In an effort to development more moderately priced housing, developers around Sacramento are squeezing more homes per acre and moving garages to the back alley, pleasing some planners and conservationists.
"The housing boom's high land prices and growing need to sell lower-priced houses are driving the garage out of sight in several new capital-area home projects. In Roseville, Folsom, Natomas, Rancho Cordova and West Sacramento, garages are filling space once occupied by the backyard and allowing for narrower lots. This alignment between market forces and so-called "smart growth" principles brings builders more income per acre while creating what some say are more pleasing residential street scenes."
" "What they're doing is taking the land they own and redoing it with back alley-load houses," said Kathryn Boyce, analyst for Costa Mesa-based Hanley Wood Market Intelligence. "It allows them to put more houses, more lots on a piece of land. Everybody is putting a pretty spin on it, that it looks more like the olden days."
"But there is a need for this, with the way housing prices are," she said. "Prices are still very unattainable for a lot of buyers."
FULL STORY: Parked out back
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
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