Resources
Over the years I’ve created a browser folder with my go-to links. Here’s what I look at (as of June 2025):
Madison Strong Towns
I’m one of the coordinators (my committed responsibility is to set a meeting place for our monthly meeting) and this is where I get to bounce off ideas and campaigns. Right now we are focusing on Ending Parking Mandates but we’ve done a Crash Analysis Studio at Raymond Road and Prairie Road and hosted several City Staff members for discussions about Madison.
Madison Property Value per Acre
Developed by Jim Kreft, this uses recent assessor data to determine the amount of property taxes a parcel in Madison pays in compared to the amount of land it occupies. It helps provide an illustration often seen from Urban3 plots about the importance of city centers towards revenue and how suburban sprawl contributes to financial instability in cities.
Comprehensive Plan and Generalized Future Land Use
Also known as the Comp Plan and the GFLU, these are the legal guiding documents for housing in Madison. The Comprehensive Plan dictates how Madison should build. The GFLU provides a “menu” of zoning options that can be applied to parcels in a specific area.
Madison has a high number of “low residential” zones that limit developments to single family homes by right. If the Madison Housing Forward 2025 proposals pass, these low residential zones would probably include duplexes by right.
Madison Property Look-up - Information and Map
A useful way to find information like zoning, taxes paid, and values.
Madison Housing Tracker
A dashboard developed by the City to help illuminate housing construction and pace towards the goal of 15,000 new homes by the beginning of 2030.
Madison Housing Snapshot (2023)
An analysis of housing stock that is unbeaten. Really informative graphics and I’m waiting for the next version to be released!
Strong Towns
The articles are good, the Crash Analysis Studio was inspiring, and the tools like the Financial Decoder and Housing-Ready Cities are really neat!
Parking Lot Map and Parking Reform Network
Illustrative of how much parking there is in Madison. Great resource to see what other cities are accomplishing around the rest of the U.S.
Billion Bollards Club
An interactive map made by the Strong Towns Portland local conversation where people can place 10 hypothetical bollards. Once you get to your 10th, any additional bollard replaces the oldest one you place (FIFO). It allows a community to highlight where they feel unsafe.
Carsized
Fun way to compare car sizes. This one terrifies me.
Madison Zoning Ordinances
The law.