Comprehensive Plan

The Comprehensive Plan is a broad-based plan that creates a vision for a future Madison. It provides guidance for big-picture decisions about issues such as housing, jobs, and transportation. The Plan was shaped by an extensive community engagement effort called Imagine Madison, which included over 15,000 interactions with community members.

A main component of the Comprehensive Plan is the Generalized Future Land Use (GFLU) Map, which includes a range of land use categories, such as residential, commercial, and industrial. It sets expectations for how we want to grow as a community over time.

The Comprehensive Plan’s recommendations are intended to:

• Create a collective vision for a future Madison.
• Establish priorities for public investment.
• Align the work of City Agencies around the issues that matter most to residents.
• Guide private development through the Generalized Future Land Use (GFLU) Map.
• Foster partnerships with other entities to address shared goals.

Comprehensive Plan Interim Update (2023)

The City of Madison updated its Comprehensive Plan on December 5, 2023, replacing the 2018 Comprehensive Plan. The 2023 update focused on revisions to the Growth Framework within the Plan, including the Generalized Future Land Use (GFLU) Map. The majority of the GFLU Map revisions were to incorporate land use changes from sub-area plans adopted or amended since 2018. The public also had an opportunity to submit GFLU Map amendment applications. In addition, updates were made to the population projections and many of the maps included within the Plan (see the revision date listed on individual maps). Other than the addition of the seventh Element, Health and Safety, strategies and actions are unchanged from the 2018 Plan. A summary list of Council-approved revisions is available.

GFLU Map Background

The GFLU Map makes recommendations for future land uses and development intensities to guide the physical development of Madison. The future land use categories guide what types of zoning can be applied, and ultimately what can be built in different parts of the city. The GFLU Map is one of the most-used sections of the Comprehensive Plan because state law (Wis. Stats. Sec. 66.1001) specifies that many aspects of proposed development, such as land division and rezoning requests, must be found consistent with the GFLU Map and recommendations within the Plan. For example, a parcel of land specified for future “Medium Residential” land use could not be rezoned to allow for industrial uses, but could be rezoned to allow for a multifamily residential building. Learn more about the GFLU Map by reviewing the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document.

Comprehensive Plan Progress Updates

The Comprehensive Plan establishes the long-term growth framework for the City, with broad policy recommendations and urban development strategies. Since adoption, the City has been working to implement the Plan’s recommendations. In addition to reading about implementation progress through the interactive components of the Plan embedded on this webpage, you can also find the annual Progress Update reports below:

Use the ‘Summary’ option to navigate quickly to different sections of the Plan that you’re interested in learning about. Use the ‘Full Document’ option to look through the Plan in its entirety. Use the ‘Guided Tour’ option for other navigational tips.