It's not how complicated or divisive New Urbanist-based land use regulations are that's driving the legal profession nuts. It's the opposite. There just aren't many New Urbanist rulings in the casebook, explains Jonathan Zasloff.
Zasloff explores the possible reasons why "[a] quick check in the Westlaw 'ALLCASES' database yields only one result for the phrase 'Form-Based Code' and none of the results for 'transect' has anything to do with the New Urbanist land use concept."
It's not that there hasn't been enough proliferation of New Urbanist-based regulations to to generate cases, he argues, but that "New Urbanism squeezes a lot out of the uncertainty and over-regulation out of the Euclidean system, but cannot get rid of it. Euclidean zoning might be necessary to handle these uncertainities [sic]."
"In other words," he concludes, "while New Urbanism coding can serve as a replacement for a lot of Euclideanism, it cannot eliminate it entirely — not because we are addicted to Euclidean forms, and not because we are dumb, but because lots of the world is uncertain, and cities will have to grapple with that. Conditional use permits and variances aren’t about the flawed ideology of early-20th century planners, but about the world’s inevitable uncertainty. If this is right, then land use casebooks will still emphasize Euclidean zoning, because that’s where the disputes are and necessarily will be."
FULL STORY: Has New Urbanism Killed Land Use Law?
San Diego Satellite Town Asks: Smart Growth or Trojan Horse?
San Diego County's "most walkable city" is being challenged to identify the real smart growth: what it has or what is being proposed. At issue: a plan amendment for a high density project near transit. But is the project real?
Judge Overturns Township’s Ban on Cemeteries
Brooks Township in Michigan ran afoul of the state constitution when it instituted a blanket cemetery ban with the intent to block a green cemetery.
Seattle Downtown Plan Expands Permitted Uses
The Downtown Activation Plan shifts from Euclidean to form-based zoning to encourage more commercial development.
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.
Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.
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Balancing Bombs and Butterflies: How the National Guard Protects a Rare Species
The National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap uses GIS technology and land management strategies to balance military training with conservation efforts, ensuring the survival of the rare eastern regal fritillary butterfly.
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