Liven up your comprehensive planning effort Texas style. Matthew Lewis, Development Director for the city of San Marcos, used everything from Legos to "design rodeos" (i.e. Texas charrettes) to get to common ground.
"I tend to take the road less traveled. For whatever reason, conventional approaches have never interested me. And the process I came up with for my city’s comp plan was no different. Why? Well, first off, conventionalism leads to….. 'BORING!' (Yell it out like no one can hear you!)"
"San Marcos, Texas, where I serve as development director, is a quaint, progressive community of 50,000 with a university of 32,000 and expectations for Texas-sized creativity. Though tarnished by previous unpopular land use and transportation decisions, we’re best likened to a great grandfather’s old pocket-watch: Potentially good as new when cleaned up well and geared in the right direction."
Lewis goes on to discuss some unusual approaches to comprehensive planning, along with some contemporary tools repackaged as a Texas planning party.
FULL STORY: Comp Planning Off the Beaten Path
New York City Aims for Comprehensive Long-Range Planning
The city's proposed comprehensive planning bill could create a more equitable and collaborative planning process
Lexington, Kentucky Passes Urban Growth Plan
The city’s new master plan sets out requirements for mixed-use development.
Olympia Draft Transportation Plan Zeroes in on Complete Streets, Bike Infrastructure
The city’s comprehensive plan update could signal a shift in transportation planning priorities to a more comprehensive approach that ensures safer roads for all users.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
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.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research