California's SB 9: A Slow Reversion to the Historic Mean

California's Senate Bill 9 has sparked controversy, mainly among owners of single-family homes. But are we returning to historic forms of housing anyway, with or without state legislation?

Housing, Member Post, Sanphillippo, Zoning, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoNovember 1, 2021Housing, California, San Francisco, Granola Shotgun, zoning, housing policy, duplex, ADUs

Regulating by Use

What kind of zoning reform do we need in order to build strong towns?

Upzoned, Podcast, Zoning, Top StoryStrong TownsOctober 27, 2021Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, upzoned, zoning, local regulation, housing, Housing, amazon, Amazon

Paths of Greater Resistance

Incremental development today is far from the path of least resistance. To do it, you'll need the ability to navigate dozens of regulatory barriers.

Multigenerational Living Isn't Immigrant Culture, It's Human Culture

Living with extended family is something Americans often associate with immigrant households. But why?

Housing, Suburban Experiment, Zoning, Top StoryShina ShayestehOctober 5, 2021family, multi-family, single-family, Single, immigrants, immigration, housing, Housing, Social Isolation, zoning

The Secret Sauce (Maybe) of California's Zoning Reform

SB 9 just passed in California, effectively ending single-family zoning there. The open question is, "What now?" Will anything actually change?

Herriges, Housing, ZoningDaniel HerrigesSeptember 29, 2021zoning, California, single-family, housing, Housing, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, duplex, fourplex

Zoning and "Bigness"

Big, complicated zoning codes create an environment that gives developers no smaller-scale competition.

Housing, Small Scale Developers, Zoning, Top StoryAddison Del MastroSeptember 13, 2021zoning, housing, developers, Development, Addison Del Mastro

You Need to Know About Walla Walla, Washington

This small city in Washington has been quietly making some very big zoning changes…

Upzoned, Podcast, Success Story, Zoning, Top StoryStrong TownsAugust 18, 2021Podcast, Upzoned, zoning, single-family, Washington

The Question Every City Should Be Asking

Let’s #DoTheMath in Ramsey County, Minnesota.

#DotheMath, Suburban Experiment, Suburban Poverty, Zoning, Davis, Top StorySarah DavisAugust 4, 2021Value Per Acre, Urban3, Minnesota, St. Paul, suburban development pattern, traditional development pattern, #DoTheMath

When The Treatment Perpetuates the Disease

In 2016, Portland enacted an Inclusionary Housing policy affecting buildings of 20+ units. The result? The city now has a bunch of new 19-unit buildings. Let’s talk about intervening in a system as complex and adaptive as the housing market.

Herriges, Housing, Strategies, Zoning, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJuly 7, 2021Top-down Tools series, housing, housing crisis, housing policy, zoning, top-down

The Best "New" Ideas in Planning Are All Old News

A lot of supposedly "innovative" proposals are for things that have long existed in neighborhoods, but you wouldn't know it based on the language that planners use.

Herriges, Neighborhoods, Planning Profession, Zoning, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJune 22, 2021urban planning, Neighborhoods, zoning, Scranton, Pennsylvania, photos

The Cost of Adaptation Is Too Damn High

One of the realities about cities is that they change—but in America, most cities are trapped in a regulatory environment that makes change extremely costly.

Member Post, Zoning, Suburban Experiment, Neighborhoods, Top StoryTiffany OwensJune 15, 2021local regulation, resilience, neighborhood change, fragility, zoning

Missing Middle and My Grandmother

The benefits to a bottom-up approach to affordable housing don’t just build wealth and resilience; they can be deeply personal, too.

Housing, Zoning, Member Post, Top StoryMarlene DrukerMay 7, 2021housing, housing affordability, housing cost, housing policy, bottom-up

Pretextual Planning is Absolutely Everywhere

In the history of urban planning and zoning, pretext has often been used to achieve unstated goals, with (at best) questionable public purposes.

Herriges, Local Government, Planning Profession, Race, Zoning, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesApril 29, 2021urban planning, local regulation, local government, race

Widening the Discussion about Boxy Buildings

Many critiques of “boxy buildings” focus on aesthetics. But the big problem isn’t so much the shape as the scale.

Zoning, Architecture, Top StoryBrian WilliamsMarch 30, 2021Columbus, Ohio, zoning, architecture

Have You Met This Guy?

If “That Guy” is at every public hearing, there's something wrong with how your city is doing development.

Cost of Development, Zoning, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesMarch 17, 2021development, Law, zoning

Will 2021 Be the Year Zoning Reform Reaches Critical Mass?

Something remarkable is happening this year in City Halls across America.

Housing, Herriges, Zoning, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesMarch 4, 2021zoning, missing middle, housing

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, West Virgnia, urban planning, success stories, member story

Strong Towns by Street and Block

If broad upzoning often fails due to political resistance, the solution may be to allow for more localized decision making.

Zoning, Top StoryJohn MyersFebruary 4, 2021upzoning, zoning

Did Sacramento Just Approve the Best Local Housing Reform Yet?

There are only a couple reforms Strong Towns recommends unequivocally for every town and city. Sacramento just passed both of them…unanimously…in one evening.