…a requirement of single-family-only zoning districts. Moreover, as time would prove, the courts would not look favorably on attempts by municipalities to specify conditions of occupancy (rental, ownership, lease, etc.) in their zoning codes. Even…
Planning historian Laurence Gerckens provides an overview of the origins of zoning in America….
Planning historian Laurence Gerckens provides an overview of how water has shaped the development of American cities….
Vision is imagination capable of inspiring planners and builders to respect the works of today, while moving forward with greater visions of the community of tomorrow. Planning historian Laurence Gerckens offers three examples….
…this practice resulted in concentric bands of increasing exclusion, with low and moderate income citizens unable to afford homes in lower-density perimeter residential areas. Editor’s note: for more detail on this, see Gerckens’ PCJ article,…
The term “urban sprawl” commonly denotes a condition of unplanned, uncoordinated, and generally low density development spreading outward from the city center. Sprawl is not just a modern phenomenon. In a sense, American sprawl began…
A community’s comprehensive plan is not just a file cabinet full of plans for future streets; parks and recreation; housing; fire protection; environmental protection; historic preservation; land use zoning; sewers; ground drainage and flood protection;…
…with major streets bounding neighborhoods one-half mile apart, and no through traffic. Residential densities generated by apartment and row house units resulted in a sufficient school-child-age population to support an elementary school within a quarter-mile…
Accurate and up-to-date maps are the foundation for all community and regional planning. The starting point for mapping has long been the display of streets and property lines on plats. But by the early 20th…
The public aspects of cities include not only services (i.e., police and fire protection, education, and protection of the public health) but also things (i.e., capital goods) that require labor, materials, and finance to bring…
Concerns for the health and safety of children were central components of ideal urban structure theories of the early twentieth century. Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City, promoted in his book To morrow, a Peaceful Path to…
…street; and minimum right-of-way, paving widths, and street curvature for new streets. They also required the “dedication” of the land in street rights-of-way to the public. It was not long before communities were expanding this…
…use of “performance” controls (or standards). Such controls involve setting measurable maximum standards for perimeter impacts, such as light, sound, smell, sight, vibration, and traffic. Many uses now allowed only in industrial zones have virtually…
