As City Council president, Ben Stuckart passed legislation to facilitate apartments and limit parking requirements. He hopes voters see the additional housing as a benefit.
Spokane Mayoral hopeful Ben Stuckart says he read Donald Shoup's The High Cost of Free Parking and was convinced on the ills of parking minimums. In his time as a local politician, he's sided with restaurants that wanted to turn their parking lots into a patio and removing downtown surface parking lots before taking more sweeping action. "He passed an ordinance last week that would allow residential developers to build apartments in some dense areas of the city without any parking lots at all," Daniel Walters writes for Inlander.
None of that pro-density work was without opposition within the council and from people in Spokane. Stuckart acknowledges that trying to make a denser more walkable downtown Spokane may cost him politically in the mayoral election, but says its worth it because it’s the right thing to do for the future of city tax revenue, the environment, and for affordable housing.
February Must-Reads: Top 10 Articles From Last Month
Federal policy changes send shock waves through agencies at all levels of government as we continue to monitor the effects of the new administration’s slash-and-burn approach to government.
New Book Highlights Human Side of Homelessness Crisis
A San Francisco reporter’s empathetic portrait of unhoused Bay Area residents reminds readers why supportive housing is worth fighting for.
Permanent Supportive Housing Providers Face Steep Insurance Hikes
High insurance costs are calling some organizations’ future into question as supportive housing providers struggle to meet their expenses.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.
Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service