Housing

Public Engagement

Higher Quality Won't Prevent NIMBYism

Some argue that neighborhoods will be willing to accept new housing as long as it is high quality; this argument overlooks a wide variety of other objections to new housing.

July 11, 2017 - Michael Lewyn

Tenants Rights

Empowering Doctors to Help Solve Housing Challenges

A survey of the programs taking a proactive approach to the role of housing in health outcomes, and a call for more collaboration between the housing and healthcare industries

July 11, 2017 - How Housing Matters

Study Reveals Housing Discrimination Against Same-Sex Couples, Transgender Individuals

A study of three of the country's population and cultural centers reveals the kinds of discrimination same-sex couples and transgender individuals are likely to encounter on the rental market.

July 10, 2017 - Urban Institute

Facebook Bikeshare

Facebook's Expansion Plans Would Create a New 'Village' in Menlo Park

Facebook has proposed a campus expansion that would take shape as a neighborhood center or village, providing needed community services and amenities in the sprawling Menlo Park.

July 10, 2017 - The Mercury News

Homeless

Tacoma Relocates Homeless Residents to City-Owned Encampment

Tacoma, Washington is attempting to approach homeless encampments from a public health perspective.

July 8, 2017 - knkx

Homeless Encampment

L.A. Now Has Real Money for Homelessness but No Real Plan

L.A. has a new bond issue and a new sales tax for homelessness. But Mayor Eric Garcetti and the City Council actions to alleviate homelessness have been tepid and slow. Affordable housing developer and Michael Russell has some suggestions.

July 7, 2017 - UrbDeZine

Vancouver

Evidence that Foreign Buyers Aren't to Blame for High Housing Prices

Vancouver's exploding housing prices are caused by income inequality, housing scarcity, and a housing bubble, not by foreign investors and vacant housing units.

July 7, 2017 - Sightline

Mt. Adams, Washington

Hidden Crisis: Homelessness on the Reservation

Poverty and evictions among Native Americans are an underreported part of the national homelessness crisis. Often, homeless families stay as long as they can in the dwellings of family and friends.

July 5, 2017 - The Guardian

San Bernardino Skyline

One Developer's Idea for Regional Housing Solutions in Southern California

New housing development is off to a slow start in Los Angeles in 2017. Although the city defeated an anti-growth ballot measure, LA is still faced with a number of policy and legal challenges to building an adequate supply of affordable housing.

July 5, 2017 - The Planning Report

Passaic River

New Tools for Affordability in New Jersey

The Regional Plan Association announced its support for a pair of efforts to create funding and development requirements for affordable housing.

July 5, 2017 - RPA Lab

Tent City Bay Area

Homelessness a Growing Issue in San Francisco Suburbs

Across the nation, suburban homeless populations are growing. Many of these communities are unprepared to shelter or serve these growing populations.

July 3, 2017 - KQED

YIMBYs

Planning's New Rivalry: Housing Advocates vs. Radical Left

As the YIMBY movement has gained momentum in high-cost cities, advocates for social justice and subsidized housing have taken aim, claiming that YIMBY's pro-development stance aligns them with predatory capitalism and neoliberalism.

July 3, 2017 - California Planning & Development Report

Suburbia

On California's Broken Housing Requirement System

Liam Dillon has written the exact article for anyone who has every rolled their eyes at the words "housing element" or Regional Housing Needs Assessment.

July 3, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

Protest Crowd

L.A. Metro CEO Challenges Trump on Infrastructure Funding

President Trump’s most recent transportation budget is projected to cut transportation spending by 13 percent, potentially undercutting many of Los Angeles' ambitious projects to continue the build-out of a full public transportation system.

July 3, 2017 - The Planning Report

Single Family Residential Construction

Austin's Affordable Housing Stock Shrunk More Than Any Other U.S. Metro

For all the talk of Texas' relatively affordable housing prices, the city of Austin is one of the worst examples of one of the dominant trends in the U.S. real estate market—fewer and fewer options for affordable rental housing.

July 2, 2017 - The Urban Edge

texas

A Closer Look at the Appeal of the Fastest-Growing City in the U.S.

The "small-town feel" of Conroe, Texas is touted as one of the reason for its quick population growth.

July 1, 2017 - The Urban Edge

Seattle

Seattle Tackling Equity Challenges With Global Lens

Seattle is faced with an affordable housing crisis that has led the new Planning & Community Development Director Sam Assefa to look globally for solutions.

June 30, 2017 - The Planning Report

Capitol Hill

Do Members of Congress Need a Housing Stipend?

The cost of living in Washington, D.C. might make it difficult for less wealthy members of Congress to pay rent or mortgages in their home state and the seat of power. Thus, a surprising voice has suggested housing assistance for Congress.

June 29, 2017 - The Hill

Ballard neighborhood, Seattle

Black Home Ownership Rates in Seattle's King County Continue to Shrink

King County, Washington was once home to a large number of black homeowners, today the county lags far behind the rest of the country.

June 28, 2017 - The Seattle Times

Yuppies Out

Who's Mapping Gentrification, and Where?

In these cities, data on gentrification has been compiled to build mapping tools documenting the process. The hope is to identify neighborhoods where low-income residents are at risk of displacement.

June 27, 2017 - Data-Smart City Solutions

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.