Housing

Where and Why 'Not In Their Backyard' Becomes a Rallying Cry

We've all heard about NIMBY politics, but what about NITBY? What would prompt some people to adopt a "Not In Their Backyard" stance?

November 10, 2014 - Pedestrian Observations

Housing Market Makes Full Recovery for Wealthy Americans

Dina ElBoghdady and Dan Keating report on the state of the real estate market as it concerns the wealthiest Americans—times are good if you are wealthy and looking to borrow money to buy a home.

November 10, 2014 - The Washington Post

San Francisco Voters Increase Height Limits for Waterfront Development

Voters gave Forest City Enterprises' Pier 70 development the go-ahead on Tuesday by increasing height limits from 40 to 90 feet. The 65-acre property will be developed into mixed use, with 2,000 housing units, 30 percent affordable, and open space.

November 9, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

HUD Report: Progress in the Fight Against Homelessness

The Department of Housing and Urban Development's 2014 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress shows substantial decreases in the number of homeless this year, especially homeless veterans.

November 5, 2014 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Working Adults More Likely to Live with Roommates

Recent data by Zillow suggests that we might all soon be living like the Golden Girls (original author's joke).

November 5, 2014 - The Billfold

Nuisance Sign

When Nuisance Suits Are a Nuisance

In one Texas case, homeowners are suing a new apartment building for nuisance. If such suits become common, infill development will become less common, causing higher rents and more citywide vehicle traffic.

November 4, 2014 - Michael Lewyn

Los Angeles Residential

How Affordable Housing Can Compete

With the backing of powerful nonprofit and for-profit investors, the Housing Partnership Equity Trust is making waves with its triple bottom line approach to affordable housing. More importantly, it’s making money.

November 4, 2014 - Next City

Los Angeles Residential Street

Explaining the Country's Worst Rental Market

A recent study reveals that Los Angeles is the least affordable city in the country. The incentives of homeowners all but ensure that the city will never have a mandate to increase its housing supply and restore health to the city's economy.

November 4, 2014 - Josh Stephens

McMansion Sign

Are Single Family Teardowns a Sign of Suburban Gentrification?

Luxury condos are often identified as the culprit in urban gentrification, but could it be that teardowns of single family homes that give way to much larger single family homes is a driver of suburban gentrification?

November 2, 2014 - Chicago Tribune

The Federal Housing Administration's Ongoing, Systematic Obstruction of Density

Scott Beyer writes that despite changes to policies allowing insured mortgages by the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA), the federal government continues to obstruct density by limiting support for condo owners.

October 30, 2014 - Governing

Home For Sale Signs

Generation X Leads the Decline of Homeownership

A snarky post written for The Atlantic identifies a forgotten culprit in the country's dropping homeownership rates: Generation X.

October 29, 2014 - The Atlantic

Housing Affordability Follows Partisan Divide

Recent analysis by Trulia found that the current housing market shows trends that follow along conservative and liberal lines—specifically, that the country's "blue" states are much more expensive than the "red" states.

October 28, 2014 - Trulia Trends Blog

Homeless

Fighting Homelessness by Closing a Commuter Rail Station

The high desert city of Lancaster in northern Los Angeles County has an innovative plan to reduce its homeless population: Close its Metrolink station, the last stop on the Antelope Valley line, that serves 400 commuters daily.

October 28, 2014 - The California Report

Recalling Our Basic Pride of Place

In the fifth of his "place-decoding" series from France, Chuck Wolfe recalls how we carry with us the ability to mine pride from place, even in places that are, perhaps, least expected to shine.

October 25, 2014 - The Huffington Post

Massive Detroit Foreclosures Push Out Black Homeowners

A Detroit reborn sounds great, but what if the residents of “blighted” areas don’t want to leave? Many feel they have no choice in a process that has been compared to racial relocation. Meanwhile, activists scramble to give residents options.

October 24, 2014 - The Atlantic

Green Belt

Green Belts Cure Sprawl, Cause Problems

Touted as a solution to mindless suburban expansion, the vast green belts around U.K. cities create new challenges. Among them: less affordable housing, longer commutes, and dubious environmental benefits. What happens if these spaces get developed?

October 22, 2014 - The Guardian

Following Tragedy—A Call to Fully Fund the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund

Following the murder of a 12-year-old homeless child in Louisville, Beverly Duncan writes an editorial calling for Louisville Metro Council members to fully fund the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

October 21, 2014 - The Courier-Journal

Plans to Close D.C. Homeless Shelter Relies on the Generosity of Landlords

Can a $52 million plan to close the D.C. General emergency shelter rely on the generosity of landlords in providing houses for the homeless?

October 21, 2014 - The Washington Post

Transform's New GreenTrip Parking Database

A new database from the Oakland-based Transform group maps and tracks unused parking spaces in multifamily housing developments.

October 18, 2014 - Streetsblog LA

Young Crowd

Why Millennials Opt to Rent

Sandie Angulo Chen of Trulia discusses the reasons why Millennials prefer to rent homes or apartments instead of buying properties.

October 17, 2014 - Trulia

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.