Sacramento Adopts One of the Most Progressive Missing Middle Strategies in the U.S.

Since our last update on the City of Sacramento, the Sacramento City Council unanimously adopted the Missing Middle Housing Interim Ordinance, becoming the first in California to allow multi-unit housing in every neighborhood. The Missing Middle Housing (MMH) Interim Ordinance is the outcome of a multi-year, comprehensive Missing Middle Housing Study led by Opticos in partnership with Cascadia Partners, Unseen Heroes, and Bill Lennertz. The Ordinance went into effect on October 17, 2024, and includes innovative tools like the sliding scale FAR to incentivize smaller, incremental housing that is more attainable for its community.  

HCPO 2024 Recap: Bridging the Housing Gap in Hawai’i with Innovative Solutions

Mitali Ganguly and Caroline Cochran spoke with Maui County Planning Director Kate Blystone and Kauaʻi County Planning Manager Jodie Higuchi Sayegusa at HCPO 2024 about innovative infrastructure solutions and private-public partnerships that may deliver attainable Missing Middle Housing in Hawai’i.

Lessons from Agueda, Portugal: Does Your Downtown/Town Have a Strong, Memorable Brand Like Agueda?

In 2011 the sleepy small town of Agueda, Portugal, which was off the beaten path of most tourists and struggling economically, had a simple, novel idea that would transform it: Cover one of their main shopping streets with colorful umbrellas. The motto was to “color life, bring color to the gray spaces of the city and make the ones who pass by smile.” 

Over a Decade of Work in Hawai’i

For almost 20 years, Opticos has demonstrated our commitment to walkable island urbanism.

Sacramento’s Groundbreaking Missing Middle Zoning and Policy Reform

Collaboration between Opticos and the City of Sacramento is underway to enable Missing Middle Housing citywide as part of a broader effort to increase the supply of lower-cost, attainable housing. The City of Sacramento took a monumental step forward when the City Council adopted the 2040 General Plan on February 27, 2024.