Check Out Our Passport Courses
Passport is your ticket to the training, experiences, and connections that will take you where you want to go in your planning career. Subscribe for unlimited access for one year to APA's extensive learning library of solution-oriented content facilitated by planners, for planners.
-
Downtown and Business District Market Analysis
June 2011by: Mary VitcendaThis guide is designed to help planners and local officials analyze local market conditions and identify businesses that might be a good fit for their downtowns. -
An Analysis of Downtown Storefront Improvements
October 2014by: Amy Greil, Joe Lawniczak, Bill RyanThis report provides case studies of 24 specific downtown storefront improvements efforts in Wisconsin over a 15-year period. -
Rethinking the Politics of Downtown Development
Journal of Urban Affairs, 30(1): 37–61, 2008by: Elizabeth StromThis article discusses power shifts among downtown stakeholders over the past several decades. -
Bentonville, AR, SE Downtown Area Plan
Adopted January 2014This downtown plan establishes a vision for pedestrian-oriented downtown redevelopment.Bentonville, AR -
Fort Kent, ME, Downtown Revitalization Plan
Adopted February 2015This downtown plan details a comprehensive strategy to guide downtown development and public investments for a small town on the Canadian border.Fort Kent town, ME -
Palm Desert, CA, University Neighborhood Specific Plan
Adopted January 2017This subarea plan details a comprehensive strategy to guide development in a way that ensures that new developments in the University neighborhood are compatible with and contributes to the surrounding areas of Palm Desert. -
Benicia, CA, Downtown Mixed Use Master Plan
Adopted September 2007This subarea plan details a comprehensive strategy to guide development in a way that ensures that new developments are compatible with and contributes the downtown Benicia character. -
Soledad, CA, Downtown Specific Plan
Adopted October 2012This subarea plan details a comprehensive strategy to guide development in a way that ensures that new developments are compatible with and contributes to downtown Soledad’s character. -
Ventura, CA, Downtown Specific Plan
Adopted March 2007This subarea plan details a comprehensive strategy to guide development in a way that ensures that new developments are compatible with and contributes to downtown Ventura’s character. -
Portland, ME, India Street Neighborhood Plan
Adopted November 2015This subarea plan details a comprehensive strategy to guide development in a way that ensures that new developments are compatible with and contributes to India Street Neighborhood’s character. -
Petaluma, CA, Petaluma Station Smart Area Master Plan
Adopted July 2013This subarea plan details a comprehensive strategy to guide development in a way that ensures that new developments are compatible with and contributes to Central Petaluma’s character. -
Arlington County, VA, Columbia Pike Form Based Codes
Updated October 2016The county’s zoning regulations include two standalone mapped optional form-based codes designed to guide redevelopment along the Columbia Pike corridor and its neighborhoods. -
Azusa, CA, Municipal Code
Updated June 2018The city’s zoning code includes a mapped mandatory form-based standard and guidelines for the city’s zoning areas. -
Billings, MT, Code of Ordinances
Updated September 2018The city’s zoning code includes a mapped mandatory form-based zoning district. -
Cincinnati, OH, Code of Ordinances
Updated July 2018The city’s zoning code includes mapped optional form-based zoning districts. -
City of Rowlett Form-Based Code
Adopted March 2016The city’s zoning code is a mapped mandatory form-based code. -
Fort Worth, TX, Near Southside Development Standards and Guidelines
Adopted February 2016The city’s development standards and guidelines for its Near Southside District uses a form-based code approach. -
Lacey, WA, Municipal Code
Updated November 2018The city’s zoning code includes a mapped mandatory hybrid form-based zoning district. -
Leander, TX, SmartCode
Adopted July 2014The city’s zoning code includes a mapped mandatory form-based code. -
Village of Hempstead
Updated February 2018The village’s zoning code includes a mapped mandatory form-based overlay zone. -
Bothell, WA, Downtown Subarea Plan and Regulations
Updated January 2018This downtown plan details a comprehensive strategy to guide downtown development and public investments and includes development regulations to help implement recommendations. -
New Castle County, DE, County Code
Updated May 2018The county’s code includes an optional mapped form-based district. -
Newton, NJ, Town Code
Updated June 2018The town’s zoning code is a mapped mandatory form-based code. -
Owensboro, KY, Municipal Code
Updated June 2018The city’s zoning code includes a mapped mandatory form-based overlay district. -
Portsmouth, VA, Uptown D2 District Form-Based Code
Updated January 2016The city’s zoning code includes a mapped mandatory form-based code. -
Stratham, NH, Zoning Ordinance
Updated March 2016by: Town of StrathamThe town’s zoning code includes a mapped mandatory form-based zoning district. -
San Buenaventura, CA, Midtown Corridors Code
Updated December 2012The city’s zoning code includes a mapped mandatory form-based code. -
St. Lucie County, FL, Land Development Code
Updated May 2018The county permits solar energy systems as accessory uses in all districts and allows primary-use solar generation stations as conditional uses in agricultural and utility districts; standards are provided. The county’s zoning code includes a mapped mandatory form-based overlay zone. -
Thompson’s Station, TN, Land Development Ordinance
Updated September 2018The town’s zoning code is a mapped mandatory form-based code. -
Wilsonville, OR, Development Code
Adopted February 2018The city’s zoning code includes a mapped mandatory form-based overlay zoning district. -
Closing the Digital Divide: Promoting Broadband Adoption Among Underserved Populations
2012by: Katherine Bates, Lara Malakoff, Julia PulidindiThis report discusses the benefits of and barriers to broadband adoption and highlights federal, state, and local initiatives. -
Bozeman, MT, Fiber Master Plan and Feasibility Study
January 2015by: Design NineThis functional plan presents a feasibility analysis and policy recommendations for a municipal broadband network. -
Delivering Next Generation Citizen Services
Assessing the Environmental, Social and Economic Impact of Intelligent X on Future Cities and Communities, June 2011by: Philip Carte, Bill Rojas, Mayur SahniThis report explores the potential for information and communication technology to help cities become more sustainable. -
Portland, OR, Connecting to Our Future: Portland's Broadband Strategic Plan
Adopted September 2011This functional plan presents a strategy to enhance broadband capacity and access. -
Fitness Apps Are the New Planning Tool
Planetizen, April 3, 2015by: Jennifer Evans-Cowley, AICPThis blog post discusses how cities can use data from fitness apps in planning processes. -
Smart City 2020: Technology and Society in the Modern City
March 2012by: Jan HedlundThis report shares Microsoft’s perspective on the future of smart cities. -
Exploring the Digital Nation: Embracing the Mobile Internet
October 2014This report summarizes findings from a Census Bureau survey exploring how people use mobile devices to access the Internet. -
Exploring the Digital Nation: America's Emerging Online Experience
June 2013This report summarizes findings from a Census Bureau survey exploring how people use the Internet. -
Connecting America: The National Broadband Plan
March 2010This functional plan details a national strategy to expand broadband capacity and access. -
Smart Mobility for a 21st Century America
October 2010This report discusses how information and communication technology can improve mobility and makes a case for establishing national congestion and emissions targets to drive innovation. -
Trends in Smart City Development
2016by: Nicole DuPuis, Elias StahlThis report examines the definition of “smart cities” and highlights noteworthy smart-city practices. -
Part 1: What Is a Form-Based Code
December 2014by: Mary Madden, AICP, Joel RussellThis article examines how throughout the 20th Century town and cities separated their uses that led to the widely used conventional zoning method -
Differences Between Miami's Form-Based Code and Traditional Zoning Code in Integrating Planning Principles
Journal of the American Planning Association, 81(1): 46-66, 2015by: Ajay Garde, Cecilia Joung Un Kim, Oscar TsaiThis article evaluates the extent to which form-based codes adopted by the City of Miami have integrated important planning and design criteria. -
Form and Substance: What New York Land Use Lawyers Need To Know About Form-Based Land Development Regulations
http://www.joelrussell.com/articles/Form-based%20Codes%20NY%20article%20(final).pdfby: Robert Sitkowski, AICP, Joel RussellThis article details the legal principles that underlie local land development regulations as it relates to form-based land development. -
Smart City Challenge: Lessons for Building Cities of the Future
June 2017This report highlights proposed and ongoing smart city initiatives from mid-sized cities that participated in the Federal Highway Administration’s Smart City Challenge. -
Cities and the Innovation Economy
2017by: Nicole DuPuis, Brooks RainwaterThis report analyzes the state of the practice regarding the sharing economy and smart city initiatives. -
Chula Vista, CA, Smart City Strategic Action Plan
Adopted September 2017This functional plan details a strategy to help the city identify, evaluate, and prioritize smart city initiative opportunities. -
Form Over Use: Form-Based Codes and the Challenge of Existing Development
Notre Dame Law Review, 88(5): 2627–2654, 2013by: Katherine WoodwardThis article details the historical development and purposes of conventional zoning along with its many problems. -
Columbus, OH, Smart Columbus
2018This website is the city’s central source of information about its smart city initiatives. -
Form-Based Codes: An Overview of the Literature
Focus: The Journal of Planning Practice and Education, 13(1): 76–83, 2016by: Evan Evangelopoulos, Cornelius Nuworsoo, AICPThis article looks at the popularity and criticism that surround form-based codes.