Historic Preservation
Opinion: Form-Based Codes Could Harm Seattle’s Housing Affordability
Form-based zoning codes can encourage mixed-use development and walkable neighborhoods, but focusing too much on aesthetic elements can drive up the cost of housing.
D.C. Preservation Board Includes Parking Lot in Historic Designation
The decision to protect a non-historic parking lot as part of designating an adjacent historic bank building is being derided by critics as another form of exclusionary zoning.
Los Angeles Reveals New Citywide Adaptive Reuse Proposal
An adaptive reuse ordinance limited to the city’s downtown core helped create roughly 12,000 units of new housing.
Save the Clocktower! Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Chair Sara Bronin Joins The Planning Commission Podcast
Sara Bronin was recently appointed by President Biden to chair the ACHP. In this episode she takes us back to the future on what historic preservation means to American cities and what planners can do to balance preservation with contemporary needs.
Restoring the Vacant Middle: Creating Middle Housing Through Historic Preservation
How flexible zoning in historic districts can support preservation and create affordable housing.
‘Facadism:’ Historical Preservation, Fakery—or a Little of Both?
Developers in cities like Oakland, California are turning to vintage architectural elements to inform building renovations, but this repackaging is far from traditional preservation work.
Seattle Historic District Could Remove Street Dining
Despite the popularity of Ballard Avenue’s outdoor dining pergolas, some district board members argue the patios don’t match the district’s historic character.
Manhattan Preservation Groups Block New Development—On a ‘Historic’ Parking Lot
A judge ruled against a decision by the Landmarks Preservation Commission to approve a 324-tower in the South Street Seaport Historic District, highlighting the tensions in a city facing a dearth of affordable housing.
Proposed ‘Conservation Districts’ Could Change Preservation in Houston
The proposed model could be a new tool for preserving historic neighborhoods with more flexibility and with a focus on reducing displacement and addressing community concerns.
Whose History Is Being Preserved, Exactly?
As the housing crisis continues, advocates are increasingly wary of historic preservation efforts that serve to perpetuate historic inequities and keep housing costs high.
What Is an Overlay District?
A zoning overlay district superimposes an additional set of regulations over an existing zoning district, or multiple zoning districts.
Redevelopment Threatens Iconic, Affordable Chicago Homes
The ‘workers’ cottages’ are being replaced with larger, more expensive homes, threatening one of the city’s original forms of affordable housing.
Maine Passes Zoning Reform Laws
The state legislature passed two bills, one supporting accessory dwelling units and another incentivizing adaptive reuse, aimed at boosting housing affordability.
Another Silicon Valley Town Tries To Sidestep State Density Law
Palo Alto could designate more than one hundred properties as historic in an attempt to prevent lot splitting permitted under a new state law designed to lightly increase residential density.
How Cities Are Resisting State Efforts To Increase Density
Cities are attempting to wrest back local control over land use and zoning via some ingenious—and sometimes disingenuous—strategies.
Opinion: New Construction Is Safer, Better for the Environment
The emotional attachment to old homes can obscure the benefits of new buildings, which consume less energy and provide more amenities for residents.
'Demodelphia' Hiring More Preservationists
To protect more historic properties from rampant demolition, Philadelphia is staffing up its historic preservation department.
Historic Preservation Appeal Could Delay Penn Station Redevelopment
New York State's Historic Preservation Office has moved to place the notorious Penn Station on the National Register of Historic Places, potentially upending redevelopment plans.
A Fight For the Future of People's Park
Community groups are fighting a plan to build student housing in the historic People's Park.
Growth and Heritage Colliding in San Antonio
As demand for real estate grows, residents in the city's historic neighborhoods face rising costs and the threat of displacement.
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.
