein in sprawl, boost urban density, and lower the cost of housing.
Keeping Colorado Land from Development Could Cost $5 Million
In Golden, Colorado, residents want to keep a parcel of land as open space, but it could come with a hefty price tag.
Vacant Land Languishes in the High-Priced Market of Oakland, California
Oakland property prices have gone way up, but vacant land can be found all over the city. Hayley Raetz argues getting development on this land should be a policy priority.
Study: There's a Lot of Vacant Land in Texas Cities
All that empty acreage means that these big, rapidly developing cities don’t really have to sprawl.
Urban Orchard in East Detroit Trying to Be a Good Neighbor
When Wolverine Human Services bought 11 acres of East Detroit planning to remove abandoned houses for a U-Pick Orchard, neighbors protested. Now they've pivoted and aim to provide a resource to the community rather than run an agro-business.
Map: Chicago Has a Lot of Developable Land
An interactive map from Chicago Cityscape shows all of the city's parking lots, vacant spaces, and city-owned land. Not all of it is truly vacant, or developable, but the map shows how much scope remains for new construction.
'Urban Reviewer' Archives New York City's 155 Neighborhood Master Plans
The 596 Acres project to catalogue and improve vacant, publicly owned lots in New York City produced another great tool called the Urban Reviewer, which gathers all of New York's adopted neighborhood master plans in one place.
Can UK Politicians Force Owners to Develop Fallow Properties?
Britain's opposition Labour Party is promising to tackle the country's housing crisis as a centerpiece of its next election campaign. A proposed “use it or lose it” law aimed at forcing developers to build on fallow land is causing controversy.
My LA2050 Winners Will Transform Abandoned Places into Usable Spaces
One theme unites the winners of the My LA2050 competition: a desire to reinvigorate Los Angeles’s vacant and underused spaces.
A Tree Grows in Pigeon Town
I don’t know what it is about New Orleans that makes me wax rhapsodic. But something about the city makes everyday life look poetic. I returned to the Crescent City last week after having last visited just seven months ago, when a tree planting
Building a Temporary Retail Center on Vacant Land
A new project is opening in San Francisco that utilizes a vacant piece of land for a temporary retail installation using shipping containers.
Cleveland: The Garden City?
Cleveland, Ohio has pursued an aggressive policy of greening it vacant and underused land. A program called Garden Boyz employs local youth to tend the gardens, keeping the landscape vital and keeping the kids out of gangs.
Making Use of Stalled and Vacant Developments
A new plan being pursued by the City of San Francisco would allow developers with projects stalled by the economic recession hold on to their development rights as long as they make some beneficial use of the vacant land until construction starts.
Brainstorm: What Should Cities Do With Their Newly Empty Car Lots?
With the auto industry struggling and car dealerships closing shop, what future do you see for empty car lots? Vote on ideas submitted by the Planetizen community, or suggest your own.
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.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie
