• Legislation advances for zoning reform, pre-approved plans, pattern books and more

    Senators propose federal support for pro-urbanist ideas including local zoning reform, pre-approved plans, infill, and transit-oriented development.
    The ROAD to Housing Act 2025, which was passed unanimously by the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee on July 29, includes support for federally funded pattern books, pre-reviewed plans, zoning reform, streamlined infill housing, and transit-oriented development. The bipartisan...Read more

  • Washington flips the switch on parking reform

    State legislation takes a new approach to removing parking mandates—one that is far more comprehensive.
    Today, I am covering something that happened two months ago, as I was preparing for CNU, so I didn’t have time to report on it then. However, it is important enough to revisit now. The State of Washington adopted a new approach to statewide parking reform that the Sightline Institute calls “the...Read more

  • Guide for infill, pre-approved building plans

    An Ohio guidebook for facilitating infill development offers clear instructions for zoning reform and pre-approved plans, in addition to specific infill building plans.
    The median house sale price in Ohio is about $250,000 , which doesn’t sound too bad—it is 49th in the nation in housing costs. Still, home prices have doubled in the Buckeye State in the last 10 years, so Ohio is not immune to the nationwide housing affordability crisis, especially in communities...Read more

  • Making urbanism easier through regulatory reform

    A flurry of Texas measures will streamline approvals and reduce costs for compact, mixed-use urbanism. Here’s how it is being done.
    The housing crisis is inspiring creative land use regulatory reforms at the state and municipal level that align with good urban planning. Recent reforms in the Lone Star State “could drastically change the face of development” in Dallas and other Texas cities, according to Dallas-based developer...Read more