Zoning

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A ULI-led symposium in Cleveland is looking at how an update of the city's outdated zoning code could revive some neighborhoods in the city.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

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.
Plan Charlotte Survey Finds 9 Percent of the City Zoned for Mixed-Uses
Surveying the 373 square miles, or 238,720 acres, under jurisdiction of Plan Charlotte to see how much of it is zoned for mixed-use.
Unintended Consequences Predicted for de Blasio's Inclusionary Zoning Policy
According to New York Yimby, Mayor de Blasio's proposed inclusionary zoning policy could do more to protect small market-rate developments, without affordable housing, than it will to create affordable units.

Not Racist—but Similar to Racism
Low-density zoning is not racist in the narrowest sense of the term—but it does have similar goals to racist housing policies and creates similar problems.
Proposed Chicago TOD Ordinance: Increase Density, Eliminate Parking Requirements
Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced an update of the city's 2013 transit oriented development ordinance. The new version of the ordinance would have a sweeping effect on the land uses around transit stations in Chicago.

When Mixed Use Goes Too Far
A recent op-ed by ULI Foundation Governor and developer John McNellis argues that too many cities are forcing mixed-use developments into neighborhoods, enabling vacancies and blight in the process.
Hot Buttons and Live Wires: Inside Raleigh's Zoning Code Debate
Public hearings are underway in Raleigh to discuss the zoning changes necessary to implement the city's Unified Development ordinance. Heated rhetoric was inevitable.

Tiny House Movement Pushing the Boundaries of Traditional Zoning
Tiny Houses on trailers are available and buyers are ready to live small, but most zoning regulations don’t allow recreational vehicles as a permanent residence. Can zoning catch up to the tiny living trend?

Seattle NIMBYs Protest Dense Development, Cite Eastern Bloc
A zoning bill has stirred up the fear that dense development projects will transform Seattle into a "Soviet cityscape." Residents accuse developers of using loopholes to squeeze in pricey, out-of-character townhomes.

Op-Ed: Regulation Has Urban Progressives Confused
According to Aaron M. Renn, left-leaning urbanists chafe against a regulatory culture their ideology supports. Favoring "regulation for thee but not for me," they want to bend the rules, but only for enterprises they like.
Debate: YIMBY vs. Preservation in New York City
New York magazine recently convened a debate between two leading voices of an ongoing conversation in New York City: what to build and what to preserve.

One Suburban County's Search for Land to Support Employment
Amid concerns about lackluster growth, Oregon's Clackamas County plans to create 10,000 new family wage jobs by 2019. But the county lacks the zoned land it needs to accomplish its goals.

More on the Cost of Anti-Growth Policies
As urban centers start making better sense for a digital economy, NIMBY policies might be worth re-examining. In addition to driving up the cost of housing, they may compound inefficiencies and slow down the economy.
Weisbrod Op-Ed Makes the Case for Proposed Zoning Changes
An op-ed by Carol Weisbrod, chairman of the NYC Planning Commission, makes the case for the de Blasio Administration's zoning policy as the key mechanism in its housing policy.

Houston May Decide to Fence Itself In
Houston isn't freezing over. But, after decades of unbridled, un-zoned development, a new mayor, new planning director, and a raft of civic activists are promoting a general plan for the famously laissez-faire city.

New York City Proposes Parking Requirement Overhaul
The New York Department of City Planning is working on an overhaul of its parking requirements with the potential to impact hundreds of developments.

Book Review: Zoned in the USA
"Zoned in the USA: The Origins and Implications of American Land-Use Regulation," by Sonja Hirt, describes the exceptional characteristics, compared to European land use regulations, that make U.S. zoning laws so conducive to sprawl.
Pagination
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