General Plan

Context for Sacramento's Decision to End Single-Family Zoning
In January, the Sacramento City Council took first steps toward ending single-family zoning citywide. The decision has provoked controversy that is influencing the next steps in the process.

Montgomery County Charts a New Path with 'Thrive 2050'
A new plan under development in Montgomery County, Maryland plots a course change for the famously suburban county.
Champion of L.A.'s 'Neighborhood Integrity Initiative' Speaks
A longtime Los Angeles journalist has joined the cause of a sweeping anti-growth initiative that has city leaders on high alert.

Planners Need To Be Less Polite Sometimes
It's one thing to oppose development and rail against local planning policies. Plenty of policies, plans, and political processes are pretty lousy. It's another thing to disrupt and dominate a meeting designed to make these processes better.

Los Angeles' Mobility Plan 2035 Slapped with Lawsuit
The group, Fix The City, sued the city on September 9 on its visionary plan that emphasizes transit, biking, and walking, claiming the traffic lane reductions will create more air pollution, imperil public safety, and add to traffic congestion.
Planning for the Next 20 Years in Unincorporated Los Angeles County
A lot has changed on the ground in Los Angeles County's unincorporated areas since 1980, when the last General Plan directing land use in these communities was written.
Los Angeles Releases 20-Year Plan for Mobility
One of the largest ongoing planning efforts in the city of Los Angeles is an update to the Mobility Element of the city's General Plan. A revised version of the draft "Mobility Plan 2035" was released in February.
An Evolving Houston Plans for its Future
Houston is preparing for a new wave of population growth by preparing a comprehensive plan. The question is what kind of city Houston wants to be.
The Gold Standard for Civic Data Delivery
Emily Badger is extremely impressed—and for good reason—with the City of Los Angeles' new neighborhood data portal, built in connection with the development a new health and wellness chapter for the city's General Plan.

Can a 'Poster Child for Sprawl' Turn Itself Around?
In a video documentary, Matthew Gordon examines the elements of Fresno's General Plan update, which seeks to reorient the city around a more sustainable urban form, and turn around the fortunes of one of the country's most impoverished cities.
Neighborhoods First (and Goal)
Howard Blackson's words of advice for San Diego's new administration are applicable wherever it is you call home. Neighborhoods first!

Back To The Future: The 1970 Los Angeles 'Centers' Concept Plan
The 1970 Concept Los Angeles plan is a history lesson for urban planners and a vision of what the city could have looked like.
Maui Gets New Planning Director
Will Spence has been named the new director of the Maui County Dept. of Planning. Spence says one of his goals is to change how the department interacts with the public.
Jerry Brown Sues Suburb Over Housing Element
The CA Attorney General wants cities to take their housing obligations seriously - so much so that he has joined a 2006 lawsuit against the Alameda County suburb of Pleasanton over a 'housing cap' of 29,000 units approved by its voters in 1996.
Florida Anti-Growth Amendment to Put Land Use Decisions in Voter's Hands
Amendment 4 would require city and county comprehensive plans to go in front of the voters to be approved. It has been approved for a 2010 ballot.
Rule-Bending Keeps Fresno Sprawling
Despite a 2002 General Plan update aimed at curbing sprawl in the Central California city of Fresno, repeated zoning amendments have allowed hundreds of developments to push the city's edge farther out into the fringe.
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