Zoning Reform
Citywide Zoning Reforms Approved for Sacramento
The Sacramento City Council took steps toward an updated General Plan that includes a variety of innovative planning proposals, including the elimination of single-family zoning by allowing up to four dwelling units on all residential parcels.
How Atlanta Plans to Overhaul Zoning for Housing Affordability
The "Atlanta City Design: Housing" initiative is one of the most ambitious planning reform efforts of any large U.S. city, but it's just getting started.
Seniors and Urbanists Unite!
The AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) and CNU (Congress for New Urbanism) have produced a new set of urban planning guides. Their latest is, "A Handbook for Improved Neighborhoods."
Small Cities Relax Accessory Dwelling Units Regulations Too
A city of about 40,000 residents across the Puget Sound from Seattle has relaxed zoning regulations to entice more homeowners to build accessory dwelling units.
'Housing Choice' Approved in Massachusetts
The Housing Choice initiative, one of the country's most sweeping planning and development reforms to date, was included in a large economic development package approved by the Massachusetts Legislature earlier this week.
A Comprehensive Overhaul of Planning Considered in New York City
The New York City Council this week released a report that suggest the city do away with its "piecemeal" approach to planning in favor of a new comprehensive planning framework.
Citywide Zoning Reform Approved in Everett
Few cities are accomplishing such a swift and sweeping overhaul of its land use regulations as Everett, Washington, which just wrapped up its second major planning initiative in as many years on its way to launching a third.
Statewide Zoning Changes Adopted in Oregon to Limit Parking, Add Missing Middle
The state of Oregon made planning history in 2019 by adopting House Bill 2001, paving the way for the state to preempt local exclusionary zoning laws. Now, over a year later, the state land use board has decided how to implement that goal.
Sweeping Zoning Reforms Adopted in Olympia
The Olympia, Washington City Council adopted a new Housing Options Code Amendments ordinance, effectively eliminating single-family zoning in the city.
Local Zoning Controversy Raises Bigger Questions About Race and Discrimination
A zoning application in the city of Woodbridge, Connecticut has interests on both sides of the issue lawyering up, and the reverberations from the controversy reach all the way to the state capital.
Zoning Changes Would Allow Transit-Oriented Multi-Family Development in Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Maryland wants to put its zoning where its transit is—it's just the latest in a string of transit-oriented land use reforms for the famously suburban county.
Atlanta to Tackle Affordability by Zoning Reform
A new initiative designed to implement the goals of the One Atlanta Housing Affordability Action Plan was announced last week in Atlanta.
A Contemporary Update to the #BlackFridayParking Tradition
For years, Strong Towns readers have been pointing out the vast empty parking lots on the busiest shopping day of the year as evidence of poor land use regulations. Now the #iwishthisparkingwas hashtag imagines a different future.
Why Have ADUs Proliferated in Portland, Lagged in D.C.?
A new report by the Urban Institute examines the consequences of small differences in land use regulations.
Four Steps for Effective Land Use Reform
Land use and zoning reform is not a magic wand, and effective changes to any planning regime change requires careful work. A new report Urban Institute provides case studies and guidance on how to achieve desired outcomes from a reform process.
First Look: Zoning Changes Proposed to Implement Minneapolis' Landmark Comp Plan
A plan is only as good as its implementation, and so the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan needs the right zoning code to achieve its lofty goals.
Rezoning Every Residential Neighborhood in Cambridge for Affordable Apartment Buildings
Cambridge, Massachusetts has opened all residential neighborhoods to the development of apartments buildings with 100 percent affordable units. It might be the most "sweeping attack on elitist and racist single family zoning" in the country.
'Permit Ready Plans' for ADUs Published in Stockton, California
Cities looking to provide incentive for the construction of accessory dwelling units are increasingly released "permit ready plans" to help the cause.
As U.S. Transportation Infrastructure Holds Back Economic Recovery, It's Time for Change
Opinion: Six months into the pandemic, the state of the U.S. economy reveals that the planning profession can support struggling Americans by focusing on transportation and the land use patterns that enable mass transit.
On the Ballot in Alameda: The End of Single-Family Zoning
Voters in Alameda, a city of nearly 80,000 people on an island in the East San Francisco Bay Area, will vote to end a prohibition on multi-family housing that has been in place since 1973.
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.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
