McMansions & the Geometry of Zoning
An overview of some of the regulatory approaches to dealing with McMansions, including a look at the design review process implemented in Stonington, Connecticut.
Housing & Development
Articles and postings on a wide range of housing and development issues — from affordability to the relationship of housing to transportation.
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21 Bright Ideas: Special Issue of the Planning Commissioners Journal
Our Winter and Spring 2006 issues featured 25 bright ideas on a wide range of topics — ranging from walkable neighborhoods to meeting workforce housing needs, from commissioners “on tour” to how art can transform a street.
The Changing Face of Manufactured Housing
There has been an evolution in manufactured housing: from mobile homes to homes that are hard to distinguish from traditional, site-built designs.
Homeowners Associations
There has been an explosion in the number of homeowners associations in the past decade. A look at some of the benefits and disadvantages of homeowners associations, and how their rules are shaping the lives of a growing number of people.
The New “Active Adult” Housing
Marketed as “a common sense alternative for single-family home ownership for those over 55 years of age” providing “maintenance free living” “close to family and friends” with activities “all right at your doorstep.” That’s part of the pitch for “active adult” communities, a rapidly growing segment of the housing market.
Improving the Subdivision Review Process
Too often planning commission and neighborhood involvement comes only after costly subdivision drawings have already been prepared. Randall Arendt on three key steps in shifting to a more proactive review process.
Why Not in Our Back Yard?
Almost all of us have faced locally unwanted land uses. However, these “LULUs” are usually designed to provide vital community services. How your community can harmonize its housing and social service needs with the objections of neighborhood opponents.
Understanding HUD’s Consolidated Plan Requirement
For most medium and larger cities and counties, HUD requires the preparation of what’s called a “Consolidated Plan.” How planners can use the Consolidated Plan as a to better address the needs of low income residents.
Providing Affordable Housing
Our housing problems are not limited to the poor. People from all walks of life often have to pay well beyond their means for their home. An overview of ways in which state and local officials can spur the development of affordable housing.
Building Codes Get Smarter
Building codes often make it financially infeasible to rehabilitate older — often historic — buildings by requiring rehab work to meet the same standards as new construction. This approach is changing as states and localities are adopting more flexible building codes.
Barriers to Better Development
Despite a growing number of innovative development projects around the country, PCJ columnist Ed McMahon still finds a number of persistent barriers to better development.
New Development, Traditional Patterns
A dramatic shift in the design and layout of new developments has begun to take hold in cities across North America. Called new urbanism, this movement draws on older patterns of development. Planning reporter Philip Langdon provides an introduction to new urbanism.
Why is Everybody So Mad About Development?
Why has fighting development become a national pastime? Edward McMahon takes a hard look at this question, and offers some suggestions for both developers and planners to consider.
