In an effort to increase housing production and bring down housing costs, the city council approved a resolution calling for reduced lot sizes and higher density in single-family neighborhoods.
![Colorful "atx" sign in front of Whole Foods store in Austin, Texas](/files/styles/featured_small/public/images/AdobeStock_366331489_Editorial_Use_Only.jpeg.webp?itok=tsYuCQZ-)
The Austin City Council moved to reduce minimum lot sizes and increase density in residential neighborhoods, reports Mike Christen in the Austin Business Journal. The proposal calls for a reduction in minimum lot size from 5,750 square feet to 2,500 square feet or less, and a code change allowing for up to three residential units on one lot without preserving existing buildings.
As Christen explains, “Austin is falling behind on goals outlined in its Strategic Housing Blueprint, adopted in 2017, to create 135,000 homes within 10 years.”
“The resolution approved by City Council also calls for the creation of new site development regulations that would facilitate the creation of smaller lots in areas zoned for residential use. And it calls for adjustments to regulations for setbacks, height, impervious cover and floor-to-area ratio, eliminating minimum site area and building coverage requirements and methods to mitigate potential runoff from the increase in impervious cover that the changes will create.”
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‘Forward Together’ Bus System Redesign Rolling Out in Portland
Portland is redesigning its bus system to respond to the changing patterns of the post-pandemic world—with twin goals of increasing ridership and improving equity.
![An aerial view of Milwaukee’s Third Ward.](/files/styles/small_400/public/images/Milwaukee-Third-Ward.jpeg.webp?itok=ThTZMA1Z 1200w,
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Plan to Potentially Remove Downtown Milwaukee’s Interstate Faces Public Scrutiny
The public is weighing in on a suite of options for repairing, replacing, or removing Interstate 794 in downtown Milwaukee.
![Conceptual rendering of Rikers Island redevelopment as renewable energy facility](/files/styles/small_400/public/images/Screenshot%202023-08-23%20at%2011-49-44%20ARTICLE%20Green%20Future%20for%20Rikers.png.webp?itok=d6m2GusQ 1200w,
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Can New York City Go Green Without Renewable Rikers?
New York City’s bold proposal to close the jail on Rikers Island and replace it with green infrastructure is in jeopardy. Will this compromise the city’s ambitious climate goals?
![A rendering of the Utah City master planned, mixed-use development.](
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700-Acre Master-Planned Community Planned in Utah
A massive development plan is taking shape for lakefront property in Vineyard, Utah—on the site of a former U.S. Steel Geneva Works facility.
![A line of cars wait at the drive-thru window of a starbucks.](
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More Cities Ponder the End of Drive-Thrus
Drive-thru fast food restaurants might be a staple of American life, but several U.S. cities are actively considering prohibiting the development of new drive-thrus for the benefit of traffic safety, air quality, and congestion.
![Air pollution is visible in the air around high-rise buildings in Dhaka, Bangladesh.](
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Air Pollution World’s Worst Public Health Threat, Report Says
Air pollution is more likely to take years life off the lifespan of the average human than any other external factor, according to a recent report out of the University of Chicago.
Placer County
City of Morganton
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Dongguan Binhaiwan Bay Area Management Committee
City of Waukesha, WI
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Indiana Borough
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