Understand how the physical characteristics of block size and street length distinguish American cities from earlier models of urbanism, and the implications of these physical characteristics for sustainability in the 21st century.
Understand how the physical characteristics of block size and street length distinguish American cities from earlier models of urbanism, and the implications of these physical characteristics for sustainability in the 21st century.
This course provides basic knowledge of the legal issues involved in sign codes, focusing on constitutionally-compliant sign codes in the aftermath of U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Reed v Town of Gilbert.
This course examines how input-output models contribute to economic impact analyses and presents examples of how economic impact analysis can be applied in a wide range of planning projects.
This course provides practical, solution-focused guidance for regulations that leverage digital sign technology while protecting community aesthetic values and safety concerns. This course is available for free.
This course provides a general understanding of macro level socio-economic and related business and industry trends likely to influence economic development plans and associated land use policies over the next twenty years.
The final course in the "Form-Based Codes 101" series explores citywide form-based coding—the assessment of an entire city to determine where form-based code application should occur.
This course explores the legal issues of creating and using a form-based code.
This course explores basic questions and decisions to consider when preparing a form-based code. It also covers the different approaches to regulating urban form and provides guidance for selecting an organizing principle for your form-based code. Finally, the course explains the visioning and creating of a plan, followed by drafting, testing, and assembling your code.
Downtowns are the historic center of most American cities. In this course, we will review their role in establishing the past and future character of the city, walking through a series of form-based code case studies across a range of scales and contexts.
Corridors have historically been a key element of the urban fabric of every American town and city, yet they are also commonly problematic. This course looks at the roots of the problem for examples of how corridors can be designed and coded.
This course introduces the essential elements of neighborhoods.
This course will teach you the skills to appreciate and analyze the measures and functions of good urbanism.
In this course we will define form-based codes, explain why they were invented, and distinguish them from conventional "use-based" zoning ordinances—all with an emphasis on placemaking and walkability. We will provide an overview of the development of form-based codes, their mandatory and optional component parts, and the importance of making form-based codes context or place-specific.
Communities regulate the characteristics of signs to achieve multiple goals, such as limiting driver distraction, maintaining the aesthetic character of the community, and implementing aspects of related plans. This course will show participants how to draft—and adopt—sign ordinances that accomplish those purposes while conforming with the First Amendment.
This course will provide practical tips for developing local zoning and licensing regulations for sexually oriented businesses. This course builds on material from Part 1 of this two-part series.
This course shows how to lay the foundation for ordinances that mitigate the negative effects of sex businesses while conforming with constitutional requirements under the First Amendment.
The final course in the Urban Design for Planners series addresses the automobile as part of the urban fabric. The storage of cars and high levels of congestion can be very detrimental to neighborhoods, but good design can mitigate those negative effects.
Reforming minimum parking requirements is one of the most effective ways to support Smart Growth. This course explains the many problems created by the parking regulation status quo before presenting a process for reform, providing examples of parking management tools, and discussing strategies for dealing with political and stakeholder issues.
This course will explore two related concepts: proximity and density. Design can help enhance proximities among people, goods, and services. Density, if designed well, can be a community asset by increasing proximities between people, goods and services.
Planners often argue that neighborhoods should be socially and economically diverse—mixed in income, mixed in use, and actively supportive of places that commingle people of different races, ethnicities, genders, ages, occupations, and households. The objective in this course is to evaluate land-use diversity in a neighborhood and propose design interventions that support and enhance a healthy mix.