Urban Planning Cheat Sheet

The core ideas of Urban Planning distilled into a single, scannable reference — perfect for review or quick lookup.

PiqCue — piqcue.com/urban-planning/cheatsheet

Quick Reference

Zoning

The division of a municipality into districts with regulations governing land use, building height, lot coverage, density, and setbacks. Zoning is the primary legal mechanism through which local governments control the physical form and functional character of neighborhoods.

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD)

A planning strategy that concentrates housing, employment, and amenities within a short walking distance of high-quality public transit stations, reducing automobile dependence and promoting compact, walkable urban form.

Mixed-Use Development

An approach that blends residential, commercial, cultural, and sometimes industrial uses within a single building, block, or neighborhood, promoting walkability, economic vitality, and efficient land use.

Urban Sprawl

The uncontrolled, low-density expansion of urban areas into surrounding rural land, typically characterized by automobile-dependent subdivisions, strip malls, and separated land uses that increase infrastructure costs and environmental degradation.

New Urbanism

A design movement promoting walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods with diverse housing types, interconnected street networks, prominent public spaces, and architecture that respects local context and human scale.

Comprehensive Plan

A long-range policy document adopted by a local government that establishes goals, guidelines, and strategies for land use, transportation, housing, economic development, parks, and public facilities over a 10- to 20-year horizon.

Gentrification

The process by which investment and higher-income residents move into a lower-income neighborhood, raising property values and rents, often displacing long-term residents and altering the social and cultural character of the area.

Urban Renewal

Government-led programs that clear and redevelop areas deemed blighted, historically involving large-scale demolition of existing neighborhoods. Mid-20th-century urban renewal was widely criticized for displacing minority communities and destroying social networks.

Complete Streets

A transportation policy and design approach requiring streets to be planned, designed, and maintained to enable safe, comfortable access for all users, including pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, and motorists of all ages and abilities.

Green Infrastructure

A network of natural and semi-natural systems, such as rain gardens, bioswales, green roofs, permeable pavements, and urban forests, that manage stormwater, reduce heat island effects, and provide ecosystem services within the built environment.

Key Terms at a Glance

Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU):A smaller, secondary housing unit on the same lot as a primary residence, such as a backyard cottage or garage apartment.

Brownfield:A previously developed property that may be contaminated and requires cleanup before redevelopment.

Charrette:An intensive, time-limited collaborative workshop bringing stakeholders together to develop design solutions.

Complete Streets:Streets designed to accommodate safe travel by all users: pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, and motorists.

Density:A measure of the number of dwelling units, people, or floor area per unit of land area in a given zone or neighborhood.

Eminent Domain:The government power to acquire private property for public use, provided just compensation is paid to the owner.

Euclidean Zoning:A zoning system that strictly separates land into single-use districts (residential, commercial, industrial).

Floor Area Ratio (FAR):The ratio of a building's total floor area to the area of the lot on which it is built.

Form-Based Code:A land development regulation that uses physical form rather than land use as its organizing principle.

Gentrification:Neighborhood change driven by new investment and higher-income residents that can displace existing lower-income residents.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS):Software systems for capturing, storing, analyzing, and visualizing geographically referenced data.

Green Infrastructure:Natural or engineered systems that manage stormwater and provide ecological benefits within urban environments.

Heat Island Effect:The measurable increase in temperature in urban areas relative to surrounding rural areas caused by built surfaces.

Infill Development:Construction on vacant or underutilized parcels within an already developed urban area.

Mixed-Use Development:A project or district that combines residential, commercial, and sometimes institutional uses in close proximity.

Get study tips in your inbox

We'll send you evidence-based study strategies and new cheat sheets as they're published.

We'll notify you about updates. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.