Yule Heibel's Library tagged land_use →  View Popular, Search in Google

Lots of good sense in this article. I can think of a few NIMBYs who'd benefit from its insights...
QUOTE
When it comes to land use, local city councils can’t suspend the laws of economics any more than they can suspend the laws of physics. ...opponents of density have acted as if the Seattle City Council might suddenly lose its mind and increase zoning from the square's current squat 40-foot buildings to mile-high sky scrapers. Local land use politics being what they are, that’s not going to happen. But even if it did, the developers would only build what they thought they could sell. (...)
But what the Seattle City Council can do is allow developers to act in the interest of profit. Private profit isn’t a bad thing, but our process often behaves as if it is. Listening to local elected officials talk with derision about “private property interests” ruining our city would be laughable if it wasn’t such a serious and almost deliberate misreading of basic economics. When private interests are profitable, jobs are created. That’s equally true for small companies stamping out widgets or developers who create housing. When developers create successful and profitable projects, people are put to work, new tax revenue is generated, and our plans to sustainably support growth can succeed.
UNQUOTE

crosscut roger_valdez seattle zoning land_use urban_development

Based on Boston.com's photo-essay of "human landscapes in SW Florida," Kaid Benfield's blog entry notes:
QUOTE
Among land use characteristics, poor street connectivity is the best predictor of a neighborhood's low rate of walking, and the second best predictor of a high rate of driving.
UNQUOTE
The images drive (no pun intended) that point home...

suburban_style suburbia suburbs land_use automobile cars

Must-see photo essay:
QUOTE
Many homes there are empty and have been for years. Huge developments sit partially completed among densely built up neighborhoods and swampland. A guest stated that there were "enough housing lots in Charlotte County to last for more than 100 years". Boom and bust residential development has drastically affected parts of southwest Florida for decades now, and I spent some time (with the help of Google Earth), looking around the area. With permission from the fine folks at Google, here are a few glimpses at development in southwest Florida. (26 photos total)
UNQUOTE

sprawl suburban_style suburbia suburbs florida land_use

QUOTE
"Whether you're talking about money, goods or even space, these days "waste" has become a bit of a dirty word. Monday, consumers are looking for positive ways to avoid it. They're beautifying unused or neglected public spaces with guerilla gardening; they're sharing their pantry's overstock and garden surplus by food swapping, and they're taking advantage of bountiful harvests found on public and private property with voluntary harvesting. With waste top of mind, the latest waste elimination challenge focuses on the garden.
UNQUOTE

ceos_for_cities land_use land_sharing waste