Zoning Codes

Chicago, Illinois

A Pro-Development Approach to Housing Affordability and Economic Growth

Decades of building housing on the fringes of metropolitan areas have mired the United States in a housing affordability crisis defined by a widening gap between the haves and the have nots.

October 6, 2020 - Vox

Cincinnati Area

New Form-Based Neighborhood Development Code Approved in Covington, Kentucky

Covington, Kentucky, located just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, has implemented a fundamental shift in the city's planning philosophy by adopting a new form-based Neighborhood Development Code.

September 29, 2020 - The River City News

Ben Carson

The Hypocrisies and Troubles of Local Control

President Trump has opinions about the sanctity of local control that don't agree with his other opinions about local control. This is a cautionary tale.

September 16, 2020 - James Brasuell

Fast Forward Bus

Senate Report Proposes Land Use and Transportation Reforms to Get Americans Out of Cars

Progress in combating climate change won't be possible unless Americans drive less. And Americans won't be able to drive less without changes to land use patterns in the United States.

September 16, 2020 - Transportation for America

Houston, Construction

Houston Lacks Zoning—Or Does It? The State Supreme Court Will Decide

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.

September 15, 2020 - Houston Chronicle

Residential Neighborhood

Missing Middle Density Will Take More Than Zoning Changes

Looking for change in the housing supply? "Don't stop at the zoning code and think you're done. There's so much work left to do."

September 8, 2020 - Strong Towns

Highway 65 Construction

Zoning Reforms Underwhelm in Minneapolis as Development Market Holds Course

As one of the first city's to comprehensively allow for residential density, Minneapolis was probably hoping for more than what it's achieved so far.

September 2, 2020 - City Pages

Sprawl

Connecting Sprawl to Inequality and Climate Change

The consequences of more than a century of planning and zoning are gaining more attention in the media as the country struggles through a pandemic. Will these lessons win new political support for more density in residential neighborhoods?

August 10, 2020 - NPR

Meter Maid

Neighborhood Group Kills Affordable Housing Proposal on Parking Concerns in Denver

An affordable housing project requested a waiver of parking requirements to build 36 deeply affordable housing units in Denver. A local neighborhood organization's opposition to the waiver won the day.

August 5, 2020 - Denverite

Derelict Commercial Buildings

Opinion: The Zoning Reform Discourse Needs a Dose of Reality

Lately it seems like people are forgetting that zoning is a legal process, requiring the support of elected officials.

August 3, 2020 - Notes from the Underground

Public Comment

Review: Neighborhood Defenders

A new book explains why people object to new housing in their neighborhoods, and whether these "neighborhood defenders" are representative of the public as a whole.

August 3, 2020 - Michael Lewyn

Stone Arch Bridge

Structural Racism in the Zoning Code

A pair of articles from the Twin Cities, revealing the racist motivations of exclusionary zoning.

August 2, 2020 - Rewire

Piqua, Ohio

New Development Code in the Works for Piqua, Ohio

A southwest Ohio city is updating its development code in response to a desire in the community to better protect the city's existing communities.

August 2, 2020 - Dayton Business Journal

Chicago River Industrial Area

Chicago's New Approach to Air Quality Includes Zoning Changes

Improved air quality can help achieve equitable economic growth, according to Chicago's newly announced Air Quality Agenda.

July 31, 2020 - Smart Cities Dive

Venice, Los Angeles

'Accessory Commercial Units' for a 15-Minute City

A Portland, Oregon urban planner is pitching the idea of ACUs, or accessory commercial units, as a means of repairing the effects of excluding retails uses from residential neighborhoods.

July 29, 2020 - Fast Company

New Zealand Bus Transit

New Zealand Eliminates Parking Minimums and Height Limits to Increase Urban Infill

Once again, New Zealand shows the way! The national government's new urban development policy will eliminate off-street parking requirements and remove low height-limits near transit stations to encourage more efficient infill development.

July 28, 2020 - Stuff

Zoning Code

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.

July 16, 2020 - James Brasuell

New York Development

What Are Zoning Codes?

Local governments use zoning codes to define what can and cannot be built. While comprehensive plans and other kinds of plans lay out a vision for the future, zoning codes offer the legal tools to implement that vision.

July 15, 2020 - James Brasuell

Fringe Development

Marohn: End Single-Family Zoning

A prominent conservative voice in the urban planning debate makes the case for repealing the single-family zoning status quo.

July 8, 2020 - The American Conservative

Missing Middle Housing

What Is Missing Middle Housing?

One of the newest terms in the world of urban planning, Missing Middle Housing has generated a lot of attention in recent years as cities around the United States look for ways to create more housing options in a vast sea of single-family homes.

June 26, 2020 - James Brasuell

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.

Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Transportation Planner I

KFH Group Inc.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.