• Keys to creating lovable community gardens

    Although community gardens are often the most unkempt area of the neighborhood, there is no reason that they can't be beautiful—and here are some ideas to make them so.
    Community gardens today are far too often the rattiest and most unkempt places in a neighborhood; anything worse would get cited by the city as a public nuisance. Part of the problem is the fact that vegetable gardens have long been considered utilitarian, something worthy of similar aesthetic...Read more

  • Statewide code reform is a good idea

    Although zoning was adopted locally, state legislation is helping to revise community land-use codes for the 21st Century.
    Many states—Oregon, California, Michigan, Minnesota, and Vermont—have either adopted or are moving forward with legislation that loosens the restrictions on “missing middle housing”—defined as small multifamily units that are similar in scale and compatible alongside single-family dwellings. State...Read more

  • Festival spotlights urbanism films from around the world

    Better Cities Film Festival, formerly New Urbanism Film Festival, will screen 81 films on urbanism from 25 countries.
    The Better Cities Film Festival will be taking place virtually, “live from Detroit,” and showcasing 81 films from more than 25 countries—all centered around cities and urbanism—on October 8-11. Films range from one- or two-minute shorts to some that are more than an hour in length. The judges...Read more

  • Golden State joins code reform movement

    Enabling missing middle housing and compact neighborhoods are at the heart of land-use reforms in many states and cities.
    California is the latest state to move forward with legislation that will promote more “missing middle housing” on what are now single-family lots throughout the state. The missing middle consists of various low-rise multifamily dwellings that are compatible with, and resemble, single-family homes...Read more