Seems to Me That "Maybe" Pretty Much Always Means "No"

Flaky residential zoning has no place in a Strong Town!

An Alternative Approach to "Ramen" Development

How one West Virginia town is giving the City, developers, and residents the flexibility to build a stronger place.

Zoning, Success Story, Top StoryStrong TownsFebruary 9, 2021Form-Based Code, urban planning, success stories, member story, West Virginia

What Are Your “Three Wishes” for Your City?

Okay, here’s the game: Name the three things you would change in your city that would have the biggest impact.

#SlowtheCars, Zoning, Top StoryDJ SullivanJuly 13, 2020zoning, single-family, nashville, #SlowTheCars, Form-Based Code

6 Reasons Your City Needs a Form-Based Code

Your city's zoning code is like the DNA of your community. For most North American cities, that DNA is broken. Here are six reasons form-based code can help put our towns and cities back together again.

Zoning, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJune 8, 2020zoning, Smart Growth America, Form-Based Code

"A High School Education and an Hour of Your Time"

Those two things are all you should need to be able to make sense of your city's zoning code. At least that's the philosophy guiding South Bend, IN planners as they overhaul the city's regulations to be more legible and useful.

Building Design Requirements Are Sometimes Bad for Cities. But Abolishing Them All is Worse.

A new Arkansas law prohibits cities from regulating the design of single-family homes in almost all instances. This is a bad idea which takes away an important tool in a city’s toolkit to nurture strong, productive places.

Your Zoning Code Is Inherently Exclusionary (But It Doesn’t Have To Be)

If a local resident or business owner with a high school diploma can’t sit down and figure out what she can and cannot do with her property in less than an hour, the zoning regime is exclusionary. Here are five guidelines for making it more accessible to laypeople.

Zoning, Gray, Top StoryNolan GrayApril 3, 2019Form-Based Code, local government, planning profession

Savor Your Small Parcels, and Create More of Them

It matters what size chunks we build our cities in. Making room for many small-scale development projects on small lots is the universal historical model for a reason, and modern cities could stand to get back to it.

A Town Well Planned

If zoning codes are the primary tool in a planner's toolbox, that's a problem. Here's a three part system that would offer a better way for planners to design cities.

Dukes, Top Story, Zoning, Planning ProfessionAlexander DukesMarch 14, 2017Land Use, Form-Based Code, Street Design, town well planned

Placemakers

Chuck Marohn interviews Hazel Borys, Principal at Placemakers, along with some Placemakers clients about their experience developing form-based codes, improving walkability and dealing with the challenges of making change in small towns.