Housing
How Democrats Can Fix the Affordable Housing Crisis
With Democrats taking back the Senate, can the Biden administration go beyond immediate-term rent relief to win more ambitious housing solutions?

The Impacts of Zoning Laws in Montgomery County
Historic zoning decisions have left a lasting legacy of housing inequality. Current leaders have the opportunity to change that.

What Is Exclusionary Zoning?
Criticized as a key factor in perpetuating housing inequality in the United States, exclusionary zoning refers to a range of policies that, explicitly or implicitly, seek to prevent people of certain races, ethnicities, or income levels from buying homes in specific neighborhoods.

What Is Affordable Housing?
The term affordable housing refers to housing units that cost less than a predetermined percentage of household incomes. Planners use affordable housing as a general term to describe housing that doesn't put an excessive financial burden on occupants.

Planning Trends to Watch in 2021
The nation is now tasked with the challenge of changing course in the middle of multiple, global crises. The necessity of finding a way to overcome the failures of the past and lay the groundwork for a new kind of future has never been more clear.

State Preemption Hitting Home for California Cities
Recently approved laws that force cities to take a more proactive approach to the state-mandated Regional Housing Needs Assessment process are beginning to take effect in California.

The Connecticut Zoning Atlas Illustrates a Proclivity for Single-Family Zoning
A new online interactive mapping tool illustrates just how much developable land is devoted to one for of residential housing in the state of Connecticut.

Vancouver Might Allow Non-Profit Housing to Skip Rezoning Application
Vancouver is considering eliminating a rezoning application, which could save non-profit developers up to two years in the city's approvals process.

Biden Promises New Attention to Racial Inequality, Including Fair Housing
The Biden administration is announcing its intentions to overturn several controversial products of the Trump administration to weaken the the implementation of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and the doctrine of disparate impact at its core.

Proposed Law Would Legalize Accessory Dwelling Units in New York State
Advocates have been calling for the New York State Legislature to legalize accessory dwelling units for years. A new law would take the first step.

Opinion: Public Housing Won't Solve the Affordability Crisis
Seeking repeal of the Faircloth Amendment could be a needless distraction in the new administration's efforts to create more affordable housing, according to an article by Jenny Schuetz for the Brookings Intitution.

December Stimulus Comes Up Well Short of Solving the Eviction Crisis, Report Says
A research brief published recently by the Urban Institute provides insight into debt accruing among renters during the pandemic and what governments need to do to relieve the pressure.

Upping Tacoma's Missing Middle Housing Game
Tacoma is looking to expand on the accessory dwelling unit reforms of the Home in Tacoma project by planning for new residential density along the city's transit routes.

The Shifting Demographics of Homeownership
Hispanics are the only racial group projected to increase their rate of homeownership over the next two decades, according to a new analysis.

New Transit-Oriented Development Requirements for Boston-Area Transit Stations
Cities with commuter rail stops will have to accommodate higher-density housing or risk losing access to state resources and housing grants.

Lawsuit Targets Granny Flat Law Compliance in California
A real estate group claims the city has been denying and delaying ADU permits in violation of city and state laws.

The Pros and Cons of HOAs in Cities
Are HOAs in cities a good thing? Not always. Keep reading to learn more.

San Francisco's Housing Crisis is Deepening, Despite Falling Rents
Despite the purported exodus of untethered Silicon Valley workers from the Bay Area, rents in the city are still the highest in the United States.

Kicking Commercial-to-Residential Conversions Into High Gear
A plan included in New York Gov. Andre Cuomo's draft 2022 budget will make it easier to do adaptive reuse for new housing in New York City.

What's Abolitionist Housing Policy?
Abolition—as a mode of mobilization and social change directed at the criminal legal system and elsewhere—remains widely misunderstood.
Pagination
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.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service