Zoning Reform

Maryland

Zoning Changes Would Allow Transit-Oriented Multi-Family Development in Montgomery County

Montgomery County, Maryland wants to put its zoning where its transit is—it's just the latest in a string of transit-oriented land use reforms for the famously suburban county.

December 9, 2020 - Bethesda Magazine

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta to Tackle Affordability by Zoning Reform

A new initiative designed to implement the goals of the One Atlanta Housing Affordability Action Plan was announced last week in Atlanta.

December 7, 2020 - The Atlanta Voice

South Mall Parking Lot

A Contemporary Update to the #BlackFridayParking Tradition

For years, Strong Towns readers have been pointing out the vast empty parking lots on the busiest shopping day of the year as evidence of poor land use regulations. Now the #iwishthisparkingwas hashtag imagines a different future.

November 27, 2020 - Strong Towns

Accessory Dwelling Unit

Why Have ADUs Proliferated in Portland, Lagged in D.C.?

A new report by the Urban Institute examines the consequences of small differences in land use regulations.

November 11, 2020 - Greater Greater Washington

Texas Townhomes

Four Steps for Effective Land Use Reform

Land use and zoning reform is not a magic wand, and effective changes to any planning regime change requires careful work. A new report Urban Institute provides case studies and guidance on how to achieve desired outcomes from a reform process.

October 27, 2020 - Urban Institute

Zoning Code Rendering

First Look: Zoning Changes Proposed to Implement Minneapolis' Landmark Comp Plan

A plan is only as good as its implementation, and so the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan needs the right zoning code to achieve its lofty goals.

October 16, 2020 - Streets MN

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Rezoning Every Residential Neighborhood in Cambridge for Affordable Apartment Buildings

Cambridge, Massachusetts has opened all residential neighborhoods to the development of apartments buildings with 100 percent affordable units. It might be the most "sweeping attack on elitist and racist single family zoning" in the country.

October 13, 2020 - Wicked Local

Accessory Dwelling Units

'Permit Ready Plans' for ADUs Published in Stockton, California

Cities looking to provide incentive for the construction of accessory dwelling units are increasingly released "permit ready plans" to help the cause.

October 12, 2020 - City of Stockton

Thailand

As U.S. Transportation Infrastructure Holds Back Economic Recovery, It's Time for Change

Opinion: Six months into the pandemic, the state of the U.S. economy reveals that the planning profession can support struggling Americans by focusing on transportation and the land use patterns that enable mass transit.

October 7, 2020 - James Brasuell

San Francisco Bay Area

On the Ballot in Alameda: The End of Single-Family Zoning

Voters in Alameda, a city of nearly 80,000 people on an island in the East San Francisco Bay Area, will vote to end a prohibition on multi-family housing that has been in place since 1973.

October 6, 2020 - Alameda Sun

Chicago, Illinois

A Pro-Development Approach to Housing Affordability and Economic Growth

Decades of building housing on the fringes of metropolitan areas have mired the United States in a housing affordability crisis defined by a widening gap between the haves and the have nots.

October 6, 2020 - Vox

Connecticut

Lawyers Taking the Single-Family Zoning Fight to a Connecticut Town

Open Communities Alliance, along with law students and professors at a fair housing development clinic at Yale Law School, have proposed a development meant to trigger the exclusionary zoning code in the town of Woodbridge, Connecticut.

October 1, 2020 - The Connecticut Mirror

Accessory Dwelling Unit

An Online Portal for Designing Accessory Dwelling Units

The ADUniverse website offers pre-approved designs for homeowners who want to add Accessory Dwelling Units on properties in Seattle.

September 17, 2020 - The Urbanist

Residential Neighborhood

Missing Middle Density Will Take More Than Zoning Changes

Looking for change in the housing supply? "Don't stop at the zoning code and think you're done. There's so much work left to do."

September 8, 2020 - Strong Towns

Highway 65 Construction

Zoning Reforms Underwhelm in Minneapolis as Development Market Holds Course

As one of the first city's to comprehensively allow for residential density, Minneapolis was probably hoping for more than what it's achieved so far.

September 2, 2020 - City Pages

Hollywood Sign

Another Defeat for Statewide Zoning Reform in California

Another year, another defeat for sweeping changes to the status quo of single-family zoning in the state of California. SB 1120 would have allowed duplexes in areas previously zoned for detached single family zoning.

September 1, 2020 - Los Angeles Times

Duplex

Missing Middle Housing Study Launches in Arlington County, Virginia

Missing Middle Housing, the kinds of additional density that can be added with limited construction on a footprint the size of traditional single-family homes, is gaining momentum in the D.C. region.

August 23, 2020 - Greater Greater Washington

Boston, Massachusetts

How Massachusetts Got its Historic Planning Reform Moment

As reported earlier this month, the Massachusetts Legislature is poised to approve historic statewide land use reforms that would preempt local control of residential development. Here's a detailed account of how the state arrived at this moment.

August 21, 2020 - Shelterforce Magazine

South Bay Area

Proposed Single-Family Zoning Reform Would Have a Big Footprint in California

SB 1120 is the latest law proposed in the California Legislature to preempt restrictive local zoning.

August 17, 2020 - Terner Center for Housing Innovation

Massachusetts State Capitol

'Housing Choice' Ready to Overcome the Planning Status Quo in Massachusetts

After several failed attempts, Massachusetts Legislature is close to a breakthrough on the Housing Choice initiative proposed by Governor Baker as a tool for generating a lot of new housing supply in the state.

August 13, 2020 - The Boston Globe

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.