Florida
Can A Stadium Also Be An Arena?
Owners of Dolphin Stadium in north Miami-Dade County hope a $250 million dollar renovation will help reposition the stadium as an entertainment mecca for the Americas, effectively blurring the line between traditional stadium, theatre, and arena.
Florida's Growing Tax Chasm
Despite stunning similarities in property values, tax burdens vary greatly in southern Florida, causing fed-up residents to seek relief.
Citizens Use YouTube To Campaign Against Development Project
Believed to be a first for Fort Lauderdale (and possibly citizens elsewhere) residents opposed to a 15-story, 387 foot long boat storage facility in the City have created a website and video on YouTube asking City Commissioners to stop the project.
Golf Course May Get Water Permit During Drought
As the region faces a drought and local residents are forced to comply with water-saving regulations, the South Florida Water Management District will reconsider approving a new golf course that will use up to a million gallons of water per day.
Miami Wants Skinnier Lanes On Highways
In Miami, many plans are brewing for major highway facelifts -- including the creation of a four-level highway interchange. In the meantime, the region looks to deal with congestion by thinning highway lane widths to create more room for traffic.
New Water Classifications May Benefit Polluters
The Florida State Department of Environmental Protection is moving forward with plans to reclassify many of its waters based on their potential harm to humans. Some say the reclassifications open the door for corporate and agricultural polluters.
Legislative Limbo For Displaced Trailer Park Residents
A large loss of mobile home parks in Florida has legislators asking whether the state or the municipalities should take responsibility for the thousands of misplaced low-income residents.
Downtown Revitalization Reinvigorates Urban Congregations
The new wave of residents in downtown Orlando are helping to resurrect long-time churches that never fled to the suburbs.
Voters May Get Power Over Comprehensive Plans
The proposed Florida Hometown Democracy constitutional amendment calls for citizens to vote directly on whether to make changes in local comprehensive plans, instead of elected officials advised by professional and citizen planners.
Farmers Push Expansion Of Development Boundary
People who own land within a southern Florida urban development boundary reap high prices for their developable land. But with land cut by the boundary, many farmers are pushing for its extension, and the resulting increase in land values.
Miami's Public Housing Debacle
With a federal takeover of the city's housing authority underway, the fallout from the investigation into the agency's misdealings is expected to call for dramatic changes in government policy towards low-income housing.
Sierra Club Backs Ballot Box Planning Measure In Florida
Responding to concerns over the state's rapid growth, the environmental group has pledged to support a proposed measure that would allow voters to decide questions regarding planning and growth.
Seaside: 25 Years Later
Slate magazine offers a photographic slideshow of the influential New Urbanist community of Seaside, Florida.
Ineffective Local Planning Efforts Push County To Seek Greater Control
Sarasota County, Florida, is looking to gain greater control over planning from cities in an upcoming vote. This move is in response to a recent report that outlines how city planning in the county has encouraged sprawl over the last 50 years.
Is Affordable Housing Policy The Solution, Or The Problem?
More common sense is needed in creating and managing the litany of federal, state and local policies intended to create more affordable housing.
Orlando Unmasked
Walt Disney's utopian dream forever changed Orlando, Florida, and laid the blueprint for the new American metropolis.
High Prices Cause Population Decline In Florida Keys
Rising property costs and the threat of hurricanes are pushing more and more people out of the Florida Keys. The area experienced a 4% decline in population between 2000 and 2005, a trend expected to continue.
Locals Lament 12,000-Home Development In Florida
To the dismay of many residents, plans have been submitted for a housing development of more than 12,000 units in western Palm Beach County, Florida. Zoning and building guidelines would have to be changed to allow the development.
Condo Development Angers Miami Museum Lovers
As another highrise condo development towers in Miami, local historic preservation advocates complain that the historic Vizcaya Museum's garden views will be permanently damaged.
Miami's McMansion Moratorium
A measure has been passed in South Miami that places a moratorium of construction of new two-story houses -- a measure aimed at preventing development of oversized homes, or McMansions.
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.
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
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
