• Pre-approved accessory units streamline small-scale infill

    Seattle, which adopted one of the nation’s most progressive accessory dwelling unit (ADU) ordinances for cities, has taken this idea a step further by streamlining plans and designs that work. In late 2019, Seattle approved an ordinance that allows up to two ADUs on single-family lots, which make...Read more

  • Ford promotes street grids

    A town in Texas is on the leading edge of a trend to bring back the practical, efficient street networks for new development.
    What do huge metropolises and small towns have in common? Their downtowns are laid out on a grid of streets, according to a video called The City Grid Comeback, which has garnered more than 450,000 views on You Tube. The video focuses on Bastrop, Texas, a town that changed its land-use laws in 2019...Read more

  • A parking lot and a plaza

    The Memphis Medical District is a 2.6-square-mile area that has gained plenty of jobs, but has lost most of its population in the last 50 years. The area has loads of institutional buildings and surface parking lots, and many underutilized blocks. The city and the institutions are trying to...Read more

  • Turning a ‘stroad’ into a street

    “Stroad” is a term coined by Strong Towns’ Chuck Marohn to describe the poorly designed commercial streets found in conventional suburban environments across America. These thoroughfares are part street, part road, hence the name stroad, and perform neither function very well. Redesigning such...Read more