Housing
It's Time to Stop Blaming Historic Preservation For Affordable Housing Woes
In a rebuttal to criticisms leveled at historic preservation districts, Stephanie Meeks of the National Trust for Historic Preservation argues that historic preservation has value and can aid in creating affordable housing.
Report: High Housing Costs Responsible for California's Economic Woes, Not Taxes
The Golden State attracts high-end workers, while its high housing costs cause a disproportionate number of low and middle income workers to flee the state. The non-profit think tank, Next 10, delves into this crisis in three new reports.
Viva Las House Flipping
While the practice of flipping houses has not yet returned to its pre-recession levels, one city in particular, is climbing quickly back to peak levels: Las Vegas.
Black Residents Displaced in Pittsburgh
Rents are on the rise in Pittsburgh, prompting some longtime residents to relocate farther away. Race, as well as class, figures heavily in this narrative.
Op-Ed: Affordability Crisis Dwarfs Affordability Policies
Although the political optics are hard to see, Daniel Hertz argues that policies like inclusionary zoning need to be strengthened by orders of magnitude to have more than a token impact on housing affordability.
A New Design Guide for Affordable Housing Developments
New affordable housing is only one step toward creating livable communities—a quality mix of uses on the ground floor, designed to integrate with the street and public spaces is also vital.
Say it Ayn So! A Randian View of the Boston-Area's Housing Supply
The Boston-area's supply of urban housing is failing people starting their careers, writes an architect and fan of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead.
Tiny Homes for the Homeless Run Afoul of the City of Los Angeles
The city of Los Angeles is putting an end to a crowdfunded, unpermitted program to build and deliver tiny homes to homeless people living on the streets of Los Angeles.
Sunday Service: New York Considers Church Parking Lots for Affordable Housing
The de Blasio Administration is getting creative in looking for sites to develop affordable housing. One potential idea: church parking lots.
Boulder and Denver Faced With Steady Loss of Affordable Housing
Boulder is a poster child for the housing crisis, according to The Denver Post.
Detroit Announces New Program to Jumpstart Mortgages
Low property values continue to stunt the comeback of Detroit—so the city and a group of banks have created a program to guarantee 1,000 mortgages in the city.
Tinkering With Seattle's Microhousing Rules Continues
A local writer evaluates the results of a 2014 ordinance that updated regulations regarding the development of microhousing. The Seattle City Council could once again revisit the regulations as part of the city's HALA process.
Industrial Chic—Shipping Container Homes
Innovative Idaho developer wants to create a subdivision using shipping containers that will be targeted at eco-conscious home buyers looking for new options, first-time home-buyers and empty-nesters with a sale price: $152,000.
Vancouver and Toronto Lead Big Increases in Canadian Housing Prices
The bloated cost of housing in Vancouver and Toronto has raised concerns among market analysts about a potential correction. Presumably, people in Canada are also worried about the price of housing.
So, About That Anti-Inclusionary 'Study'
Last week, I submitted the following letter to the editor of the Los Angeles Times in response to a vicious, and more importantly, extremely misleading op-ed that decried inclusionary housing as a development killer.
Op-Ed: Let's Build Homes, Not Ideology
Knee-jerk, ideological reactions to the California housing crisis rest on faulty arguments and threaten to cheat the state out of workable solutions.
Socially-Blind Urban Planning
In this era of increased inequality, socially-blind urban planning is morally questionable. Specifically, on the issue of homelessness in America, there are three problems to which planners need to pay particular attention.
Oil Bust: Houston's Housing Surplus is Driving Rents Down
With a multitude of new high-end apartment complexes coming online, Houston residents are reaping the rewards of lowered rents as landlords struggle to fill vacancies due to a slowing oil economy.
Zillow: Suburbs Becoming More Like Cities
According to the real estate website, urban home values are growing faster than those in the suburbs, bucking a longtime trend. This isn't exactly surprising, but it has serious social justice implications.
Can a New Master Plan Fix What Ails São Paulo, Brazil?
Facing an ever expanding shortage of affordable housing and growing inequality, São Paulo's new master plan hopes to change the face of the city.
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.
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
