On a recent Upzoned episode, I joined Abby Newsham to discuss Massachusetts’ effort to sue a city over exclusionary zoning near transit stations. After it aired, we received some thoughtful critiques from listeners who felt the conversation missed key historical and legal context. I’d like to address those critiques today.
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Build a bipartisan coalition. Launch a pilot project. Speak to the core issues facing your community. That’s how Spokane, Washington, was able to eliminate costly parking mandates. Here's the full story.
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The evolution of a parking lot in Harrisonburg, Virginia, shows how cities allowing land usage to shift alongside community needs creates more productive and appealing places.
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Land use reform is gaining momentum and laws are evolving rapidly across North America. Here are some changes that are likely coming in the future and what impacts they might have.
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Developers often have to jump through hoops to get their projects approved by a city. When a Costco branch in California was faced with lengthy waiting periods and public debate, it decided to take a different approach: adding 400,000 square feet of housing to its plans so it qualified for a faster regulatory process.
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When protesting zoning code reform, many people cite concerns about the character of a neighborhood changing. However, many neighborhoods only have their unique, treasured character because they were built before zoning ordinances were enacted.
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Cincinnati is currently undergoing a significant planning reformation effort, which involves unveiling what’s being called the Connected Communities plan. Joining us to talk about it is Cincinnati urban planner John Yung.
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“Abolish parking mandates? But won’t street parking be overrun, if developers aren’t required to provide adequate parking?” If you’ve been asking this question, then this article is for you.
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Many of the problems in our cities come down to a shortage in the budget—but the solution to this problem is staring us in the face.
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On July 17, 2023, Spokane City Council adopted an interim ordinance that makes off-street parking optional for all housing that’s within half a mile of a transit stop.
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Houston has long been a poster child for urban planning ills—but now it’s set to pass a revision of its land-use ordinances that could trigger a wave of construction for missing-middle housing.
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Colorado's governor is backing an ambitious plan to address the state’s housing, in a bill similar to ones passed in California and Oregon, and proposed in other states.
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Although they stand in very different parts of the country, these college towns are spearheading the push to eliminate harmful, longstanding land-use policies.
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For the sake of our cities and the people who live in them, it’s time we fundamentally rethink how we regulate land in America. Read about it in this excerpt from Nolan Gray’s new book, Arbitrary Lines.
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Oregon’s statewide land use board declared its support Thursday for rules that, among other things, reduce or remove parking mandates in 53 jurisdictions in the state’s eight largest metro areas.
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Flaky residential zoning has no place in a Strong Town!
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Storage facilities have no place in a productive, walkable downtown. Here’s a case study showing why, and how to deal with the problem.
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The question for a city with a history of embracing the suburban experiment is now, "Where should your energies be expended?"
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What’s missing from most comprehensive plans? Dollars and cents. Here’s a simple reform that will focus the conversation on development patterns that create real wealth.
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Many cities think they need to grow to get strong. But adding thousands of additional acres to the city and millions of dollars in infrastructure is usually the last thing a city needs. It’s like trying to lose weight by consuming more pizza and beer.
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