Housing
Evictions Continue As Beijing Prepares for Olympics
With less than a month left before the start of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, residents in the Chinese metropolis are still being evicted to make way for event-related construction.
Fighting Foreclosure Blight With Demolition
As foreclosures increase throughout the country, more cities are looking to solve the problem of abandoned and dilapidated houses with demolition.
Fannie, Freddie Falter
With their share prices dropping and prospects for fresh capitalization remote, there are growing concerns that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may be heading for failure, and with it grave repercussions for the entire U.S. economy.
Chickens Aren't Just For Countrysides Anymore
Residents of Austin, TX are risking violation of city ordinances forbidding loud animals to raise chickens in their central city neighborhood backyards. It's partly a way to cut out-of-pocket expenses.
Something Good To Say About California's Prop 13 In A Housing Slump
Long considered the source of California's fiscal and land use woes, Proposition 13, passed by voters in 1978, limits increases in property tax. However, it may prove to be an 'economic stabilizer' during the current housing slump.
Lost In Leisureville
The number of retirement communities is growing rapidly. Author Andrew D. Blechman warns about the social cost of age-segregation.
A Public Housing Experiment Faces Problems
The Chicago Tribune examines what became of an ambitious city project, led by Mayor Daley, to revolutionize public housing. Private developers received public funding to tear down old projects and replace them with mixed-use neighborhoods.
The American Dream in Reverse
With housing prices out of reach for many immigrants in the U.S., more and more are investing in houses in their home countries -- and their governments and local lenders are doing all they can to encourage it.
The End of The Projects
Renee Lewis Glover, president and CEO of the Atlanta Housing Authority, reflects on the troubled history of housing projects in Atlanta, GA, as the last of its kind in the city is demolished.
Why Housing Prices Fall More Sharply in the 'Burbs
This segment from NPR looks at what's behind the trend of house prices falling more sharply outside of cities.
Foreclosed Properties Eyed As Affordable Housing Stock
In a move to combat the growing numbers of foreclosed homes and provide affordable housing, Fairfax County, Virginia, has announced plans to buy up foreclosed properties to augment the county's supply of affordable homes.
Seattle Seeks Crackdown on 'Megahomes'
Amid complaints of over-sized houses, officials in Seattle are considering enacting tighter regulations on the size of single-family homes.
Foreclosure Blight Slashes Nation's Property Values
Foreclosed homes are creating blight in urban and suburban areas all across the country, lowering property values by more than $200 billion.
Bad Mortgages and Gas Prices = Good For Cities?
The article suggests that rising gas prices, enduring subprime mortgage crisis, and some changing demographics (i.e., the aging of Baby Boomers) are all contributing to the greater popularity of central city neighborhoods.
Nation Can Learn From Philadelphia's Housing Struggles
Philadelphia has struggled to deal with its large supply of derelict housing, and it serves as a lesson for lawmakers when they try to find ways to stop neighborhoods from deteriorating.
How Much Is Green Worth?
A recent conference in Austin, Texas, of real estate appraisers explored how they should incorporate green-building techniques and features into their assessment of properties.
'Independence Day' for Housing
Congress is promising to pass before Independence Day a sweeping set of housing legislation that would offer refinancing packages, a trust fund for affordable rental housing and offer tax credits for purchasing unoccupied houses.
Bahamians Face Gentrification in Miami
Gentrification along Grand Avenue, the heart of Coconut's Grove Black and Bahamian community, has many residents fearing displacement and pushing for affordable housing inclusion.
Ending the Ideology of Homeownership
Paul Krugman writes that we need to stop conflating owing a home with citizenship.
Reviving the Lowly Clothesline
A grassroots group is working to remove barriers to erecting clotheslines, which are commonly banned by apartments buildings as a blight. The group is pitching their work as an energy conservation effort.
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
