Affordable Housing

San Francisco Mayor Announces Affordable Housing Plan
Adding new details to a plan that is sure to create controversy, Mayor Ed Lee has a new plan to aadd affordable housing to the city of San Francisco.
Affordable Housing Overhaul Proposed Amid Jersey City Building Boom
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop is pushing for an ambitious program to overhaul the city's development subsidies, even as building permits are flying off the shelves.

San Francisco to Vote on Affordable Housing Bond
A ballot decision in November will determine whether San Francisco can sell $310 million in bonds to pay for affordable housing. The proposal coincides with Mayor Ed Lee's campaign for re-election.
'New Orleans Saved Itself': Cutting-Edge Community Planning Post-Katrina
Ten years ago, a number of architecture firms went to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina for a humanitarian "experiment"—rebuilding part of the underserved Lower Ninth Ward as an innovative, LEED Platinum, affordable community.
California Strategic Growth Council Revising Guidelines for Cap-and-Trade Grants
California recently awarded more than $1.2 million in cap-and-trade revenue to projects that not only reduce GHG emissions, but also promote affordable housing or transit options.

Smart Planning for Economic Opportunity
The Center for Opportunity Urbanism has a wonderful goal—to improve economic opportunities for working class households—but uses terrible research to reach confusing recommendations about which policies are best. Please do better!
San Francisco Breaking Down Silos to Plan for Resilience
As San Francisco's Chief Resilience Officer, Patrick Otellini’s job is to beef up city defenses against crises—a broad mandate that has him tackling seismic safety and water security through capital planning, utilities, and housing affordability.

Escaping the Cycle of Inflated Housing Costs
In an insightful article, William Fulton unpacks the supply-demand cycle driving costs skyward in certain areas. To address the problem, new construction needs an unprecedented level of diversity.

Sacramento's Careful Approach to Legitimizing Airbnb
The battles in New York and San Francisco have cities like Sacramento preparing for the growth of the home-sharing economy.
Gentrification Concerns Raised Around 'The 606' Trail in Chicago
When an exciting and popular addition to the public realm becomes available, like it did in Chicago earlier this year with The 606 trail, concerns about gentrification and displacement are sure to follow.
Wealthy Suburbs Flout Illinois' Affordable Housing Mandate
The state of Illinois finds itself without a "stick" to enforce the mandates of its Affordable Housing Planning and Appeals Act. Towns have noticed and are flouting the law.
Seattle's 'Oh So Human' Hesitations About Change
Seattle's recent Housing and Livability Agenda (HALA) recommendations have created a sensational dialogue about zoning, affordability and neighborhood change. Chuck Wolfe explains how this may create an unprecedented basis for consensus in the city.

Explaining the Importance of Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning
A term you need to know.

The Failure of Preservation
Attempts to limit new construction to preserve neighborhood character are an example of "beggar thy neighbor" politics.
Op-Ed: Nashville Should Coordinate Transit, Housing Plans
Urban planning is front in center in Nashville, with a general plan update underway and a mayoral election looming on August 6. One candidate took to the editorial pages of The Tennessean to lay out a housing and transit agenda.

What's the Matter With the Planning Process?
Current planning models places housing affordability and preservation fundamentally at odds with one another. We must be willing to re-evaluate our processes if we are to truly move forward.
Houston's 'Avenue Place' Sets the Affordable Housing Bar High
A housing development in Houston's Near Northside has made a remarkable commitment to developing affordable units to populations at-risk of being pushed out by gentrification.

Airbnb and Affordable Housing, Part 2
This post discusses the argument that even if Airbnb affects an extremely small portion of the rental market, it still matters because of the low vacancy rates of some cities.
The 'Unlikely Source' of Hope for Affordable Housing: the Private Sector
The chair of the Community Development Trust makes the case for the new potential of private sector investments in affordable housing.
A Different Way to Fix California's Affordable Housing Crisis
To fix California’s housing crisis, a statewide mandate is needed that requires 20 percent of all new housing, rental units, and those for sale be set aside for low-income families, according to affordable housing developer Murtaza H. Baxamusa.
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