Housing

Seattle Releases Draft Rezonings for its 'Urban Villages'
Seattle is planning to add height and density in "urban villages" around the city—part of the growth and affordability goals targeted by previous planning efforts by the city.

Changes to Tax Credit Criteria Are Breaking Up Concentrated Poverty in New Jersey
Recent news reports have highlighted the low number of federally-funded affordable housing projects that are built in high-opportunity areas, but an examination has found that strategic allocation changes are having a beneficial effect in New Jersey.

Hey, Young People! Stay in Your Parents’ House Forever!
A new voice in the unending chorus of complaints about Millennials, the Wall Street Journal reports that Millennials should be blamed for wanting to live in places that are popular to live in, and implies they should spend more time driving.

What's the Matter With the Upper East Side?
In a free market, the richest neighborhoods would ordinarily be the most popular. But some well-off urban neighborhoods are actually losing population. Why?

San Diego Activists Form Coalition to Respond to Homelessness, Housing Crisis
A diverse coalition of social justice, labor, and environmental groups have come together under the name Build Better San Diego to troubleshoot and advocate for affordable housing, writes affordable housing developer and advocate Murtaza Baxamusa.

How Not to Solve a Housing Crisis
More trouble in River City, as Portland and Oregon struggle with rising housing costs and come up with a puzzling solution.

A Quick Look at State-By-State Building Permit Data
Building permit data provides a barometer of the development market, which is a reflection of development processes and planning regimes. The arc of the country's housing construction trends bends toward Texas.

The Average American House Shrunk in 2017
For decades the size of the average American house has trended upward. 2017 saw that trend slow and reverse.

Report: Demand, Not Market-Rate Supply, Drives Housing Prices in San Francisco
The Urban Institute takes a detailed look at San Francisco's real estate market, where most home sales top $1 million, revealing that old units are far more likely to attract top dollar.

Homeless Numbers Continue to Rise in and Around Los Angeles
Rents continue to rise in Los Angeles and more people are living in their cars.

Sign of the Times: Developers Deconverting Condos Back to Apartments in Chicago
In the 1970s and 1980s, condo conversions were all the rage in Chicago. In 2017, however, developers are scooping up multi-family buildings en masse and "deconverting" condo units into apartments.
Infill Comes to Atlanta's Single-Family Neighborhoods
The Atlanta metropolitan area is facing an estimated 2.5 million new residents by 2040. Some current residents are surprised at some of the neighborhoods accommodating that growth.

Who's To Blame For Gentrification?
Journalist Peter Markowitz has written a provocative, and profoundly disingenuous, analysis of the causes and effects of gentrification in American cities. He sows division at a time that requires collaboration, writes Josh Stephens.

How American Homeownership Fosters Inequality
Matthew Desmond, author of "Evicted," looks at the lives of Americans across the economic spectrum to gain insight into how homeownership, mainly through the mortgage tax deduction, keeps the U.S. unequal.

Progressives Against Housing
In Zoned Out!, Tom Angotti, of City University New York (CUNY) tries to make the case against upzoning New York's neighborhoods (or at least its poorer ones).

Taller, Denser, but More Affordable Housing Coming to San Francisco
Following a similar ordinance signed into law by Mayor Ed Lee last July that dealt with developments that are 100 percent affordable, the new housing density ordinance apples to market-rate developments that have 30 percent affordability.

Missing Middle Housing: An Austin Case Study
The "missing middle" of housing is a concept familiar to many planners, but it's still probably unknown to most of the public. A story for Austin's NPR station could be an indication that the missing middle is entering the public consciousness.

Conspicuous and Controversial Condo Building Breaks Ground in Denver
Sloan Lake is getting a new neighbor.
How to Improve an Accessory Dwelling Unit Ordinance
Pasadena is revising its zoning regulations to accommodate more accessory dwelling units. This open letter to the city's Planning Commission includes sound suggestions, applicable everywhere.

Black Chicagoans Segregated, Regardless of Income
Latino Chicagoans are more likely to live in diverse neighborhoods than whites or blacks do.
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