Affordable Housing

Trailer Park

Learning from the Humble Trailer Park

An examination of the common trailer park reveals a few key lessons about land use, urban design, and private governance.

August 13, 2016 - Strong Towns

Seattle

Debating Seattle's Growth

There's plenty to talk about in a city where rents have increased by 51 percent since 2010.

August 12, 2016 - Publicola

Rental Apartments

Spiting Mandatory Inclusionary Housing to Save Mandatory Inclusionary Housing

The question of whether New York City's new mandatory inclusionary housing policy should apply to a 17-story project in Manhattan could have wide-ranging implications.

August 10, 2016 - The New York Times

New York Apartments

One Fourth of East Harlem Housing Set to Lose Affordability

The area could lose up to 500 units of affordable housing every year for the next 30 years if the city doesn't extend existing protections.

August 9, 2016 - Regional Plan Association

Angelino Heights

A Paradigm Shift for Affordable Housing: Preserve What's Left

A Los Angeles affordable-housing developer says the industry needs to focus more on keeping existing housing affordable.

August 6, 2016 - The Planning Report

Vancouver

Vancouver's Attempt to Preserve Affordable Housing Causes Waves

On August 2nd, a new 15 percent tax on real estate deals with foreign buyers went into effect. The goal was to cool the hyperactive housing market, but the implementation has caught many by surprise.

August 4, 2016 - CBC News

Senior Pedestrians

A Case for Integrating Housing and Healthcare Services

Connecting affordable housing and healthcare programs can improve both—especially for seniors and disabled people.

July 28, 2016 - CityLab

Construction

A 'Housing New York' Report Card

The de Blasio Administration set lofty goals for the creation and preservation of housing in New York. So how's that going?

July 27, 2016 - Politico

Back Bay Boston

Market Not Cooperating With Boston's Housing Goals

Just because the public sector has set a goal to deliver thousands of new workforce housing units, doesn’t mean the market, or the private sector for that matter, will cooperate.

July 25, 2016 - The Boston Globe

Construction

A Portrait of the Nation's Inclusionary Zoning Policies

The number of inclusionary zoning programs is growing quickly around the country. A recent study by the National Housing Conference takes stock of this prominent affordable housing tool.

July 21, 2016 - American Planning Association

Parking Sign

Portland Seeks Affordability By Subtracting Parking

Portland's City Council has sided with housing advocates against neighborhood groups who wanted new developments to include parking spaces.

July 18, 2016 - Willamette Week

Philadelphia Ben Franklin Bridge

$9.3M Awarded to Affordable Housing Development in Philly

The Pennsylvania Governors Office announced that eight developers were awarded a total $9.3M in tax credits from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) to build 495 affordable housing units in the city of Philadelphia.

July 15, 2016 - Curbed Philadelphia

Apartments for rent signage

Op-Ed: We Shouldn't Rush to Regulate Airbnb

Is Airbnb a prime target for regulation, or is it just another way to expand the marketplace for bedrooms? Dan Bertolet urges caution. After all, couldn't less Airbnb just mean more hotels?

July 11, 2016 - Sightline Institute

Hamburg Sets Inclusionary Zoning Pace in Western New York

With less than 60,000 residents, Hamburg, New York might fly under the housing policy radar, but the small town is the first in Western New York to approve inclusionary zoning. Buffalo could be next.

July 10, 2016 - The Buffalo News

Tiny House

Tiny Houses Aren't the Solution

Vox publishes an article debunking tiny houses as the housing silver bullet some hope they will become.

July 9, 2016 - Vox

San Francisco Sprawl

The Real Reasons Affordable Housing Isn't Being Built in California

The policy tools used to address our nation's housing shortfall often seem to worsen the problem. But this is because they ignore the underlying infrastructure and financing to support growth.

July 7, 2016 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

The Unintended Consequences Lurking in Gov. Brown's Affordable Housing Proposal

California Governor Brown's proposal to streamline affordable housing may cause more problems than it solves, both for affordable housing and community planning, argues Murtaza Baxamusa who teaches planning at USC and develops affordable housing.

July 6, 2016 - UrbDeZine

Barcelona

Barcelona Facing New Housing Problems, and Airbnb

Barcelona is facing increasing pressure on its housing market, primarily in rental prices. The Mediterranean city, which last year became the third most popular European destination after Paris and London, is facing a new housing crisis.

July 6, 2016 - Cities of the Future

San Antonio City Hall

San Antonio Wants a Housing Bond, but its Charter Won't Make it Easy

San Antonio provides a case study of the difficult politics of funding affordable housing measures.

July 5, 2016 - San Antonio Express News

Housing Initiatives to Appear on Northern and Southern California Ballots in November

Last week the Los Angeles City Council and Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved housing initiatives. "Build Better LA" requires large developments to have affordable units. Silicon Valley voters will vote on a $950 million housing bond.

June 26, 2016 - Planetizen

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.