Other Land Use Planning Resources

PLANetizen features daily news, announcements and other resources broadly relating to national urban planning and development. PLANetizen has issued its 2003 list of the 50 best websites for urban planners and developers, based on nominations by PLANetizen readers and judged against a common set of criteria.The list is divided into ten categories.

Active Living by Design
A national program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and part of the UNC School of Public Health in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, this program will establish and evaluate innovative approaches to increase physical activity through community design, public policies and communications strategies. The program offers Community Partnership grants to and holds an annual conference.

Built Environment Center 
The Built Environment Center (BEC) is an electronic workplace and a forum for information and services regarding urban and community development, buildings and facilities, infrastructure, and open space in the built environment. Each division includes: online resources, forums, and a project workplace. . 

The Community Transformations section of the Sierra Club website features computer-generated simulations of of various smart growth principles and practices. The page has scenarios from a half dozen cities in California and Colorado. The simulations are the work of Steve Price of Urban Advantage, which includes additional images for envisioning smart growth.

Environmental Justice Resource Center
This Center at Clark Atlanta University has a National Equity and Smart Growth Initiative that is designed to explore social equity issues as smart growth solutions are sought for transportation, housing and other environmental problems.

The Growth Management Institute 
Encourages effective and equitable management of growth and change in human habitats. 

Lincoln Institute of Land Policy  
Brings together varying points of view to expand the body of useful knowledge with the objectives of improving land policy. 

Local Government Commission  
Helps local governments and community leaders be proactive in their land use and transportation planning, and adopt programs and policies that lead to more livable and resource-efficient land use patterns

National Association for Local Government Environmental Professionals 
Brings together local environmental officials to network and share information on innovative environmental practices. Offers programs on Brownfield Redevelopment and Smart Growth.

National Geographic Online features a multimedia "virtual" tour of a New Urbanist neighborhood as part of a feature on sprawl and the alternatives to it. The feature includes an annotated image gallery and an accompanying article.

Oregon Land Use Information Center  
Provides information about Oregon's acclaimed land use program.

Pennsylvania Growing Smarter
Provides Technical Assistance, Financial Assistance and Education tools for community leaders which will support wise decisions about land use and will encourage economic development, a healthy environment, and strong communities.

Planning and Architecture Internet Resource Site  
Provides a comprehensive directory of Internet resources relevant to planning, architecture, urbanism and other topics related to the built environment. 

Smart Growth Alliance
A collaborative partnership of business, civic, developer, and environmental interests in the Washington, DC area runs recognition programs for projects that exemplify Smart Growth or Land Conservation.

Sprawl Net  
Uses the multimedia capabilities of the World Wide Web to collect information, ideas, and opinions about the contemporary sprawling landscape, and encourages interested people from a wide variety of fields to work together. 

Sources: An Annotated Bibliography for California Planners   
An annotated bibliography for California planners from the California Governor’s office of Planning and Research 

The Smarter Land Use Project
Provides a viable way to improve the quality of proposed land developments in settled areas. The result of 12 years of philanthropically funded participation in more than 500 contentious meetings between neighbors of proposed projects, planning boards, environmental groups, and developers, the procedures outlined on the website redirect the energy of confrontation and distrust to effective collaboration. Focused on community development and neighborhood enhancement, the research with 48 proposed developments has yielded the Project Integration Procedure.

Trust for Public Land  
Conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, gardens, natural areas and open space. 

Urban Ecology
Develops and communicates innovative alternatives to the ways we plan and build. 

Urban Land Institute  
Provides responsible leadership in the use of land in order to enhance the total environment. 

Walkable Communities 
Helps whole communities, whether they are large cities or small towns, or parts of communities, i.e. neighborhoods, business districts, parks, school districts, subdivisions, specific roadway corridors, etc., become more walkable and pedestrian friendly. 

Books/Publications 

Alternatives to Sprawl, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 1995. 
A report summarizing the comments, ideas, and research findings presented at a conference entitled "Alternatives to Sprawl," sponsored by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Balanced Growth: A Planning Guide for Local Government, ICMA Publications, 0-87326-081-3. 

Best Development Practices, APA Planners Press, ISBN 1884829104. 
Profiles case examples of some of today's most acclaimed developments to demonstrate ways of creating vibrant, livable communities. 

Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0195036107. 
Examines the transformation of the suburbs from their origin in 1820 until present day.  Discusses suburban communities in every section of the country as well as making comparisons with Europe and Japan. 

Ecologically Based Municipal Land Use Planning, CRC Press, 1999, ISBN 1566704065.
"Provides nuts and bolts solutions for controlling urban sprawl, emphasizing the integration of federal, state, and local land use plans. It discusses ecological resources and provides practical solutions that municipal planners can implement immediately. It discusses the most recent scientific data, how to extract what is important, and how to apply it to the local land planning process." For information on ordering, call 1-800-272-7737.

Home From Nowhere, 1996, Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-684-81196-0 
A call for restoration of traditional architecture and town planning based on enduring principles of design. An article by author James Howard Kunstler, also titled "Home from Nowhere," is posted by The Atlantic Online.

Landscape and Urban Planning: An International Journal of Landscape Ecology, Landscape Planning, and Landscape Design, Elsevier, ISSN 0169-2046. 
A journal concerned with conceptual, scientific, and design approaches to land use. Presents issues dealing with ecological processes and interactions within urban areas, and between these areas and the surrounding natural systems which support them. 

Managing Growth in America's  Communities, Island Press, ISBN 1-55963-442-1. 
Presents practical information about proven strategies, programs and techniques of growth management for urban and rural communities. 

Models of Livable Places 
A series of 13 publications on model projects and livable places. Each four page publication includes illustrations, plans, financing and cost data, project developer profiles, elements for success, and key contacts. Available from the Center for Livable Communities.

The Next American Metropolis:Ecology, Community, and the American Dream,1993, Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 1-878271-68-7 
A book about the ecological principles of diversity, interdependence, scale, and decentralization and their roles in our concepts of suburbs, cities, and regions. 

Sustainable Communities, 1992, Eco-Home Media. ISBN 0-9633511-0-9 
Concepts and strategies presented by leading experts for ecological city design. 

Visions for a New American Dream, 1994, Planners Press. ISBN 1-884829-007 
A book presenting the process, principles, and an ordinance to plan and design small communities. 

Videos 

Bullfrog Films offers a large number of videos and films on environmental topics. One such video is titled Subdivide and Conquer: A Modern Western, which examines the causes of sprawl and its effect on our communities and the environment, and suggests remedies along with examples of sound public policy and good land-use planning.

Center for Livable Communities  
Maintains a library and catalog of land use planning videos for purchase and borrow. 

UC Berkeley Environmental Design Library  
Offers an extensive collection of videos on urban planning themes, which are available for borrow through inter-library loan. 

Last updated: November 24, 2004

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