Zoning
Opinion: Zoning Reform Is a Social Justice Issue
Far from an obscure, wonky local issue, zoning reform has the potential to advance social justice in American cities.
Balancing Aesthetics and Affordability
Policies too narrowly focused on design can drive up the cost of construction and prevent the development of affordable housing.
Transformers Vs. Historical Preservation
A row over two Transformers statues in a D.C. neighborhood lays bare the "absurdities" inherent in historical preservation, one writer argues.
Does Zoning Create a Vicious Circle—Or Can It Fix Itself?
Ideally, planners could balance homeowners' interests in zoning against the public good, liberalizing zoning when prices got too high. But this may be politically impossible.
Connecticut Is Considering Statewide Zoning Reform. This Map May Be Why
Desegregate CT's Zoning Atlas is a first-in-the-nation map showing how all 2,620 zoning districts and two subdivision districts in Connecticut treat housing—a massive undertaking that required a team to read 32,378 pages of zoning regulations.
Opinion: California Should Pass Aggressive Housing Reform
While some lawmakers oppose recent efforts to reform housing policies, others argue the state's affordability crisis calls for bold action.
The Pitfalls of the 15-Minute City
The concept, touted as "hyper-local," can fail to take into account local conditions and historical inequities in American cities.
Home-Based Businesses Could Save the Post-Pandemic Economy
Seattle's city council considers reducing 'arbitrary' and 'exclusionary' limits on home-based businesses.
Opinion: Biden's Plan to Eliminate Exclusionary Zoning Is 'Imprudent'
A counterintuitive argument contends that from a housing justice perspective, the Biden administration's attack on exclusionary zoning is imprudent.
Philadelphia Neighborhoods Leverage Zoning Overlays for Local Control
Overlay districts provide a tool for guiding the future of development and environmental controls at the neighborhood level.
The Impacts of Zoning Laws in Montgomery County
Historic zoning decisions have left a lasting legacy of housing inequality. Current leaders have the opportunity to change that.
Watch: Planning Without Zoning, Explained
Fans of Houston probably won't want to watch this video that calls the Space City a "jumbled up garbage town."
Upzoning Isn't a Silver Bullet for Housing Affordability
Zoning changes have been a popular way to increase density and affordable housing, but more diversified policies could fill in the gaps where zoning fails.
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.
Do Americans Want More Housing, or More Zoning?
The answer depends on how the question is phrased.
Op-Ed: It’s Long Past Time for Planning Reform in L.A.
Another corruption scandal involving a Los Angeles city councilmember highlights the urgent need for major planning changes in the city.
Judge Throws Out Plans for New Residential Skyscraper on Manhattan's Upper West Side
A residential skyscraper proposed for Manhattan's Upper West Side included a mechanical void that predated new rules in the city prohibiting the height-enhancing building practice. A judge still rejected the project as planned.
Early Returns on Austin's New Density Bonus Program: 2,337 Affordable Housing Units
Since late 2019, developers who deliver affordable housing units in Austin have received bonuses in height, density, parking, and other regulatory metrics, leading to a large number of new affordable housing units in the pipeline.
Rethinking the Indelible Lines of Subdivision
The subdivision process imposes rules that result in a lack flexibility, convoluted urban design, and diced up landscapes.
Challenging the Permitting Record of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
Zoning in the U.S. was originally intended to keep noxious uses out of residential areas. Around Houston, which famously lacks a traditional zoning system, polluting uses are still granted broad permission to operate in residential areas.
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 Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
