Housing

Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Redding, California at night

Leveraging Church Properties to Build Affordable Housing

As owners of valuable urban real estate, some churches are taking up the mandate to serve their community by using their vacant properties to provide housing for people being priced out of their homes.

June 16, 2021 - Reasons to Be Cheerful

People experiencing homelessness

When It Comes to Ending Homelessness, What Does 'Functional Zero' Really Mean?

"The idea of the word ‘functional’ in front of ‘zero’ is a reaction to the misperception that ending homelessness means no one ever experiences homelessness again."

June 16, 2021 - Next City

House

Are We in a Housing Bubble?

As the pandemic shifts housing priorities and costs continue to soar, experts assess the potential for a crash similar to 2008's Great Recession.

June 16, 2021 - Vox

Detached backyard cottage in Oregon

Strong Demand in the First Month of Chicago's Coach House Pilot Program

The first month of a three-year pilot program that legalizes the construction and conversion of coach houses—a local form of accessory dwelling unit—is responding to strong demand in Chicago.

June 16, 2021 - Chicago Tribune

Motel 6 hotel room in Braintree, Massachusetts in 2015

Oregon's Version of Project Roomkey Offers Housing to Those Who Lost Homes to Wildfires

The program funds the purchase of hotels for housing people experiencing homelessness as housing costs in the state continue to rise.

June 15, 2021 - High Country News

Minnesota State Capitol

Rent Control Showdown in Minnesota

Republicans in the Minnesota State Legislature ditched an effort to block voters in the Twin Cities from implementing rent stabilization laws.

June 15, 2021 - Minnesota Reformer

Single-Family Housing Construction

U.S. Home Construction Costs Are Higher Than Ever

With demand soaring and materials in short supply, the cost of building a home has risen sharply in the last year.

June 14, 2021 - Bloomberg

Expo & Crenshaw Expo Line Station

Inglewood Set to Rezone Neighborhoods Near New Transit Lines

Plans for the area include thousands of new housing units, public parks, and improved bike and pedestrian infrastructure.

June 14, 2021 - Urbanize LA

Rep. Marcia Fudge

White House Reinstates Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule

The Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule is back, but with one critical change that seems to respond to complaints used by Trump administration officials to rescind the rule in 2020.

June 14, 2021 - The Washington Post

Coronavirus

Census: 7 Million Americans Are Behind on Rent

With the federal eviction moratorium due to expire at the end of the month and rent relief programs failing to reach those who need it most, an eviction crisis still looms.

June 13, 2021 - NPR

Venice Beach, Los Angeles

Supportive Housing Bridging Venice Canals Granted Planning Commission Approval in L.A.

The mixed-use Reese Davidson Community will include 140 housing units, commercial space, and a performance space.

June 11, 2021 - The Architect's Newspaper

Massachusetts

Nantucket Residents Pass on More Stringent Regulation of Short-Term Rentals

A recent Nantucket Town Meeting resolved a long-simmering controversy regarding short-term rentals.

June 10, 2021 - The Inquirer and Mirror

Las Vegas Sprawl

What Is Regional Planning?

Regional planning addresses planning issues that cross local jurisdictional boundaries, like transportation or watershed protection. In other examples, regional planning offers a holistic approach to the interconnected systems and dynamics that shape physical and cultural landscapes.

June 9, 2021 - James Brasuell

Central Los Angeles

L.A. Planners Working to Shift Affordable Housing Distribution for More Equitable Results

Almost all the affordable housing development in L.A. in the past decade has occurred in majority-minority neighborhoods. The L.A. Department of City Planning is looking for ways to make sure high-income areas do more of their fair share.

June 9, 2021 - Urbanize LA

Subway Homeless

Homeless New Yorkers Lead a Push for Better Rental Vouchers

Until recently, New York City's local housing vouchers only covered about $1,250 in rent; the median rent on a NYC apartment is $2,600. Activism from current and formerly homeless New Yorkers helped change that.

June 9, 2021 - Next City

Eviction

Eviction Records Follow People Around for Years. This Isn’t Fair.

Op-ed: Even for people who have never been evicted, the stain of merely an eviction filing can lock people out of quality housing for years.

June 8, 2021 - Next City

British Columbia

How Zoning Discrimination Still Affects Canadian Cities

Policies that encouraged urban segregation and led to the displacement and disenfranchisement of communities of color continue to reverberate in Canada's urban centers.

June 7, 2021 - The Globe and Mail

Vancouver Skyline

How the 'Financialization of Housing' is Physically Changing Cities

The increasing investment value of real estate has led to tangible changes in the way buildings are designed and function, one author argues.

June 7, 2021 - Fast Company

South of Market

900 Affordable Housing Units on Multiple Sites Planned by San Francisco

The city has selected developers for an ambitious approach to affordable housing development on nine sites across the city.

June 6, 2021 - San Francisco Chronicle

Town Homes

Texas Metros Lead Residential Building Permit Activity in 2020; Atlanta, Phoenix Also in the Top 5

A new report quantifies the number of housing units in the development pipelines in metropolitan areas around the United States.

June 6, 2021 - Urbanize Atlanta

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.