Can a $52 million plan to close the D.C. General emergency shelter rely on the generosity of landlords in providing houses for the homeless?
Washington D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray last week announced a plan to close the beleaguered homeless shelter at the former D.C. General Hospital—"a plan that depends on persuading landlords and other property owners to free up units and buildings to shelter the homeless," reports Robert Samuels.
"The plan envisions the city leasing about 300 units between a half-dozen buildings sprinkled throughout the city" by convincing "charitable landlords" to accept rapid rehousing vouchers. According to the article by Samuels, that critical consideration has raised concerns about the tenability of the plan.
"In the past six months, the city has found more than 800 units for which landlords have been willing to accept rapid rehousing vouchers. Still, according to an Urban Institute study [pdf], the city is more than 22,000 units short of the number needed to house those who make less than 30 percent of the region’s median income, which is nearly $105,000."
FULL STORY: Landlords face crisis of their own in D.C.’s push to house the homeless
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
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.