53 resources

• Guide | Housing and ADUs

  The ABCs of ADUs

  An illustrated introduction to ADU types, community benefits, and policy choices.

• Guide | Housing and ADUs

  ADU design and development

  A step-by-step guide to design, budgeting, financing, and development.

• Guide | Housing and ADUs

  ADU fact sheet

  A concise overview of ADU forms, household uses, and community-scale benefits.

• Guide | Housing and ADUs

  APA accessory dwelling units collection

  Research and policy precedents. Examples from other jurisdictions do not establish local permission to build.

• Guide | Housing and zoning

  ADU model state act and local ordinance

  Model language for comparing ordinance approaches; check current local applicability.

• Guide | Housing and ADUs

  Removing barriers to ADU development and occupancy

  An AARP and APA guide to common regulatory, financing, and implementation barriers.

• Guide | Housing and ADUs

  Local Housing Solutions: accessory dwelling units

  A policy brief on local goals, regulatory choices, benefits, and limits of ADUs.

• Guide | Housing and zoning

  Virginia ADU statute

  Primary legal source for Virginia's statewide ADU framework, effective July 1, 2027. Read it with local code and legal guidance.

• Case study | Housing and ADUs

  Ashland, Oregon: ADU Program and pre-approved plans

  A small-city program with seven free pre-approved designs, including an ADA option. Study how reusable plans still require site-specific review.

• Case study | Housing and ADUs

  Bend, Oregon: ADU Resource Hub

  Compare Ashland's approach with another Oregon city that combines code guidance, fees, permitting information, and free pre-approved designs.

• Case study | Housing and ADUs

  Richmond, Virginia: Accessory Dwelling Units

  A Virginia example with one ADU in residential districts and a locally chosen size standard. Compare it with the statewide framework before treating it as a model.

• Case study | Housing and ADUs

  Alexandria, Virginia: ADU reform and ordinance

  A Virginia case of ordinance reform, public engagement, and implementation materials. Review the linked zoning text as well as the process.

• Case study | Housing and ADUs

  Portland, Oregon: ADU fee incentive

  A financial-incentive example: an ADU system-development-charge exemption tied to a recorded 10-year restriction on accessory short-term rentals.

• Case study | Housing and ADUs

  Seattle: ADUs, standard plans, and annual reports

  A large-city comparison with pre-approved detached-unit designs and annual reporting on permitting outcomes.

• Guide | Housing and accessibility

  Aging in place and housing adaptation

  Related housing adaptations and accessibility considerations.

• Tool | Built form and place design

  Townscaper

  Experiment with compact development, enclosure, and edges in the official browser demo.

• Guide | Rural and urban definitions

  Course visual dictionary

  Explore a 3D transect and compare Census, USDA, VDOT, HUD, and CNU definitions.

• Course support | Learning

  Course lecture stories

  Review the original lecture slides with readable text and scene navigation.

• Tool | Teamwork

  Team meeting polls and forms

  Create meeting polls and questions, share the link, and connect results to a Google Sheet.

• Data | Demographics

  U.S. Census Bureau data

  Official Census and ACS tables. Record geography, vintage, estimate type, and margins of error.

• Data | Boundaries

  Census TIGER/Line

  Official boundaries, roads, and geographic identifiers.

• Data | Transportation

  Virginia Roads

  VDOT open-data portal for transportation layers and applications.

• Data | Conservation

  Virginia Natural Landscape Assessment

  Virginia DCR ecological-core and landscape-conservation information.

• Data | Conservation

  National Wetlands Inventory

  Mapped wetlands from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; not a field or jurisdictional determination.

• Data | Hazards

  National Flood Hazard Layer

  FEMA flood-hazard mapping and effective flood information.

• Data | Geology

  Virginia Energy Karst Program

  Regional sinkhole and karst information. Source scale limits site-specific conclusions.

• Data | Historic resources

  Virginia Cultural Resources Information System

  Authorized cultural-resource information. Sensitive archaeological locations are restricted.

• Tool | Mapping

  MapLibre GL JS

  Open-source browser mapping documentation.

• Data | Mapping

  OpenStreetMap

  Open geographic data with contributor attribution and coverage limitations.

• Guide | Coding

  GitHub Hello World

  A safe introduction to repositories, branches, commits, and pull requests.

• Guide | Coding

  Codex quickstart

  Current Codex setup and first-workflow guidance.

• Course support | Coding

  OpenAI student offer

  Email Tyler before setting up ChatGPT Desktop or Codex. He can send enrolled students an invitation for 500 free usage credits, and the link must be used before signup is complete. Review current eligibility and terms.

• Case-study explorer | Rural revitalization

  EPR RERC Community Explorer

  Starting point for RERC community examples and funding leads.

  Public community explorer. Verify funding leads with the issuing program.

• Tutorial | Demographic reports

  Social Explorer: Creating a Report Using Maps

  Publisher instructions for selecting surveys, topics, and geographies and generating reports.

  Tutorial is public; database features may require subscription or institutional authorization.

• Access guide | Social Explorer and research data

  UVA Library Licensed Data Sources

  UVA's licensed-source listing and library contacts for access questions.

  Listing is public; database entitlement is separate and was not tested.

• Data-tool guide | ACS community profiles

  Census Reporter: About the Tool and Data

  Explains the independent ACS interface, release coverage, data sources, and limitations.

  Free public project, unaffiliated with the Census Bureau. Check geography, release, and uncertainty.

• Data-report tool | Appalachian comparisons

  ARC Data Report Tool

  Reports for Appalachian states and counties with comparative demographic and economic context.

  Public tool. County observations must not be presented as town-level measurements.

• Map and methodology | Economic distress

  ARC County Economic Status and Distressed Areas

  Current FY 2027 classifications, distressed-area information, methodology, and data tables.

  Public reference. Classification alone does not establish project eligibility or an award.

• Program guide | Recreation economies and downtowns

  EPA Recreation Economy for Rural Communities

  Community planning process and examples linking outdoor recreation to main-street revitalization.

  Public information. Applications were closed when checked; RERC assistance does not provide direct community grants.

• Geospatial guide | Terrain and base mapping

  USGS National Map GIS Data Download

  Official routes to elevation, topographic maps, geospatial products, metadata, and training.

  Public guide. Some linked imagery services require an account; preserve product dates and resolution.

• Soil-data tool | Land suitability

  USDA NRCS Web Soil Survey

  Official soil-survey information, interpretations, reports, help, and download guidance.

  Free public resource. Soil maps do not replace site-specific geotechnical or septic assessment.

• Mapping tutorial | Conservation screening

  Virginia Natural Heritage Data Explorer Help

  DCR's illustrated documentation for the NHDE map and search interface.

  Help is public. Sensitive data and project review have separate subscription terms; mapped absence is not clearance.

• Technical reference | Road and street design

  VDOT Road Design Manual

  Current chapters, design appendices, access-management references, and revision notices.

  Public reference. Confirm jurisdiction, applicability, and current referenced standards.

• Program manual | Unpaved-road improvement

  VDOT Rural Rustic Roads Program Manual

  Eligibility, traffic criteria, designation, evaluation, and scoping references.

  Public reference. Distributed manual is dated 2014; cross-check current program and technical requirements.

• Training directory | Virginia land-use decisions

  VCU Land Use Education Program

  Planning-commissioner, zoning-appeals, architectural-review, and customized training offerings.

  Program information is public; formal training requires registration and tuition.

• Site-readiness guide | Industrial-site evidence

  VEDP Business Ready Sites Program Resources

  Characterization guidance and examples addressing access, utilities, constraints, and due diligence.

  Public documents. Formal tier designation and funding decisions require separate review.

• Resource directory | Downtown revitalization

  Virginia Main Street Resources

  Program guidance, design references, upper-story residential information, and implementation resources.

  Public materials. Assistance and grants depend on applicable rules and application cycles.

• Code-reference directory | Existing-building reuse

  Virginia Building and Fire Regulations

  Existing-building, construction, and fire references for framing reuse and change-of-use questions.

  Virginia amendment documents are public. Complete integrated codes are linked separately; confirm the applicable edition.

• Historic-resource guide | Historic buildings and districts

  Virginia Cultural Resources Information System

  Public-viewer access and an explanation of available architectural information.

  Limited public viewer is free. Detailed access has fees and qualifications; sensitive archaeology is restricted.

• Workforce-data directory | Employment and occupations

  Virginia Works Labor Market Information

  Official links to employment, wages, projections, community profiles, and labor-market documentation.

  Public information directory. Direct retrieval returned 403; preserve geography, period, and resident-versus-workplace distinctions.

• Housing-data guide | Affordability and housing needs

  HUD CHAS Housing-Needs Data

  CHAS tables, access routes, and documentation for examining defined household groups.

  Public tables and documentation. Match releases and geographies; some separate tools or APIs require authorization.

• Funding reference | Rural community-facility reuse

  USDA Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program

  Applicant, service-area, facility-use, and project requirements for investigating potential assistance.

  Public guidance. Eligibility and available funding require USDA review; private commercial undertakings are excluded from the essential-facility definition.

• Data | Demographics

  Social Explorer

  Explore historical and current demographic maps and reports. Record the dataset, release, geography and uncertainty.

  Some features require institutional or paid access. UVA Library can help with licensed access.