“Steven Can Plan” is a blog about Chicago zoning, housing, and transit policy, and I’m Steven Vance and have written this blog since 2007. I started it as a class assignment at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UPP 202, Planning Great Cities). The class ended but I’ve kept it going for twenty years. Back then I wrote mostly about bicycling and transportation. Now I write mostly about why Chicago and Illinois don’t have enough homes, and which rules we should change to fix that.

What I write about

I like writing in a more technical and straightforward style and I often cite maps, data, and laws. Typical topics include:

  • Zoning and land use. What Chicago’s zoning code allows, what it used to allow, and what it quietly banned (courtyard buildings, for example, which the city stopped allowing in 1957).
  • Housing policy. Accessory dwelling units (ADUs, also called coach houses and basement apartments), rental registries, parking mandates, and state legislation such as Governor Pritzker’s BUILD plan.
  • Transit and streets. CTA and Metra service, bike infrastructure, and traffic crashes.
  • Maps and data. I use GIS (geographic information systems) software, mostly QGIS, to analyze and map public data, and I share how I did it.

Who I am

I live in Chicago. I’m the founder and CEO of Chicago Cityscape, a real estate and zoning data service that helps people look up what can be built on a property, and what’s being built nearby.

I’m a volunteer co-lead of Abundant Housing Illinois, which advocates for laws that allow more homes. I co-founded Streetsblog Chicago and reported there on transportation. I have a master’s degree in urban planning and policy from UIC.

These are my views and don’t represent Abundant Housing Illinois (AHIL), except when I’ve noted that a letter or statement was crafted by AHIL.

Where else to find me

You can probably find my email address but I may not check it for two weeks.