Architecture | Open Access Articles | Digital Commons Network™

Planners Gone Wild: The Overregulation Of Parking, Michael E Lewyn, Shane Cralle

Michael E Lewyn

A review of Donald Shoup's book, The High Cost of Free Parking (to be published in William Mitchell Law Review).

Watts My Line? Energy Generation Siting Strategies For Urban Areas, Caleb W. Christopher

Caleb W Christopher

The growth of urban areas has historically been both constrained and encouraged by energy and related infrastructure. Varying degrees of regulation have been sought to respond to compelling public safety needs: more recently, modern environmental law system was derived from public conflicts over siting of an energy plant. While the greater urban density offers reduced per-capita energy consumption rates, contemporary urban revitalization has brought a greater amount of people into closer contact with their energy sources. The unique geography, and increased securities needs, of urban areas demand both reliability and local proximity in energy source production. Urban siting issues will …

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Do Bylaws Matter? Evaluating Conservation Subdivision Design, Elisabeth M. Hamin

Elisabeth M. Hamin

This research investigates what public and private purposes are being achieved in projects permitted as conservation or open space subdivisions. An expert panel evaluated nine conservation subdivision designs (CSD), and found that CSDs overall provide more ecologically functional designs than would occur under traditional subdivision layout. In particular, open space goals tend to be well-achieved, while other aspects such as creativity, housing diversity, and other public goods are less satisfactory. However, evidence suggests that underlying socioeconomic and planning board issues are more explanatory in overall quality of projects than the specific contents of individual CSD bylaws. Results of related research …