BTI Partners’ Post

This is a great quote from a new writeup by a local planner, Elizabeth Ward Williams -- it challenges us to reconsider what a ‘traditional neighborhood’ is in an urban context: “We need a land use that allows for Traditional Neighborhood Uses: single-family homes, duplexes, small apartments, and small commercial uses like schools, offices and neighborhood retail. Things people can walk to! In our minds, these are the things that give a neighborhood character.” Well said! Complete neighborhoods should be the norm for cities, and they should be allowed by zoning. This is exactly the wisdom that needs to be presented in the Comprehensive Development Plan that’s underway for Atlanta. Read the full post at the Kronberg website: https://lnkd.in/eD2hvNf9 And here’s some info on the Atlanta Comprehensive Development Plan which the city must update every few years: https://lnkd.in/e-skVpvU This CDP informs many things about our development, including the direction our zoning changes should take. The planning process is happening now. Find info on meetings here: https://lnkd.in/eWywkser

ICYMI: BTI Partners CEO Noah Breakstone recently sat down with Florida Trend Media Company's Brittney Miller for a Q&A on Florida's urban surge. Their conversation explores Florida's post-pandemic housing demand, driven by a pro-business environment, great weather, and lower taxes. Noah underscored significant recent growth in South Florida, Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville, while addressing challenges like infrastructure strain and the need for prudent future public investments. "Florida’s housing demand has historically been very strong. But during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, it accelerated at a faster rate," Noah explained. "Growth always comes with positives and negatives. There’s a strain on infrastructure, whether it’s utilities, roadway systems, train systems, education or other public services.” Read the full story here:

Creative solutions are necessary in tough markets - idea sharing like this is key to unlocking housing growth. Cities need to abandon outdated and exclusionary zoning laws to enable higher density in residential neighborhoods, check this out in Atlanta...curious about ideas coming out of other cities. #realestatedevelopment #housing #placemaking #cities #urbandevelopment #community #ideas #impact #zoning #realestate

New book: Key to the City - How Zoning Shapes Our World Zoning codes have become the most significant regulatory power of local government, determining how citizens experience their cities. Yet zoning remains invisible. In Key to the City, legal scholar and architect Sara C. Bronin reveals the impact of zoningfor good and illin cities across the US, from Hartford to Baltimore and Las Vegas to Chicago. Outdated zoning codes have maintained racial segregation, prioritised cars over people and enabled great ecological harm. As Bronin argues, once we recognise the power of zoning, we can harness it to instead create walkable and vibrant communities, resist the monotonous effects of suburban sprawl, integrate design elements that inspire delight and ensure that everyone has access to affordable housing, public transportation and healthy food. Key to the City demystifies the invisible force shaping our communities and puts forward a practical and energising vision for how we can reimagine them. Läs: https://lnkd.in/gwrSzPC4 Lyssna: https://lnkd.in/gcXSD_Hv

Interested in using zoning to promote better land use? Check out this article describing the advocacy power of the National Zoning Atlas, which my team in the UC Davis Center for Regional Change and our partners at the Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley are contributing to with the California Zoning Atlas.

Are you curious about the city's Comprehensive Plan and zoning changes along the New Bern Avenue corridor for the Bus Rapid Transit #WakeBRT system being built there? The Raleigh Chamber and other interested parties showed up in force to support them this past Tuesday. Read our latest Government Affairs blog to learn more about the positive impact of these changes on housing options, amenities, and economic development in the area: https://bit.ly/48W0aQp

🏡 Exciting progress for Cincinnati’s future. Happy to share Planetizen's article "Cincinnati’s Controversial Zoning Plan Clears First Hurdle." The Cincinnati planning commission, on May 17th, approved the Connected Communities zoning plan, a major step towards revitalizing Cincinnati's neighborhoods. This innovative plan, which has been in development for two years with extensive public engagement, seeks to modernize zoning codes that have limited neighborhood growth since the 1960s. 🔍 Dive into details about What's Next and the debate between critics and advocates for Cincinnati's Connected Communities proposal: https://lnkd.in/dFHsNuHT 🛠️ At Opticos Design, we are proud to have played a key role in shaping Cincinnati's citywide Form-Based Code (FBC) and integrating it with the form-based framework for the city's Comprehensive Plan, Plan Cincinnati. #UrbanPlanning #FormBasedCode #Cincinnati #LivableCommunities

Austin Development Update - October 2024 This October, Austin plans to continue to lead the way with some impactful zoning and development modifications aimed at enhancing our city's landscape and community livability. Here are the latest updates on key initiatives: 🏗️ Site Plan Lite/Infill Lot Plat Process: Austin is streamlining the development of single-family housing with the Site Plan Lite initiative tailored for 'missing middle' housing of five to sixteen units, reducing complexities in the site plan review. Adjustments to the infill lot plat process are currently receiving public comment and set for City Council consideration on November 7, 2024. 🎵 Live Music and Creative Space Bonus Phase 2: Supporting Austin’s cultural scene, this new zoning district is focused on affordable creative spaces and preserving performance venues. The City Council is set to consider this initiative today, October 10, 2024. 📈 PDA Density Bonus Program & PDA2: New density bonus programs for Planned Development Areas (PDA) and PDA2 in industrial zones allow increased building heights in exchange for community benefits. These proposals are under consideration by the City Council on October 24, 2024. 🏢 DB240: The DB240 district introduces a new density bonus for commercial highway and industrial zones, promoting higher-density development. This new district will also be reviewed by the City Council on October 24, 2024. These initiatives are part of Austin’s ongoing efforts to adapt our development landscape to the needs of a growing city, ensuring sustainability, diversity, and vibrancy. #Austin #LandDevelopment #CivilEngineering #UrbanPlanning #SustainableCities #AffordableHousing #TransitOrientedDevelopment

City of Yes (“CoY”) zoning update: The City Planning Commission's recent approval brings CoY one step closer to taking New York City’s zoning requirements into the future. Read Aaron Brotman's latest article to learn more. https://lnkd.in/e_uGQ6jD #ColeSchotz #RealEstate #CityofYes

A good question to ask but the article falls short in answering it. As acknowledged the concept isn't new - since I entered to urban planning profession in England in the mid 90's we've been thinking about and applying principles such as walkabity, 800m pedsheds, mixed use development, complete neighbourhoods etc. This thinking was cemented in the Gov. backed Towards an Urban Renassiance, By Design and the work of CABE. So the question for me is why the extreme resistance now? Is it that the concept now has a label, that it has been poorly executed/communicated in some instances or that we (some) are gripped with social media conspiracies relating to big government? Time for the planning profession to seize the narrative and calm the horses.