Ask anyone working in development and construction what stands between an idea and a finished project, and funding may be one of the first responses. But look a little deeper and there’s a second bottleneck that gets less attention, but be just as costly: information. Can this property be developed? What zoning applies? What infrastructure is available? What environmental constraints exist? What permits will be required? Is this even a viable site? These are basic questions.

We use AI in parts of our own work, and we think it's worth being plain about how. So today we're publishing our AI Policy, a short, straightforward page on how AI shows up at UrbanForm and how it supports the people who rely on us. Our one principle Everything we build exists to strengthen human decision-making, keep people well-informed, and build the foundations for good relationships. That's the whole policy in one sentence, and everything else follows from it. Land-use d

Every city we work with already has tools in place to serve residents well. GIS portals, permit systems, comprehensive plans, dedicated staff who know the code inside and out. Those tools and that expertise are the foundation. UrbanForm doesn't replace any of it. UrbanForm builds a zoning intelligence layer: a layer that puts the answer to "what can I do here?" directly into the hands of people, whether or not they already speak the language of zoning. It’s an intelligence la

Washington’s middle housing law has been on the books since 2023. Most planners in the state know the headline: cities must allow duplexes, triplexes, and other “missing middle” housing types in residential zones that were previously single-family only. What’s less clear, and what’s generating a lot of the real work right now, is the parcel-level question underneath that headline. Knowing your city is required to allow four units per lot doesn’t tell you which lots can actual

And why your city manager and community development director will thank you for it. Community Development Directors don't want to buy software. They want outcomes. Better permit applications, confident, capable, and productive staff, a department that feels responsive and serves their community well. Here's what actually changes when your city deploys UrbanForm. 1. Your staff spends less time on routine lookups. "What can I build on this property?" is one of the most common q

Small moves. Real results. Launching a new public-facing tool is only half the work. The other half is making sure residents can find it. Three Oregon cities have done that especially well with UrbanForm and the approaches they took are worth sharing, because they're simple, replicable, and they work. Boardman: Give It Its Own Home The City of Boardman created a dedicated UrbanForm page under City Administration - its own destination with a plain-language description, a dire

There is a version of a parcel inquiry that goes smoothly. Someone calls or walks in, the planner pulls up the zoning, answers the question, and the conversation ends in under ten minutes. That version exists, and it happens every day. But there is another version - the more common one - where zoning is only part of what someone needs to know. A developer wants to understand the history of a site before investing in due diligence. A contractor is trying to reconcile what the

There’s a lot of energy right now around AI in local government. And honestly, most of it is well-placed. The technology is genuinely impressive, the potential applications for planning and community development are real, and cities are paying attention. But there’s a question that doesn’t get asked enough in those conversations: what has to be there before AI can do its job? Because the planning departments we see getting the most out of new technology aren’t necessarily th

Resources are available to support comprehensive planning efforts Oregon planning departments are managing significant workloads, including housing production targets, HAPO deadlines, and addressing post-pandemic growth with existing staff resources. The DLCD offers the UGB Expansion Area Planning Grants as a practical resource to support cities. There is $500,000 available to help cities complete comprehensive planning for unannexed land within their UGBs. Applications are

We're speaking at the LOC Spring Conference this week. Here's what we actually want to talk about, and why the most useful AI conversations in planning are the most boring ones. Every few months, someone publishes a piece about how AI is going to transform local government. The framing is usually the same: enormous potential, significant risk, unclear timeline. The technology is evolving rapidly. More guidance is coming. The conclusions are split, but equally frightening on b

Late last year, UrbanForm began working with the Southern Oregon Coast Regional Housing Collaborative (SOCRH) and CCD Business Development Corporation to bring parcel-specific zoning information online for the cities of Coos Bay, North Bend, and Bandon. The goal was to remove the friction that slows projects down before they even begin, supporting their housing goals and economic development across the region. That work is now expanding. Today, in partnership with Coos County

How planning departments are improving public service without adding a single position. You already know the calls. The basic questions. The hard-to-find documents. The back and forth. Someone wants to know if they can build an ADU on their property. Someone else is asking whether their lot is in a flood overlay zone. A contractor needs to confirm setback requirements before they can finish a bid. The opportunistic developer is certain that a specific bonus applies to a prop

Oregon's housing legislation has been moving at quite the clip. In the past few years, state lawmakers have passed a steady stream of housing bills, each one designed to address supply shortfalls, remove barriers to development, or override local restrictions that were slowing things down. For planners responsible for implementing these laws, and developers trying to build within them, the cumulative effect is a regulatory environment of mounting complexity. Every new bill ad

Planning departments across the country are navigating a quiet but profound shift. It is often described in shorthand as the “Succession Gap”, the "Silver Tsunami", or “The Great Handoff”: a wave of transitions or retirements among experienced planners who have spent decades building institutional knowledge, local context, and professional judgment that cannot be easily replaced. But the real issue is not simply that people are transitioning or retiring. It is how certainty

A Comprehensive Evaluation of Regional Zoning Digitization and the UrbanForm Implementation The landscape of municipal governance and land-use planning within the State of Oregon has historically been characterized by a high degree of regulatory complexity, rooted in a robust system of statewide planning goals and localized development codes. For decades, the friction inherent in navigating these regulations has served as a silent "information tax" on development, disproporti

Last week, Tina Kotek testified in support of Oregon’s new FastTrack program, a statewide effort to accelerate permitting and help deliver housing, jobs, and economic development more quickly. The message from Salem is unmistakable. Speed matters. Oregon wants projects to move faster, approvals to be more predictable, and good development to get off the ground sooner. But there is a critical truth that everyone who builds already understands. Speed without clarity does not ac

Editor’s Note Zoning is often discussed as policy, process, or regulation. Rarely is it discussed as infrastructure. At UrbanForm, we see zoning clarity as something more foundational. It quietly determines who can participate in development, how early projects succeed or fail, and whether long-range planning can be executed effectively and defended publicly. As housing policy accelerates across states and cities, the systems that translate those policies into real outcomes m

This is one of the most frequently asked questions we hear: How is UrbanForm different from GIS? It’s a good question, and an important one. GIS plays a foundational role in how cities, counties, and regions manage spatial information. Many of the professionals we work with rely on GIS every day, and UrbanForm would not exist without it. But UrbanForm is not a GIS system. GIS Is an Essential Source. But it’s Not the Whole Picture. At its core, GIS is exceptionally good at ans

When people talk about the cost of development, they usually point to land, materials, labor, or financing. These are visible, measurable, and easy to place on a spreadsheet. Time is different. Time rarely appears as a single line item, yet it quietly influences every other cost. It compounds risk, shapes behavior, and determines whether projects move forward, stall, or disappear altogether. In many cases, time is the most expensive input of all. Time Changes Decisions Long B

2025 marked a year of real momentum for UrbanForm. We expanded to serve 29 jurisdictions (and counting), reflecting growing trust from public agencies and professionals who depend on zoning clarity to move projects forward. In parallel, we continued to strengthen our technical processes, adding requested zoning analysis information and increasing transparency into authoritative sources. Together, these advances deliver broader coverage and greater confidence for everyone work