Land Use
How To Build Support For Sustainable Planning And Development
Liberal Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson has been successfully building support for smart growth during his seven years at the helm of this conservative city. Grist sits down with the Mayor to learn the secret of his success.
Central Austin Zones For Vertical Mixed Use
To encourage development that is consistent with the city's vision for sustainable development, planners have created a new zoning designation that looks like a win-win for developers and neighborhoods -- if they can stand the density.
Cleveland Moves To Protect Community Gardens
After the community successfully thwarted a proposed development on the site of an urban garden, city officials are looking to protect gardens citywide with a new zoning designation.
Beijing's Parking Crunch
With more than 300,000 new cars hitting the roads each year, the Chinese capital has a serious shortage of parking. The solution? More parking lots of course.
Sprawl and Obesity: A Review Of Research and Arguments
Science News reviews the research and opinions linking sprawl and obesity, and investigates whether urban sprawl "makes people fat."
Poor Planning Blamed For Indonesian Floods
Neglect, poor planning, and flawed city management are being blamed for the recent flooding in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta that has caused hundreds of thousands to evacuate.
California's Golden Opportunity To Reshape Growth
With $40 billion dollars of bond money for transportation, housing and parks at his disposal, Governor Schwarzenegger could reshape the state's growth patterns and make good on his promises to reduce greenhouse gases, argues William Fulton.
The Malling Of The Champs-Elysees
With some of the most expensive real estate in the world, chain stores are now dominating the famed Champs-Elysees. Government officials in Paris are developing plans to counter the prevalence of corporate outlets, but some fear it may be too late.
Central Florida Asked To Vote On Growth Vision
A unique regional organization is inviting thousands of today's Central Floridians to determine the future living pattern of 3.5 million new residents projected for the area by 2050.
Original Measure 37 Case May Reach Settlement
The land rights battle that spurred the passage of Oregon's Measure 37 may come to an end, with a county-approved expedited process that would divide 22-acres of land into 8 lots.
Squaring the Eminent Domain Circle
Writing in Land Lines, Professors Amnon Lehavi and Amir N. Licht offer a new conceptual approach to land assembly problems that attempts to circumvent the problems that arise in using eminent domain for private development.
A Vision For The End Of Oil
Critical of the current proposals for alternative energy, James Howard Kunstler provides a "wake up call" for citizens, and provides a glimpse at life after the world makes its inevitable transition to a post-oil society.
Study Finds Many Wanting Walkability In Atlanta
A broad study of the travel habits and neighborhood choices of more than 18,000 Atlanta residents has found that a third of the people living in suburbs would have preferred a more walkable neighborhood.
Big-Box Costco Goes Downtown, Mixed-Use
Costco is the anchor tenant in a new Downtown Vancouver mixed-used development that partially opened November 2006. Besides going mixed-use, Costco also added underground parking to adapt to its new urban environment.
A Smart Growth 'Rent Belt'?
Wendell Cox and Ronald Utt suggest that smart growth abuses are creating a "Rent Belt" of high-Cost areas.
How Schools Teach Sprawl
The planning and placement of schools is making students 'auto-dependent', according to an urban planning academic in Canada. Others also bemoan the architectural design of schools and the potentially harmful building materials used to build them.
Expansion And Growth 'Reserve' Land Rejected In Kentucky
Planning officials in Fayette County, Kentucky, have approved a plan that will not expand its boundary of growth. The planning commission also unanimously rejected the establishment of an 'urban reserve', in case minds changed about expansion.
Growth Boundary Extension Approved Before Impact Reports Completed
The Pittsburg, California, City Council has unanimously approved an extension of the city's urban growth boundary to include 1,600 more acres of foothills. This extension was approved by voters in 2005, but some argue the initiative was deceptive.
Cities Are The Future
The only way to meet the challenges of the 21st Century is to address poverty, pollution and environmental sustainability in the world's cities, writes Worldwatch Institute president Christopher Flavin.
Nature Writers Should Explore The Urban Wilderness
One urban dweller calls on nature writers to take a look at Los Angeles, and other cities, in order to regain relevance in today's world.
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.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
