Housing

Housing Construction

Evaluating Affordable Housing Development Strategies

There are many ways that communities can support and encourage affordable housing development. Let's compare them.

March 23, 2016 - Todd Litman

Surface Parking

Munich Builds New Housing Over Parking Lots

Fed up with all the extra space parked cars occupy, residents of Munich have turned to affordable housing built over already-existing parking lots. The wood-frame structures will be prefabricated and assembled quickly.

March 21, 2016 - CityLab

Sprawl

Sprawl and the Declining City

Sprawl lowers real estate values in cheap, declining cities—but it may also have social costs that aren't as relevant elsewhere.

March 20, 2016 - Michael Lewyn

Community Development Corporations Struggling to Stay Afloat in St. Louis

Less funding has led to a decline in the number of community development corporations in the St. Louis area, despite a persistent need for their services.

March 18, 2016 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

How Oakland Is Tackling Its Housing Crisis

Just across the Bay Bridge from one of the most famous examples of a broken housing market, Oakland is working to keep up with the effects of housing demand.

March 18, 2016 - SPUR

Luxury Housing Is Not the Enemy

We can't build our way out of the housing crisis…but we won't get out without building.

March 18, 2016 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Tenderloin District

Op-Ed: Overcoming a New NIMBYism

Rick Jacobus argues that those who block new development on social justice grounds aren't fighting to win long-term. Building is necessary, but with it should come robust affordable housing mandates.

March 17, 2016 - Shelterforce

How Federal Housing Programs Built Segregation in St. Louis

St. Louis Public Radio details the work of a local researcher who says the segregation of today's St. Louis is the result of deliberate, decades-long federal housing policy.

March 15, 2016 - St. Louis Public Radio

More Anti-Density Measures Headed to the Ballot in Southern California

Witness the full force of anti-development animus in Southern California, where at least three cities are facing variety of backlash to the status quo of zoning and development processes.

March 15, 2016 - KPCC

A Chronicle of Inequality—Starting with Memphis and Houston

Places Journal has launched a series titled "The Inequality Chronicles." Expect high-quality longform articles.

March 15, 2016 - Places Journal

Urban Infill

Finding Middle Ground in the Density Debate

Writer Alex Marshall looks to Kitsilano, a Vancouver neighborhood, for urban infill done right. Skyscrapers and mid-rise developments aren't always necessary to achieve more people per square foot.

March 14, 2016 - Governing

Another California Columnist Rails Against CEQA Abuse by NIMBYs

With the help of housing experts, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Chip Johnson points to abuse of the California Environmental Quality Act by NIMBYs as one of the main reasons for the Bay Area's housing crisis. Ethan Elkind offers an opposing view.

March 14, 2016 - San Francisco Chronicle

Manhattan Skyline

Manhattan's Glut of Condos Now a Glut of Apartments

Despite concerns than foreign investors would snatch up expensive condo properties around Manhattan, keeping the supply our of reach of local renters, analysts report rental prices are dropping as new supply enters the market.

March 12, 2016 - Bloomberg Business

Affordable Housing

Using the Wrong Tools to Build Affordable Housing

What's the best way to deliver long-term affordable housing?

March 11, 2016 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Op-Ed: To Fix Poverty, Make Housing Fair for Everyone

A Harvard sociologist and author of "Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City" supports a large expansion of housing vouchers to rebalance the scales of the housing market.

March 9, 2016 - The New York Times

Report Finds Much Ado About Nothing for Vancouver Real Estate

Despite reports to the contrary, a recent report created in part by the City of Vancouver, finds that most housing types in the city have yet to be sold to absentee landlords.

March 9, 2016 - The Globe and Mail

Mountain View Breaks Rank—Approves Large Amount of New Residential Land Uses

According to a new plan approved by the city of Mountain View, developers could now add a large amount of dense housing on the doorstep of Google's headquarters.

March 8, 2016 - Vox

Glenmont Metrocentre

How One Developer Is Delivering Urban Infill

Doug Bauer, CEO of one of the nation's largest homebuilders, describes the political and design decisions that contributed to the success of urban infill projects in four unique case studies.

March 8, 2016 - Doug Bauer

Seaside Entrance

The Same Old Misconceptions

Misconceptions about New Urbanism persist.

March 7, 2016 - Michael Lewyn

The Case for Making Federal Housing Programs Like HAMP and HARP Permanent

There have been a number of federal and state programs to address the housing and foreclosure crisis. While these programs have helped a lot of people and continue to do so, many people that are qualified still have trouble completing these programs.

March 7, 2016 - DSNews

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.