Allowing housing units to be built on small or irregular lots is a gamechanger for cities that are fighting the housing crisis. Here’s why that allowance is so important and how three developers are using small units and creativity to bring more housing options to their communities.
Read MoreToday, host Abby Newsham is joined by Norm Van Eeden Petersman, the director of membership and development for Strong Towns, to discuss a recent resurgence of interest in mixed-use neighborhoods that has led some cities to allow for small corner stores even in residential-only neighborhoods.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreIn this episode of Upzoned, host Abby Newsham is joined by small-scale developers Alli Quinlan and Bernice Radle to discuss their experiences as advice as incremental developers.
Read MoreLand 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.
Read MoreSince enacting broad housing reforms in 2019, Durham, North Carolina, has been experiencing an explosion of missing-middle housing and housing affordability. Here are the main reforms the city enacted and how they're helping it fight the housing crisis.
Read MoreThe practice of "grandfathering in" old buildings — letting them exist without meeting current building codes — is a good one. However, buildings lose this protected status if their owners perform renovations or additions, resulting in many buildings declining or sitting empty. It doesn't have to be this way.
Read MoreRegulatory reform doesn’t always mean replacing or changing zoning codes. Great designers are experts at working within existing codes to increase housing options, and this method is often more attainable and scalable than actually changing the code. Here’s one such example of using existing code to create incremental housing.
Read MoreChange can be scary and off-putting, and the construction of houses that don’t fit into an existing neighborhood — in this case because of size — can be a source of tension. But a change in neighborhood scale can be a good thing, as larger houses allow for important flexibility in housing options, like multigenerational and multifamily living.
Read MoreWhen 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.
Read MoreCan your city escape the housing trap simply through blanket rezoning? How should your city handle historic designations that are blocking housing development? Strong Towns President Chuck Marohn answers these questions and more in this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast.
Read MoreIncremental development is a low-risk, high-reward method of building a strong town. Here’s some do’s and don’ts to get you started.
Read MoreConnecticut is trying to reform state and local zoning laws to allow diverse and affordable housing production. However, their efforts still rely on the suburban approach — accruing large amounts of debt in anticipation of future growth — so they may be doomed to failure.
Read MoreIn 2017, California passed a law that was supposed to open up new levels of incremental development. But in many cities, zoning codes still make that development near-impossible. The city of Ukiah is working to change that.
Read MoreA bill to legalize certain forms of “missing middle” housing statewide in Minnesota appears dead in the legislature. Yet, here are 4 reasons why it’s still not a total loss.
Read MoreNorfolk, NE, knows that people are the indicator species of a successful place, and it’s doing all it can to make its public spaces friendly to its people.
Read MoreThere is nothing inspirational in calling the place you live as accessory to something else. It’s time we returned a sense of dignity to the smaller structures that people have called “home” for generations.
Read MoreFor the first time this year, I attended the YIMBYTown conference, the annual gathering of the YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard) movement. Here were my impressions.
Read MoreLike so many other places, the city of Kalamazoo, MI, has been facing a cascade of housing challenges. Here’s how they’re tackling them using pre-approved housing plans.
Read MoreSacramento City Council has unanimously approved a set of changes that will allow the California capital to meet its housing demands.
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