• Anticipated ‘car-free’ development moves forward

    Culdesac in Tempe, Arizona, a model community that combines urbanism with technology, is demonstrating an untapped demand for car-free living. Opticos Design won a merit award in the Emerging Projects category of CNU's 2021 Charter Awards.
    In one of the nation’s most automobile-dependent cities, a development is testing a new model of car-free living. The market is responding well: Phase one of Culdesac Tempe, due for completion by the end of 2021, is pre-leased, and more than three thousand people nationwide have expressed interest...Read more

  • An agile approach to multifamily in the pandemic

    A unique missing middle housing development in Papillion, Nebraska, shows how smaller increments of multifamily are beneficial in economically uncertain times.
    I recently picked up the phone to talk to Gerald S. Reimer, from Urban Waters based in Omaha, Nebraska, about the status of the ongoing construction of the 35-acre Missing Middle Neighborhood we planned for him . Jerry is finishing the last of three sub phases of the multifamily Bungalows On The...Read more

  • Best practices for ending exclusive single-family zoning

    Your city or state just allowed—or is considering allowing—multiple units on every lot. Here are six tips for successful implementation of the Missing Middle.
    Last year was a groundbreaking one for housing policy and legislation to enable Missing Middle Housing across cities and states. Minneapolis adopted a policy to allow up to three units on any lot, even those zoned for single-family. Oregon passed HB 2001, effectively eliminating exclusive single-...Read more

  • Gentle density: Making neighborhoods transit-ready

    Accessory dwellings can triple the density on a single-family lot while preserving the character of neighborhoods.
    Fayetteville, Arkansas, is a rapidly growing city—the largest in Northwest Arkansas, a region with major corporate headquarters including Walmart, and a major research university in the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is a low-density city with a large supply of single-family houses from the...Read more