Austin
Austin’s ‘Affordability Unlocked’ Initiative Faces Lawsuit
A group of 18 plaintiffs is suing to overturn the city of Austin’s “Affordability Unlocked” planning initiative.
Report: Why It Costs so Much to Build Housing in Austin
The study highlights high real estate costs as well as restrictive zoning regulations and building requirements that delay multi-family construction.
Letter Reveals Changes to I-35 Expansion Plan in Austin
In addition to new HOV lanes and a proposed boardwalk, TxDOT agreed to engineer the freeway for caps in some areas, but the city would have to fund their construction.
Austin Could Reduce Minimum Lot Sizes
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.
Zoning Reform Proposed in Austin
Proposed changes would create more room for mid-density housing and shift away from single-family homes on large lots.
Austin Council Proposes Multi-Family Affordable Housing Program
The proposal would permit larger buildings on single-family lots.
Report: Austin’s State Roads Deadlier Than City Roads
Traffic fatalities and serious injuries grew on state-owned roads in the Texas capital, even as city-owned streets saw death rates plateau.
As Central Texas Population Grows, So Does Fire Risk
Sprawl in and around Austin is contributing to growing wildfire risks, and local officials worry about a lack of public awareness of the issue.
Texas Attorney General Calls Project Connect Funding Scheme Illegal
The massive transit project’s unique funding scheme could run afoul of state law.
Austin as a Model for Parking Reform
The Texas capital’s new parking law signals a shift in thinking about the relationship between land use, transportation, and housing affordability.
Austin Eliminates Parking Requirements
After eliminating downtown parking requirements ten years ago, the city will now end minimum parking mandates citywide.
Austin Employs Team to Help Residents Avoid Displacement
The city’s new Displacement Prevention Navigators will conduct outreach and assist with finding resources to help cost-burdened residents at risk of losing their housing stay in their homes.
Austin’s Project Connect Faces More Hurdles
Two proposed bills in the Texas state legislature call for more voter oversight of the mass transit project, which could imperil the transit expansion approved by voters in 2020.
New Zoning Category Proposed in Austin
The ‘town zoning’ category would create more flexibility and encourage developers to build more affordable, transit-oriented housing.
Austin Could Eliminate Parking Minimums for Bars
Proponents of the resolution say the city’s parking mandates encourage drunk driving and drive up construction costs for small businesses.
Controversial Highway Widening Breaks Ground in Austin
Texas’ transportation priorities were on display in March—a few days after the gutting of a transit plan, a highway expansion broke ground depite years of local opposition.
Street Trees as Climate Resilience
An Austin-based urban designer explains how protecting and encouraging the planting of street trees will make the city more resilient to increasingly common extreme heat events, among many other benefits.
Austin’s Project Connect Transit Plan Drastically Reduced
The details of drastic reductions to the proposed building program for Austin’s Project Connect long-range transit plan are now open for public comment.
Texas Legislation Would Add More Roadblocks for Transit Funding in Austin
A former Austin city councilmember, now at the Texas State Legislature, is trying to make it harder for Austin Transit Partnership to borrow money to fund Project Connect, the Austin region’s big, ambitious transit investment plan.
Revisions Looming, Austin’s Project Connect Reveals the Obstacles of Transit Planning in 2023
A once sprawling and singularly ambitious capital investment plan for the Capital Metro system will soon be reduced in size and scope. The episode is more evidence of an emerging era of transit planning austerity.
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
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
