Zoning

Los Angeles' Plan to Keep 'Bootleg' Units Affordable

Los Angeles is moving toward creating a path to amnesty and affordability for habitable, but unpermitted residential units.

April 16, 2016 - Los Angeles Times

Brownstones

The Neighborhood Veto and the 'Missing Middle'

Community resistance may explain why smaller apartment buildings are hard to build.

April 15, 2016 - Michael Lewyn

New York Eliminates Some Parking Requirements in 'Transit Zones'

In a substantial part of the city, parking requirements will be eliminated for subsidized and senior housing.

April 8, 2016 - StreetsBlog NYC

New York Housing

A Utopian Solution to NIMBYism and High Housing Costs

The housing shortages caused by restrictive zoning are easy to solve in principle—even if the solutions are politically impossible.

April 4, 2016 - Michael Lewyn

Austin Mixed-Use

Austin Denies Mixed-Use Zoning Change

Following concerns that the change would threaten Thornton Road Studios, a collection of arts and music businesses, the Austin City Council struck down a measure that would allow mixed-use development on the site.

March 17, 2016 - Austin Monitor

Urban Infill

Finding Middle Ground in the Density Debate

Writer Alex Marshall looks to Kitsilano, a Vancouver neighborhood, for urban infill done right. Skyscrapers and mid-rise developments aren't always necessary to achieve more people per square foot.

March 14, 2016 - Governing

Drone

Unmanned Aircraft Systems—Coming to Your Planning Department Soon

Transformative technologies like unmanned aircraft systems (drones) are identifying and creating new applications in planning every day, for both research and practical applications.

March 10, 2016 - Jennifer Evans-Cowley

Zoning Has Not Outlived All Its Uses...Yet

With the sharing economy repurposing and mutating the one-size (and one size only) fits all world of zoning, is it time to jettison our old zoning codes?

March 8, 2016 - Governing

Public Meeting Speaker

Socially-Blind Urban Planning

In this era of increased inequality, socially-blind urban planning is morally questionable. Specifically, on the issue of homelessness in America, there are three problems to which planners need to pay particular attention.

February 18, 2016 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

'Homeowner-Friendly' Zoning Changes Proposed in Staten Island

Proposed zoning changes would allow residents to build "as-of-right" in Staten Island's "natural" districts.

January 13, 2016 - silive.com

Study: Local land Use Regulations Segregate Metropolitan Areas

A new study reveals new understanding about how restrictive land use regulations in urban areas affect economic segregation across metropolitan areas.

January 5, 2016 - CityLab

Fix Housing Supply, Save the City: Is it Really That Easy?

Planning wonks might have felt all warm inside when they noticed zoning topics wedging their way into broader conversations about community affordability and equity. Bring it on. Finally.

December 8, 2015 - PlaceShakers

Empty Parking Garage

The Citizen Kane of Parking Cartoons

The City of Ottawa (Canada) has produced an animated video to engage the public as it goes about reviewing its minimum parking standards, some of which date back to the 1960s.

December 4, 2015 - City of Ottawa

North view

Guidebook: Lowering Barriers to Urban Farming

Urban agriculture has long been a staple of sustainable urbanism—in theory. Can policy changes help it become much more than that? This guidebook offers tactics and policies that planners can use to promote urban farms.

November 15, 2015 - APA-FIG

Car Production Line

Designated Zones to Protect New York Manufacturing

Without designated industrial zones, New York manufacturing companies risk losing their facilities to the residential development market. The de Blasio administration has promised some zoning protections for industrial enclaves.

November 13, 2015 - Crain's Business New York

Urban Careers

Topics Planners Don't Often Think About, But Should

There are a number of areas of planning that offer planners a role, but are not necessarily at the front of our minds. At the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference, researchers shared results that can impact practice.

November 1, 2015 - Jennifer Evans-Cowley

Cleveland Warehouse District

Cleveland Seeking Better Fortunes with a New Zoning Code

A ULI-led symposium in Cleveland is looking at how an update of the city's outdated zoning code could revive some neighborhoods in the city.

October 30, 2015 - Cleveland Plain-Dealer

Anchorage Tweaks Land Use Regulations for More Infill Development

The Anchorage Assembly has updated its land use regulations to allow taller apartments and spur redevelopment and infill in neighborhoods near major transit corridors and the employment centers of Downtown and Midtown.

October 16, 2015 - Alaska Dispatch News

Coding for Character: Doing Away With the Zoned Out Nature of Cities

What's keeping the historic parts of your city or town from staying up-to-date and well-loved? Usually, the laws.

October 6, 2015 - PlaceShakers

Northwest Portland Hostel

The Charms of 'Illegal Neighborhoods'

A longtime resident of an old, eclectic neighborhood reflects on what makes the area so desirable and why new places like it are effectively outlawed today.

October 2, 2015 - City Observatory City Commentary

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.

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.