Housing
London's Height Debate Reaches Fever Pitch
In the midst of a building boom and expecting another 1.4 million residents to live in the city by 2031, London is embroiled in a debate about how it should meet housing demands.
When it Comes to Seismic Safety, It's Each City for Itself
Buildings constructed of unreinforced masonry get much if not most of the media's attention on seismic safety, but so-called 'soft story' wood buildings, often with garages on the ground floor, compose the greatest numbers of vulnerable buildings.
Napa Earthquake Shows Urgency of Building Retrofits
Sunday's powerful Bay Area earthquake brought attention to the urgent need to retrofit existing buildings in California. One expert stated the damage in Napa "was predictable." Do you know the three types of construction that need to be reinforced?
Good News? Housing Prices Now Rising at a Less Meteoric Pace
Neil Irwin takes an optimist's view toward recent data that show a slowing rate of increase for the price of housing in many parts of the country: "the new data offer hints that a disastrous era for housing may be ending."
Developers Fail to Meet Affordable Housing Quota in Portland's Pearl District
Despite a contractual obligation, Hoyt Street Properties under-built 258 affordable housing units in Portland's Pearl District. The city has to react.
Living the TOD Lifestyle in Denver: Growing Transit and Affordable Housing
Dana Hawkins-Simons writes about how the Denver TOD Fund produces and ensures equitable, affordable development around the city's expanding transportation network.
Cash Buyers are Dominating the Real Estate Market
Kriston Capps shares news of a report by RealtyTrac.com showing just how much, and where, cash homebuyers are blocking the middle class from homeownership.
Planned Epicurean District in Paris Raises the Specter of Gentrification
A new corridor planned as a haven for local gourmet food in the quiet Haut Marais neighborhood of Paris concerns residents with the threat of gentrification.
Los Angeles is the Least Affordable Rental Market in the Country
A new study confirmed that the average Los Angeles renter allocates 47 percent of their paycheck towards rent.
New York City Ranks Highly for 'Location Affordability'
A comparative analysis by the Citizens Budget Commission provides a softer take on the "affordability crisis" making so much news in New York City. The conclusion of the study is that New York City is more affordable than many other large cities.
Gentrification Creeps North of Boston
Naomi Kooker tells of the rapidly increasing pace of gentrification in the once gritty, now expensive, Boston suburb of Somerville.
Lean Urbanism: A Century-Old Practice?
A short case study in Lean Urbanism, compliments of Victoria Beach, Manitoba.
'Dire' Budget Shortfall at the New York City Housing Authority
Faced with shrinking federal spending on affordable housing and a strained housing market, the New York City Housing Authority is dealing with a massive budget shortfall and a massive wait list.
Micro-Housing Debate Continues in Seattle
The "D" word (Density) is in play in Seattle, as city leaders and residents debate micro-housing regulations proposed by the City Council in May.
San Francisco's Housing Craze: More People Fewer Cars
Something strange is taking place in the City by the Bay. It's not just experiencing a growth in carless households—carless households are actually replacing those with cars.
Retrofitting New York City's Multi-Family Housing for Resilience
Multi-family housing took the brunt of Hurricane Sandy. Compounding the many challenges to storm-proofing the city's housing supply: 90 percent of the housing in flood-prone areas was built before 1983, when flood-resistance standards were adopted.
A Collection of Benefits for 'Walkable, Compact, Diverse' Neighborhoods
A meta-analysis published in Housing Policy Debate finds that extensive studies in recent years support positive claims about walkable neighborhoods.
What is a 'House'? Critiquing the Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey
Demographia's International Housing Affordability Surveys are widely used to compare cities and evaluate urban development policies, but there are good reasons to question their analysis methods, starting with their definition of "house."
Activists Advocate for Community Land Trusts
“We were drawn to CLTs not just as a technical model, but because they provide the opportunity for residents—including renters—to actually have control over their homes and communities,” says Tony Romano, the Right to the City's organizing director.
Debate Continued: Supply vs Demand
Jim Russell is again taking to the pulpit to dissent from the popular view that supply problems are causing housing affordability crises in cities like New York and San Francisco.
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
