Housing

Hurricane Harvey and the Failure of the National Flood Insurance Program
Houston's most recent natural disaster is only the latest example of how a program created to help homeowners has been a greater benefit to the industries that profit from them.

Portland: Homes for Everyone, or Not in My Neighborhood
Even progressive Portland wrestles with conservatism when it comes to housing in single-family neighborhoods

On to a New Era of Rental Housing
A decade after an epochal shift in the housing market, the country is changing again.

Tiny Home Village Approved for Homeless in San Jose
Now San Jose's tiny home village pilot project, meant to create 40 units of "sleeping cabins for homeless individuals, needs to find a neighborhood to call home.

Milwaukee Can't Require Affordable Housing in Privately Financed Developments
State law required an affordable housing plan making its way through the Milwaukee City Council to be drastically reduced in scope.

No Place to Call Home: A Review of 'Homeless: Poverty and Place in Urban America'
In a history of the skid rows in American cities from the late 19th century until the urban renewal era of the 1960s, Ella Howard tells of the impoverished people who inhabited them and the policy choices that supported their existence.

When Rents Rise But Wages Don't
Renters in smaller metropolitan areas are struggling to deal with the realities of rising rent and stagnant wages. At least wages have increased in high-priced areas.

Many New Yorkers Face Punishing Transit Commutes
As sky-high real estate prices force many lower-income New Yorkers to the periphery, they're paying an additional price in lengthy transit commutes. Meanwhile, real estate interests that benefit from transit investment bear few of its costs.

Spike Lee Takes on Gentrification in Netflix Series
In an update to his 1986 movie "She's Gotta Have It," Spike Lee confronts the ways Brooklyn has changed since then, gentrification and racial tension included.

A Detroit Neighborhood 'Sentenced to Die'
A handful of Delray residents refuse to be displaced by industry, but the plan for a new bridge may mean they don't have a choice.
An App That Pairs Young Renters With Older Homeowners
A new platform called Nesterly provides housing solutions for people on either side of the age demographic spectrum.

'Missing Middle' Housing and the Expected Millennial Exodus
The Washington Post examines "missing middle" housing as a solution for retaining millennials in cities and interior suburbs. There is still some question, however, about whether millennials are actually leaving urban areas.

Real Estate Industry Wants to Expand Prop. 13 Property Tax Breaks
A proposed ballot initiative in California would extend the property tax limits offered by Proposition 13 as a lifetime benefit to homeowners over age 55 or severely disabled—even if they move to a new home in another part of the state.

Massachusetts Governor Sets a Housing Development Agenda
The state of Massachusetts has set a goal to add 135,000 new housing units over the next eight years. To achieve that goal, the state will provide incentives for cities that streamline development approval.
HUD's New York Leader Suggests Privatizing Public Housing
In The Real Deal, HUD administrator Lynne Patton hints at a 10-point plan for New York and New Jersey.
Complying With New State Laws on ADUs No Easy Matter
Santa Rosa is struggling to complying with two laws passed last year to encourage construction of inlaw units to increase affordable housing. Council members are concerned that loosened restrictions would degrade neighborhood character.

A Sermon for the Homeless
A recent conference hosted by the American Institute of Architects in Los Angeles shined a light on efforts to reduce homelessness in Los Angeles—and demonstrated just how much work must be done nationwide to solve this humanitarian crisis.
New California Housing Laws Not Well Received Locally
City council members of Burlingame, a small, affluent suburb south of San Francisco, are not happy with new laws that take away their discretion to reject developments that fail to meet "neighborhood character" criteria, but meet zoning requirements.

Census: Seattle Quickly Ascending the Ranks of Most Expensive Cities to Rent
New American Community Survey Data reveals the cities where renters are paying the most.

VA Reverses Course on Cuts to Popular Homeless Veterans Program
The Department of Veterans Affairs prompted outcry when it told advocates and its partners at the Department of Housing and Urban Development that it would cut $460 million for long-term housing for homeless veterans.
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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