Housing

Redlining Map

Housing Discrimination Explained by a Comic Strip

A comic strip succeeds in presenting the complex history of redlining and housing discrimination.

September 29, 2017 - The Nib

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh City Council Mulls Options for Affordable Housing Funding

Deciding to create an affordable housing trust fund is one thing, deciding how to fund it is another.

September 28, 2017 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Cupertino

Is the Silicon Valley Past its Peak?

A lack of housing is responsible for an expected decline of the Silicon Valley's economic dominance, according to this opinion piece.

September 25, 2017 - Bloomberg View

Nimitz Freeway

Bay Area Not Prepared for Next Big One

As the death toll from Mexico's 7.1 magnitude earthquake on Sept. 19 climbs above 300, the San Francisco Chronicle investigates how well prepared the Bay Area is for an earthquake of comparable magnitude. Not very well.

September 25, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

110 Freeway

L.A.'s New Transit Oriented Communities Guidelines Are a Boost for Affordable Housing

The city of Los Angeles is taking substantive action to provide incentives for affordable housing development.

September 25, 2017 - Urbanize LA

Brockworth in Gloucestershire

Op-Ed Pins Britain's Housing Crisis on its Green Belts

The green belts that hem in developed areas in Great Britain are set arbitrarily, according to this op-ed in The Guardian, and the boundaries have outlived their usefulness.

September 23, 2017 - The Guardian

HUD

Carson Op-Ed Lays Out the Trump Agenda for HUD

Ben Carson has penned an op-ed that lays out the ideology driving the Trump Administration's approach to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

September 22, 2017 - The Hill

Queens, New York City

Hyper Urban Growth Without Residential Displacement

Here's a change: Displacement in the nation's fastest growing urban neighborhood has largely been limited to businesses. The new highrises have given Queens something it never had: a skyline.

September 22, 2017 - New York Magazine

New Jersey

Proposed Density Causes 'Chaos' at the Newark City Council Hearing

A suite of zoning changes that would increase building heights and density along the Passaic River in Newark, New Jersey, provoked a chaotic council hearing that devolved into shouting and the removal of residents from the council chambers.

September 21, 2017 - NJ.com

Homeless Encampment

Organization Sets Up Tents to Shelter Homeless in Detroit

A civil rights organization has taken direct action to provide support for homeless people living in Detroit.

September 21, 2017 - Associated Press via Detroit Free Press

East Harlem

Mapping Displacement Stories

The Regional Plan Association calls on the power of the contemporary Internet to broadcast stories of displacement from around Greater New York.

September 21, 2017 - Regional Plan Association

Los Angeles High Rise Construction

Downtown L.A. Sees Vacancies Rise and Homeless Populations Grow

There's plenty of housing available in Downtown L.A. for the wealthy but, while those apartments sit empty, many looking for housing find costs too high to pay.

September 20, 2017 - KPCC

Airbnb

They'll Help You Buy a House if You Airbnb It and Give Them a Cut

A Seattle company will give you $50,000 for a down payment if you'll continuously rent your extra room on Airbnb and give them most of the money.

September 20, 2017 - The New York Times

Seattle Apartments

Seattle Housing Not Family-Sized

As Seattle grows, families are finding it harder to find homes, because the city has a disproportionate number of one-bedrooms and studios compared to other American cities.

September 19, 2017 - Curbed Seattle

Chicago Bike Trail

Sustainable for Whom? Large-Scale Urban Development Projects and 'Environmental Gentrification'

Large, adaptive-reuse projects are all the rage in urban planning today, but absent a fundamentally new approach—with affordability at the center of the process—they are likely to become engines of what's been termed "environmental gentrification."

September 18, 2017 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Harvey Floods Houston

How the National Flood Insurance Program Sabotaged Itself

Having charged low rates during years of bumper development, the National Flood Insurance Program worked at cross-purposes with itself while development continued on.

September 18, 2017 - Vox

California

Critical Housing Bills Pass California Legislature on Final Day

The California legislature ended its season on Friday, handing Gov. Jerry Brown a third major victory. After passing landmark legislation earlier in transportation and climate change, a slate of controversial housing bills await his signature.

September 17, 2017 - The Mercury News

Texas Flood

Harvey Flooding Unlikely to Depress Houston's Housing Market

Vigorous continued demand for Houston homes left some realtors surprised after the city endured catastrophic flooding. For a lot of new construction, elevated homes may become the norm.

September 15, 2017 - The New York Times

Highway Living

How Overly Restrictive Land Use Regulations Hurt the Nation's Economy

Two economics professors from the University of Chicago and the University of California, Berkeley argue that the housing crisis doesn't just affect booming coastal cities. It's a national problem.

September 15, 2017 - The New York Times - Opinion

Atlanta BeltLine Artwork

Atlanta BeltLine Raises the Specter of 'Environmental Gentrification'

Large-scale adaptive reuse projects like the BeltLine in Atlanta receive praise in many circles. But they can also release a flurry of speculation, severely threatening affordability.

September 14, 2017 - Shelterforce

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.