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Climate Migration: The Quiet Redrawing of America’s Map

Climate migration doesn’t unfold in dramatic headlines—it plays out in small, steady choices that quietly redraw the map. Families leave wildfire-choked valleys, retirees sell hurricane-damaged homes, and newcomers show up in towns unprepared for growth. The idea of a “climate haven” is fragile, because no place is immune, and yet some regions will shoulder the influx while others hollow out. What this really reveals is inequity: those with resources move first, while those left behind are stuck navigating the frontlines of risk.

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Fast Food Urbanism: Why Strip Malls and Chain Stores Make Every Place Look the Same

The Great 15-Minute City Scare

Let’s Talk About NIMBYs: What They Are and How to Work With Them

Public Participation Matters (Even When They Act Like It Doesn't)

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Keel Crossing: A Bridge That Means More Than Getting Across

Sunderland’s new pedestrian bridge isn’t just for walking—it’s a reminder of shipbuilding heritage and a connector of communities across the river.

September 7, 2025

When Homes Crowd Out Play

Across England, children are losing access to outdoor play—because planning still prioritizes housing over places to simply be.

September 5, 2025

Tennessee Planners Unite at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs This October

TAPA’s 2025 Fall Conference brings planners, engineers, students, and leaders together October 20–22 in Franklin for deep dives on housing, multimodal transport, tech, and more—plus CM credits and real‑world inspiration.

September 4, 2025

Adelaide’s New Parking Mandate: Bigger Garages, Bigger Homes?

South Australia proposes mandatory parking rules—one spot per 1‑bedroom, two per larger home, bigger dimensions, optional shared precincts. Could spike housing costs.

September 4, 2025

Maharashtra Goes Digital: Land Bank to Unlock Affordable Housing

Maharashtra’s new housing policy includes a digital land bank with geo‑tagged state land to accelerate affordable development—marrying tech and supply.

September 4, 2025

CNU Florida Sparks Conversation on Urban Future

Planning pros are in Tampa this week for the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), exploring ideas that could transform Florida's urban landscapes.

September 4, 2025

Public Transit, Shrinking—RIPTA’s Cuts Hit Hard

RIPTA approved service reductions on 46 of its 67 bus lines—scaled-back cuts, but still historic. Riders and advocates warn of a transit “death spiral” as ridership, equity, and access take hits.

August 29, 2025

When Jobs Aren’t Enough—San Antonio Demands More from ‘Project Marvel’

Labor, educators, and community activists in San Antonio are pushing for a stronger community benefits deal tied to the multi-billion-dollar Project Marvel development and new Spurs arena.

September 2, 2025

Campus Dreams on Pause

The University of Melbourne is shelving its new Fishermans Bend campus—planned for engineering, design, and advanced manufacturing—due to budget shortfalls and slowed infrastructure development.

September 2, 2025

San Antonio’s Push for Real Benefits in Arena Redevelopment

Labor unions and educators rallied to demand affordable housing, transit investment, and livable‑wage jobs in San Antonio’s downtown arena redevelopment.

September 1, 2025

Is Zoning Really Neutral

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The Hidden Rules Blocking Affordable Housing

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Why Remote Work In Planning Is Dying (And What We Can Do About It)

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You're Not Free, You're Just Behind The Wheel

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Climate Migration: The Quiet Redrawing of America’s Map

Climate migration doesn’t unfold in dramatic headlines—it plays out in small, steady choices that quietly redraw the map. Families leave wildfire-choked valleys, retirees sell hurricane-damaged homes, and newcomers show up in towns unprepared for growth. The idea of a “climate haven” is fragile, because no place is immune, and yet some regions will shoulder the influx while others hollow out. What this really reveals is inequity: those with resources move first, while those left behind are stuck navigating the frontlines of risk.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
September 8, 2025

The Heart Wants What The Heart Wants: A Large House

A large-lot home offers control, identity, and even wealth. That’s why so many Americans, young and old, still cling to the dream of the detached house. It’s not only space they’re buying; it’s the ability to choose when and how the world enters their lives. But this promise comes with hidden costs: isolation, car dependence, and lost opportunities for equity. If planners want to shift the story, we must first acknowledge why this dream feels so powerful.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
September 5, 2025

Your House vs Their Will: The Line Between What’s Yours and What’s Ours

Owning property feels simple: it’s yours, so you shape it. Add a pool, tear down a wall, plant or cut a tree. But the moment neighbors object, that personal freedom collides with community concern. Multiply that tension, and you’re in the world of planning—where developers operate within rules, yet face public opposition that can be passionate and, at times, justified. The lesson isn’t that property rights always win, but that meaningful engagement matters. Rules guide what can be built; conversation shapes how it fits. Planning lives in the space between ownership and community.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
September 3, 2025

The 40,000 Annual Death Trap

We lose 40,000 people a year to a nondiscriminatory killer, yet we barely flinch. That number can equal to an entire town...erased every single year. We’d call it a crisis if disease or disaster struck with the same force, but because it’s wrapped in steel and normalized as “convenience,” we accept it. But this killer, this trap, doesn’t just affect our annual population count, it also drains about 20% of household budgets, injure millions, and demand $300 billion annually in infrastructure to keep the addiction alive. We glorify speed while erasing safety, connection, and even health.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
September 1, 2025

The Great American Waiting Room: Why Our Sidewalks Feel Like Afterthoughts

Sidewalks in America aren’t built as invitations; they’re treated like scraps of concrete left over after cars take their share. That’s more than inconvenient—it’s a public health contradiction. We tell people to walk for exercise, but design neighborhoods that make walking miserable or dangerous. Sidewalks should be democratic health infrastructure, as vital as clinics, because they connect us to each other and to daily life. Without them, community shrinks. With them, cities become places where movement, memory, and belonging actually happen.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 28, 2025

The Case of the Missing Third Place: Why Our Cities Feel Empty Between Home and Work

Cities are full of homes and jobs yet strangely barren in between. The absence of cafés, porches, bookstores, and plazas isn’t just inconvenient—it strips away the quiet moments where community takes shape. These “third places” used to anchor daily life, giving people somewhere to simply exist together. Without them, we shuttle between private and professional worlds with little chance to connect. Rebuilding these spaces isn’t about nostalgia; it’s about restoring the human fabric that makes city life more than just roofs and roads.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 27, 2025

Greenwashing the City: Why Rooftop Gardens Won't Save Us

Cities love gestures that look green — rooftop gardens, pocket parks, sustainability plaques. They photograph well, but they don’t touch the deeper systems that drive emissions and inequity. Real sustainability isn’t decorative; it’s structural. It’s housing near transit, shade where heat kills, zoning that allows walkable communities. Greenwashing thrives because it’s easier to market than to reform, but it leaves cities hollow. The question is whether we want places that look sustainable in renderings, or places that are sustainable in daily life.
Juan Castillo Jr | Urban Planner
August 26, 2025

Fast Food Urbanism: Why Strip Malls and Chain Stores Make Every Place Look the Same

Cities keep serving up what I call Fast Food Urbanism—development that’s quick, cheap, and predictable, but leaves everywhere looking the same. Chain stores and drive-thrus may promise convenience, yet they drain character from neighborhoods and replace walkability with seas of asphalt. The result is a landscape that feels empty even when it’s busy, efficient on paper but exhausting in real life. Real places don’t thrive on sameness; they thrive on flavor and surprise. Smaller blocks, local businesses, and buildings that meet the street can give cities back their identity. Because people don’t fall in love with copy-paste corridors. They fall in love with places that feel alive.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
September 7, 2025

The Cul-de-Sac Trap: How Street Design Chokes Cities

Cul-de-sacs sell a promise of safety and quiet, but they quietly drain the life out of communities. What looks like a family-friendly street turns into a trap of longer drives, higher public costs, and fewer connections to the people around you. A grid spreads infrastructure and opportunity; a cul-de-sac stretches them thin. Cities spend more, neighbors meet less, and everyone grows more dependent on cars. The cozy illusion hides the truth: dead ends shape dead communities.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
September 1, 2025

Death of the front porch: Why the loss of porches tells us more about community than we realize

Porches used to be our most natural form of community infrastructure. A swing, a breeze, and suddenly you weren’t just neighbors—you were part of each other’s daily lives. Now, we retreat indoors, drive into garages, and let design choices wall us off. The loss of the porch isn’t nostalgia; it’s a lesson. When we stop building spaces that invite casual encounters, we stop building trust. A city can have houses without neighbors, but it can’t have community without places to belong.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 21, 2025

The Great 15-Minute City Scare

The fear around 15-minute cities reveals more about us than about urban planning. People cling to the car as if mobility only counts with a steering wheel, yet freedom is really about choice. Imagine reclaiming hours lost to traffic and spending them with family or in a park down the street. That isn’t confinement—it’s liberation. The panic is a distraction from the simple truth: when daily life is closer to home, neighborhoods thrive and people breathe easier, both literally and figuratively.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
September 1, 2025

ADUs: Tiny Homes, Big Fights

Backyard cottages may look small, but they carry the weight of some of our biggest questions about housing. An ADU can be a home for grandma, a lifeline for a struggling renter, or simply a way for families to stay closer together. Yet every debate about setbacks, siding, or parking is really about something deeper—who gets to live in a neighborhood and who gets left out. The fight over ADUs isn’t just about backyards; it’s about whether we’re ready to share.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 18, 2025

Let’s Talk About NIMBYs: What They Are and How to Work With Them

Most “NIMBY moments” aren’t villains—they’re human reflexes to risk, noise, parking, and the fear that promises evaporate after ribbon-cutting. People don’t oppose housing or change in theory; they doubt the benefits will reach their block and worry the costs will. The fix isn’t better lecturing; it’s clearer framing, neighbor-eye visuals, and commitments with teeth—timed, local, enforceable. Show the truck paths and shadows, fund the speed cushions, publish the hotline, then hold yourself to it. Build trust before buildings and the middle will move. That’s how projects become neighbors over time.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
September 7, 2025

Why Parks Are So Dreadfully Boring (And How to Fix Them Before We All Numb Ourselves on Another Walking Loop)

Most parks are designed for safety, not excitement—and it shows. They’re neat, predictable, and easy to maintain, but they forget the magic of surprise. A winding trail that sparks curiosity, a shaded nook for conversation, or art you can actually touch can turn a patch of grass into a place worth visiting again. Sterile space may photograph well, but it doesn’t linger in memory. The best parks feel alive, a little unpredictable, and uniquely tied to their community—more adventure, less polite lap around the lawn.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 14, 2025

10 Lessons They Don't Teach in Planning School (Because They'd Scare you off)

Some lessons in planning don’t come from textbooks — they come from being in the room when politics, public opinion, and process collide. You learn that projects live or die on relationships, that budgets are as much about timing as money, and that listening well matters more than winning arguments. You discover the patience to see multi-year projects through, the resilience to face a roomful of critics, and the courage to trust your own judgment. These are the skills that make planners last — and make planning work.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
September 7, 2025

Why People Keep Building on Florida’s Coast (Even with All the Hurricanes)

Florida’s coastline is a paradox: breathtaking and dangerous, irresistible yet unforgiving. People flock to the water for the sunshine, the views, and the lifestyle, often brushing aside the reality that the same ocean they adore can turn destructive overnight. Hurricanes aren’t a surprise here—they’re a season. Yet homes rise again and again, helped along by insurance systems and a deep-rooted cultural pull toward the shore. It’s not always rational, but it’s human: the gamble for paradise feels worth it, right up until the storm surge hits.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 12, 2025

The Hidden Costs of Owning a Home: What Your Realtor Didn't Tell You

A mortgage is just the cover charge — the real cost of homeownership comes with property taxes, insurance, endless upkeep, and those “surprise” repairs that somehow always know the worst time to show up. Plan like your wallet depends on it, because it does.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 11, 2025

Painted Pride, Erased by Policy: Gainesville’s Rainbow Crosswalks at a Crossroads

Gainesville’s rainbow crosswalks stood as everyday symbols of welcome, but their removal under state pressure exposes the tension between regulation and representation. While agencies cite safety concerns, studies suggest these vibrant designs can reduce crashes and draw attention to pedestrians. The loss feels heavier than the brushstrokes erased; it’s a reminder that public spaces carry stories, and when we strip away their color, we risk stripping away the sense of belonging they quietly built.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
September 1, 2025

From Variance to Special Use Permits: How to Engage with Proposed Developments in Your City

Explore city development steps: by-right development, variance, permits, rezoning, and community engagement to influence urban planning.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 9, 2025

The True Price of Large Homes: Pollution, Urban Sprawl, and More

It’s wild how the people most affected by development are often the last ones invited to shape it. The process feels like it was built for insiders, not neighbors. But that everyday lived experience—the broken sidewalk, the missing bus stop, the rent that keeps creeping up—that’s where the real insight lives. If we treated public input as wisdom instead of noise, our cities would look and feel very different. Because participation isn’t a formality—it’s a fight for fairness. And it starts with making space for voices that have been ignored.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 7, 2025

Public Participation Matters (Even When They Act Like It Doesn't)

Most people don’t skip public meetings because they don’t care—it’s because the process was never built with them in mind. It’s wild how we treat local knowledge like noise instead of data. Meanwhile, planning meetings go on in rooms where the same voices echo, while others stay locked out by design. The system favors confidence over connection, jargon over experience. But communities deserve better. They deserve to be heard, not managed. When planning becomes a conversation instead of a performance, everyone benefits—and maybe trust can start to grow again.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
September 1, 2025

The Hidden Costs of Affordable Infill - Silent Barriers No One Talks About

Everyone says they want more affordable housing—until it shows up next door. What we call “affordable infill” is often a minefield of small, compounding obstacles: confusing processes, infrastructure surprises, fees that don’t scale, and codes built for corporate developers. These aren’t just inconveniences—they’re dealbreakers. For community groups and small-scale builders, it’s like running a marathon in flip-flops. If we’re serious about equitable housing, we need systems that support the little guys, not just the big ones. Because right now, we’re quietly strangling the solutions we claim to champion.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
September 1, 2025

A Love Letter To Planners

Sometimes the people holding cities together are the most invisible ones in the room. Planners carry the weight of broken systems, public scrutiny, and impossible expectations—all while quietly shaping the world around us. They don’t ask for praise. But they deserve to be seen. This is a reminder: behind every sidewalk, policy, or park bench is someone who stayed late, listened longer, and believed cities could be better. To every planner out there—tired but still trying—your work matters more than you know.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
September 7, 2025

Beauty In Public Spaces (Why Everything Is Ugly Now...And Why That Matters For Planning)

Somewhere along the way, cities stopped trying to be beautiful. The result? Identical buildings, sterile streets, and neighborhoods that feel more temporary than timeless. Beauty isn’t just a bonus—it’s what makes people care. When a place is thoughtfully designed, people linger longer, invest more, and feel connected. It’s not about luxury or ornate facades. It’s about intention, texture, and emotion. Our cities don’t need to be Paris—but they do need to make people feel something. Because when beauty disappears, so does the human connection that makes planning matter.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 1, 2025

The Hidden Rules Blocking Affordable Housing

Affordable housing isn’t banned in most cities—it’s just blocked by a maze of technical rules that make building it nearly impossible. From minimum lot sizes and parking mandates to restrictive height limits, unit caps, and overly complex design standards, these hidden policies quietly filter out the very housing we say we need.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 2, 2025

Why Remote Work In Planning Is Dying (And What We Can Do About It)

Remote work offered planners a rare moment of clarity: fewer distractions, deeper focus, and a better work-life balance. But now, many planning departments are retreating back to the office—not because remote work failed, but because the profession never fully adapted. Weak infrastructure, outdated management styles, and a lack of intentional culture-building made remote work feel fragile. Instead of fixing those cracks, many organizations simply walked away. Yet research shows remote and hybrid work can boost productivity, reduce turnover, and improve job satisfaction—if done well. That means training managers, investing in asynchronous tools, and treating remote work as a skill, not a perk. Not all planning tasks can be done from home, but many can—and often better. The real question isn’t whether remote work is worth it. It’s whether we’re willing to do the work to make it work. Done right, remote work isn’t just flexible. It’s transformative.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 2, 2025

You're Not Free, You're Just Behind The Wheel

We’ve been taught that cars equal freedom. But what kind of freedom comes with debt, insurance, traffic, gas prices, and the constant stress of driving? And if you don’t have a car? In most cities, you’re simply out of luck. No way to work, no way to get groceries, no way to live with dignity. Car dependency isn’t just inconvenient—it’s isolating, dangerous, and deeply embedded in how we plan our communities. Over 40,000 people die in crashes every year, yet we still call this system “freedom.” What we’ve built isn’t freedom, it’s a trap.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 2, 2025

America Hates Mass Transit, But Why?

Mass transit isn’t failing because people hate it. It’s failing because we’ve made it miserable to use. Long waits, bad connections, uncomfortable stops—and then we blame the riders. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Around the world, transit thrives when it’s fast, frequent, and dignified. So why not here? This post takes a raw, honest look at how we’ve designed transit to underperform, who pays the price, and what it’ll take to build systems people actually want to ride. Spoiler: it starts with actually trying.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
September 1, 2025

Zoned for Drama: When the Right to Build Isn’t Enough

We don’t think about who owns a place until something changes. Until a tree gets tagged. Until a sign goes up. Then suddenly, what felt like “ours” is clearly someone else’s—and we don’t like it. This post is about that shift. The tension between how we feel about land, and what the law actually allows.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 21, 2025

In Search of the Stars. Planning, Light Pollution, and What We’ve Lost

Light pollution is stealing our night sky. The stars are fading, the Milky Way has vanished—and we’re left wondering how we lost them, and what planning can do to bring them back.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 21, 2025

Why Do Developments Hate Trees?

Why are big trees always the first to go when new development begins? Today's article explores how construction timelines, cost-saving measures, and zoning regulations often prioritize quick builds over long-term environmental health. It breaks down the hidden challenges of preserving mature trees—from utility conflicts to grading plans—and explains how current incentives push developers toward clearing instead of conserving. With a clear-eyed look at planning codes, urban canopy loss, and what cities can do differently, this piece highlights why preserving big trees matters—and how the systems we’ve built often make it the first thing to fall.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planning
September 1, 2025

Are Historic Homes Worth the Cost? A Zoning-Time Traveler's Dilemma

Historic homes are beautiful, bold, and often broke. This post dives into the emotional pull and harsh reality of owning a piece of the past—from the unmatched character and walkable neighborhoods to the jaw-dropping repair bills and zoning nightmares. It's part love letter, part warning label. Whether you're charmed by vintage porches or haunted by asbestos-filled basements, we lay it all out with humor, honesty, and a planner’s perspective. Before you fall for crown molding and clawfoot tubs, read this. It might save your wallet—and your sanity.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 21, 2025

Cars Are Destroying America, One Mile Per Hour at a Time

Cars are destroying us. Every mile we widen, every lane we add, we're trading safety, community, and affordability for a system that's quietly tearing us apart. This post dives deep into how car dependence is costing us lives, money, and connection—and what we can do to reverse course.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
September 1, 2025

How to Talk About Zoning Without Losing the Room: A Communication Guide for Planners

Watching a planner stumble through a rezoning meeting reminds us how easily a gulf can form between technical language and the lived experiences of residents. When we speak in acronyms and numbers, we forget the young teacher with a long commute or the grandparents wanting to stay near family. Connecting through real stories and visuals turns abstract regulations into real opportunities. If we’re open about trade‑offs and communicate with sincerity using our body and voice, the community sees our work not as cold policy but as care for their future.
Juan Castill | Urban Planner
July 25, 2025

Built to Be Alone: How Urban Design Is Fueling a Loneliness Epidemic

We were never meant to live this far apart. But somewhere along the way, our cities stopped bringing us together and started ripping us apart. Urban design has quietly fueled the loneliness epidemic and we are now feeling the devastaing effects. But there's hope. We can build our way back to connection.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 21, 2025

Why Your Neighborhood is Boring (and How To Fix It)

Most American neighborhoods are quiet, clean, and… completely lifeless. We’ve traded charm for uniformity, walkability for driveways, and community for cul-de-sacs. This post unpacks how our zoning codes, street design, and architectural sameness sucked the soul out of our neighborhoods — and how we can start bringing it back.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
July 15, 2025

We Designed Cities to Control Everything. Maybe That’s the Problem

Cities are often planned like machines: rigid, compartmentalized, and engineered for efficiency. But nature? Nature doesn’t do rigid. It thrives on flexibility, feedback loops, and built-in redundancy. It bends when pushed, adapts when challenged, and regenerates after disturbance. Somehow, with no central plan or zoning board, nature still manages to build systems that are self-regulating, interconnected, and incredibly resilient. Compare that to a typical city, where one road closure or flash flood can send everything into chaos.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
July 14, 2025

AI in Planning: Disruption, Hype, and the Quiet Ways It’s Already Changing Our Work

AI isn’t some far-off planning disruptor—it’s already here, quietly reshaping how we do the work. From reviewing zoning codes and summarizing public comments to knocking out those dry staff reports, AI is making repetitive tasks faster and less painful. That’s good news for overworked planners, but it’s not without risks: bias, accuracy, transparency, and the future of junior roles are all fair game. Still, if we approach it thoughtfully, AI could help us do what we came here to do—build better communities. The key? Use it wisely, stay human, and don’t let the machine plan the city for you.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 21, 2025

What Is Spot Zoning, And Why Is It So Controversial

Spot zoning sounds harmless—but it’s one of the fastest ways to ignite public backlash. This post breaks down what spot zoning actually is, why it’s controversial, and how a single zoning change can spiral into a full-blown trust issue if you’re not careful. Spoiler: it’s not just about the parcel, it’s about the process.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
September 7, 2025

What Does a Planner Actually Do?

What do planners actually do all day? It’s more than maps and meetings. Planners review projects, navigate messy codes, work with the public (and politics), and try to make cities function, often with limited tools and lots of pressure. Today, we'll dive into the real work behind the title, and why it matters more than people think.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 21, 2025

Is Zoning Really Neutral

Is zoning really neutral? We like to think it is, just lines on a map, applied fairly to everyone. But zoning has always been about more than land use. It’s about power, access, and who gets to belong. Today, we break down the myth of neutrality, the history behind exclusionary zoning, and why the same rules can create wildly different outcomes.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
July 14, 2025

How to Survive a Public Meeting: A Planner's Guide

Planning school DID NOT prepare you for this. Public meetings are where theory meets reality...loudly. This guide isn’t just about surviving the chaos; it’s about navigating it with clarity, humor, and a little humanity. Whether you’re new to the mic or a veteran of angry PowerPoints, this one's for you.
Juan Castillo | Planner
July 7, 2025

Development Review: What Planners Wish The Public Knew

Development review is less “evil masterplan” and more “code-following chaos.” Planners aren’t scheming, they’re just trying to keep projects legal, the trees alive, and their inboxes under 400 emails.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
September 1, 2025

Why Public Transit Feels Hopeless (and What We’re Not Talking About)

Why does public transit always feel like a mess? It's not just the buses. It's not just the budget. The real reason transit feels broken? We built our cities in ways that make it nearly impossible to succeed.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
July 14, 2025

Setbacks, Easements, and Overlays, Oh My!

Trying to build something on your own property? Not so fast. Before you get too excited about that porch, pergola, or picket fence, you'll probably run into a few things you didn’t even know existed: setbacks, easements, and overlay zones. This post breaks down what those mean, why they matter, and how they can make even the most patient homeowner lose their...mind.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
September 1, 2025

Why Everyone Hates Zoning (and What We Can Do About It)

Zoning has become the villain of housing, equity, and accessibillity, but what if the real issue is how we've used it?
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
June 30, 2025

Housing Affordability and How Zoning Affects It

Zoning plays a huge role in where you live, what kind of home you can find, and what you can afford. It’s not just lines on a map—those lines ripple into your daily life, shaping your rent, your commute, your neighborhood, and even your future.
Juan Castillo
June 27, 2025

Zoning Terms Every Homeowner Should Know

If you own a home, zoning isn’t something you can ignore. And if you don’t know the lingo, it’s easy to get frustrated fast. But don’t worry—these key terms will help you feel a lot more in control.
Juan Castillo
July 2, 2025

How Urban Food Forests Cool Cities and Feed Communities

Can planting fruit trees really fight climate change, lower your energy bill, and bring a neighborhood together? Boston thinks so, and it’s not the only city turning empty lots into food-producing, heat-fighting forests.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 21, 2025

People Hate Planners. But Why?

Why do people hate planners? It’s not personal—it’s systemic. This post breaks down the disconnect between planners and the public, how we got here, and what we can do to rebuild trust through plain language, early engagement, and genuine connection.
Juan Castillo
June 24, 2025

Startling Ways the Pandemic Changed Urban Planning

The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped urban planning in lasting ways, from how we use public space to how we define mixed-use, engagement, and neighborhood design. This post explores the big shifts in zoning, remote work, 15-minute cities, and planning priorities that emerged during the crisis, and why they still matter today.
Juan Castillo
June 23, 2025

Funny Urban Planning Memes To Save Your Zoned Out Soul

Urban Planning Memes to the rescue! It’s Saturday, time to relax, grab your favorite beverage, and think about whether the new neighborhood supermarket is following transect zone rules (or not). We can’t help it. Might as well laugh about it.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 6, 2025

What Does 'Missing Middle Housing' Actually Mean?

What Is “Missing Middle Housing” and Why Did It Disappear? Duplexes, triplexes, cottage courts—once common, now nearly impossible to build. This post breaks down what Missing Middle Housing really is, why it vanished from our neighborhoods, and how planners are trying to bring it back. Spoiler: it’s not about banning single-family homes—it’s about giving people more choices.
Juan Castillo
June 20, 2025

Are GIS skills a must for planners?

Is GIS still a must-have skill for planners? There was a time when knowing GIS made you stand out in the planning world. Today, it might just be expected. This post breaks down how the role of GIS has evolved, why it's still essential, and what level of skill planners actually need.
Juan Castillo
June 19, 2025

Awesome Portfolio Tips for Planning Students (That Won’t Put You to Sleep)

Creating a planning portfolio can feel overwhelming — especially when no one really tells you what should go in it (or how to make it not look like a Word doc from 2004). This post breaks down what actually matters: showing your work clearly, highlighting your role, and using the right tools to make your portfolio readable, visual, and memorable.
Juan Castillo
June 18, 2025

Top 10 Urban Planning Tools Every Planner Should Know

In today’s fast-evolving planning landscape, having the right tools is essential for success. From GIS software and 3D modeling to community engagement platforms and project management apps, these top 10 planning tools help young planners analyze data, communicate ideas, and stay organized.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 21, 2025

Most Painful Public Hearing Lessons

Public hearings can be unpredictable, emotional, and occasionally chaotic—but they’re also where planners, applicants, and residents meet face-to-face with the real-life impacts of policy. In this post, we unpack seven hard-earned lessons from some of the most painful (and enlightening) public hearing moments. From unscripted applicant comments to nonverbal missteps, these are the things they don’t teach you in planning school—but every planner should know.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
July 14, 2025

Equity in Zoning: What Planning For People Really Looks Like

Equity in zoning, in one way or another, affects all of us. Do you live in a single family neighborhood, you are affected by equity. Do you walk to your local park? You are affected by equity. Do you feel like you have to own a car? You are affected by equity. Whether that effect is good or bad...well, that's another question entirely.
Juan Castillo
July 25, 2025

Parking Minimums: The Real Cost

Parking minimums are ruining your city, one parking lot at a time. And what's worst, you are paying for it whether you drive or not! But don't you worry. There's hope above the horizon...
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 2, 2025

Visibility, Belonging, and the Unrest in LA: What Planning Can’t Ignore

In moments of political and social tension, planning has a quiet but powerful role: shaping how people are seen or overlooked. Here we're exploring how zoning, land use, and urban design influence perception, visibility, and belonging, especially in debates around immigration and identity.
Juan Castillo
August 21, 2025

Why Zoning Reform Feels So Hard (and Why It’s Worth It)

Why does zoning reform always feel like an uphill battle? Because it is. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it. This post unpacks why changing zoning laws is so tricky—and why it might be one of the most important things we do for our communities.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 21, 2025

Reading Site Plans: A Quick Guide for Beginners

Ever stared at a site plan and felt like you were deciphering ancient runes? You’re not alone. Whether you're a planner, board member, or just a curious resident, site plans can be overwhelming. This no-stress guide breaks down how to read a site plan—from scale bars to setback lines—without losing your mind. Learn how to spot red flags, understand zoning rules, and feel confident next time a plan lands on your desk.
Juan Castillo
July 14, 2025

Your First Planning Job: What They Don’t Tell You (From Studio to City Hall)

Landing your first job in urban planning is a big win—but let’s be honest, it’s not exactly what school prepped you for. In studio, you were designing dreamy, walkable neighborhoods. In the real world? You’re decoding patio permits, finessing zoning code explanations, and surviving public meetings that feel more like open mic night.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
July 14, 2025

Portland’s Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Strategies: A Mini Case Study

Image by Geoff Churchman from https://transpressnz.blogspot.com/
Portland’s transit-oriented development (TOD) strategy has reshaped the city’s urban landscape by aligning housing, retail, and public spaces around robust transit infrastructure. Beginning in the 1970s with bold moves like halting freeway expansion and launching light rail projects, the city laid a foundation for walkable, mixed-use communities. The introduction of the Portland Streetcar in 2001 accelerated this shift, spurring over 10,000 housing units and 5.4 million square feet of development within two blocks of the line by 2008. Paired with policies like the Residential Infill Project (RIP), Portland’s TOD efforts have supported both density and livability, offering a replicable model for cities seeking to prioritize people over cars.
Juan Castillo
September 1, 2025

Historic Urbanism Snapshot: The Demolition of Pruitt-Igoe (1972)

The failure of Pruitt-Igoe was about more than just architecture. It reflected the impacts of white flight, disinvestment, and racist housing policies, all compounded by a lack of maintenance funding and design flaws. This post explores how broader systemic issues—not just bad buildings—led to one of the most symbolic public housing demolitions in U.S. history.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 21, 2025

What Is Floor Area Ratio (FAR) in Urban Planning

Floor area ratio (FAR) is not as complicated as you might think. This post breaks down what FAR means, how to calculate it, and why the formula says divide, even though you’ll often multiply it in real-world planning.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 21, 2025

Zoning 101: Why You Can’t Just Build a Coffee Shop Anywhere

Ever wonder why you can’t just open a coffee shop wherever you want? This post breaks down the basics of zoning—what it is, why it exists, and how it can either support or stall your next big idea. Perfect for anyone trying to understand how cities control land use and why zoning still matters.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
September 1, 2025

10 Funniest Public Comments I’ve Heard (Yes, These Really Happened)

Public comment is a cornerstone of democracy—and sometimes, it's also comedy gold. For every thoughtful resident with a well-reasoned concern, there’s someone worried that duplexes attract raccoons or that bike lanes will displace deer. This post rounds up ten of the funniest, weirdest, and most memorable public comments that made planners pause, blink, and silently ask the universe: Did they really just say that?
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
July 14, 2025

10 of the Wildest Zoning Requests Planners Have Come Across

Every planner has a story, the kind that makes you pause mid-review and question reality. From drive-thru goat yoga to floating homes on retention ponds, I’ve gathered ten of the wildest zoning requests I’ve come across or heard from other planners. Some were denied. A few somehow passed. All of them? 100% real. Scroll through for jetport neighborhoods, skyscrapers over train stations, and one very determined cat lover.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
July 14, 2025

Why I Became a Planner

Before I became a planner, I dreamed of being an architect—until one painful rejection forced me to rethink everything. What I discovered was a deeper calling: not just to design buildings, but to shape communities. ZOP was born from that journey, combining a love of design, connection, and purpose. This is the story behind it.
Juan Castillo
June 2, 2025

Zoning Myths That Just Won’t Die

Zoning's been around for over 100 years, which means it's had plenty of time to collect myths like a planner collects PDFs. Some are outdated. Some are rooted in fear. Some just won’t go away no matter how many public meetings we explain them in.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
July 14, 2025

Can Good Planning Fix a Bad City?

Not on its own, but it can help lead the way. Good planning can’t erase decades of disinvestment or dysfunction overnight, but it can align vision with action, give communities a voice, remove barriers, and slowly rebuild trust.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
July 14, 2025

Planner Pet Peeves (Part 1)

Even planners who love their work have their breaking points. From public meetings no one can attend to zoning codes stuck in the 1970s, this post calls out the stuff that makes us sigh, cringe, or scream internally.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
July 14, 2025

What Actually Is a Comprehensive Plan?

A comprehensive plan is a city’s long-term guide for growth — shaping everything from housing and parks to transportation and zoning. It sets the vision, goals, and policies for the next 10 to 20 years. Why should you care? Because it affects what gets built in your neighborhood, how traffic moves, and whether your city becomes more affordable and livable — or not.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
August 21, 2025

Stuff Only Planners Say (Part 1)

Planning has its own weird, wonderful language full of acronyms, outdated maps, and phrases that sound totally normal to us and completely bizarre to everyone else. From “PUD with a CUP in an MU zone” to checking trip generation rates for doggy daycares, this is a peek into the planner brain.
Juan Castillo
June 14, 2025

Before Zoning: How Cities Used to Work

Picture of the wild wild west
Before zoning, cities were flexible, walkable, and full of mixed uses. Homes above shops, workshops in backyards, and neighborhoods that adapted with ease. Zoning brought structure but also rigidity and exclusion. Now, cities are rethinking those old rules, looking back to build places that are more connected, inclusive, and human again.
Juan Castillo
June 17, 2025

If Zoning Was a Person

Over 100 years old and still clinging to the phrase “modern,” Zony Buffer is the rule-loving, parking-obsessed planner in your life. He hates mixed uses, loves tidy labels, and wears a tie to everything — even BBQs. But lately, he’s softening a bit, flirting with walkability and mixed-use vibes. Love him or hate him, Zony still sets the boundaries (literally).
Juan Castillo
May 30, 2025

What the Heck Is an Overlay District?

Overlay districts are like zoning add-ons, extra rules layered on top of base zoning for specific areas. They can protect resources, guide design, or encourage certain types of development. They don’t replace existing zoning, just tweak it. It's zoning with a twist and yes, it matters.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
September 7, 2025

This One Map Changed My View of Cities

Seeing a 1930s redlining map was a turning point for me. It showed how planning decisions, rooted in racism and classism, shaped decades of inequality and how those patterns still exist today. Cities aren’t just built; they’re designed, and if we’re not careful, they’re designed to exclude.
Juan Castillo | Urban Planner
July 14, 2025

Zoning Code Terms That Sound Inappropriate (But Aren’t)

Planning is full of serious business, but sometimes the jargon? Not so much. From rear yard penetration to height erection limits, these are the 100% real, technically correct terms that make even seasoned planners do a double take. Click in for a laugh (and maybe a blush) at some of zoning’s most unfortunate phrasings.
Juan Castillo
September 1, 2025

How Cities Are Using Form-Based Codes

Tired of zoning that only cares about what something is instead of how it looks? Form-based codes are changing that. Instead of just saying what can be built, they shape how it looks and how it fits into the neighborhood — porches, storefronts, sidewalks, and all. In this post, we break down what form-based codes are, why cities are adopting them, and how they’re reshaping communities from Florida to Colorado. If you care about walkable blocks, beautiful streetscapes, and people-first design, this one's for you.
Juan Castillo
June 17, 2025