Opinion: What San Francisco proposes “family zoning” really means
In the San Francisco Standard Opinion article, Thomas Getz invites readers to literally bring San Francisco Mayor Dan Lully’s “family zoning” proposal. Accepting that the proposal could be “verbal window dressing to pave the way for dense zoning and widespread development,” Getz argues that “family zoning” could mean something entirely. The “Family Zoning” concept provides […]
Frederick Wiseman: The biggest chronicler of the city of cinema
Imagine a city council meeting. Everything is brown or gray, and the furniture looks antique. One has members of the council, and the other has their members. These meetings take place every day around the United States, whether fewer than a dozen or hundreds of others appear. There are topics to discuss, claims to pass, […]
Adaptive Reuse Creates Homes in Suburban Texas Strip Malls
The strip mall redevelopment project in a small Texas town shows how to reuse extra parking to create new homes. According to an article in Tiffany Owens Reed’s Parking Reform Network, the Adaptive Reuse project is a partnership between progressive real estate developers and Habitat for Humanity, building 16 affordable townhouse units on the site. […]
Investigation: Anti-homelessness laws don’t work
New analysis of camp bans and punitive anti-homelessness measures shows that it is not helpful in reducing actual homelessness. As Roshan Abraham explains in the following city, “In this study, the study used data derived from the Continuums of Care to examine the impact of ordinances enacted in the 100 most populous US cities from […]
In the US, urban gondolas face uphill battles
“For all its usefulness at Mammoths, Bale, Jackson Hole and Disney World, Gondolas has become accustomed to urban transport in the US. According to an article by Josh Stevens in Intranting Magazine, “The gondolas have taken hold in Latin America, where Colombia, Mexico City and Bolivia La Paz revolutionized mountain mobility, but is a densely […]
Trump encourages restructuring of the Transport Research Committee with “Unprecedented Overreach”
The Transport Research Committee (TRB), the transportation division of the National Academy of Sciences, is restructured to avoid scrutiny from the Trump administration, and is announcing the dissolution of committees related to climate, sustainability, equity and cities. David Meyer reports on changes to Streetsblog USA. According to an email sent to committee members by TRB […]
San Antonio and Austin are fused into one giant megalegion
The central Texas region between Austin and San Antonio is growing into one metropolitan area, Jared Bray rules. Small towns dotted across the area between the two cities are exploding with new developments. One such town, Cedar Park has grown from 5,000 in 1990 to more than 77,000 today. According to Bray, “From July 2023 […]
In the California housing battle and environment, housing won
California’s new state law could exacerbate the housing crisis and overturn important environmental review laws that some critics have denounced for blocking or delaying the construction of necessary homes. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) has historically been one of the most powerful tools for environmentalists, historic preservationists and others (including Nimby activists), and is […]
Boulder eliminates city-wide parking minimal
Colorado City Council Boulder voted unanimously to eliminate parking requirements for the new development. The ordinance requires a final vote and is expected to come into effect in August. According to an article in the John Herrick for Boulder Report Lab, “The change aims to reduce the costs of building homes and opening businesses, but […]
Orange County, Florida, uses the largest “sprol repair” code in the United States
Orange County, Florida, employs what could be the nation’s largest form-based code (FBC). The “Orange Code” was adopted simultaneously with the county’s Vision 2050 comprehensive plan, as it is called. “The code covers land with around 900,000 residents in the unintegrated area of Orange County, and is designed to accommodate and directly improve growth towards […]