August’s Must-Reads: Top 10 Articles from Last Month

Features and blogs took center stage on Planetizen last month, capturing eight of our top 10 most popular content slots for August. Those stories included a deep dive into debunking of redlining map myths to important conversations about housing, including Project 2025’s potential impact on housing policy, housing preservation, and the role of ADUs in making homeownership more attainable. Top news headlines included Congress’s move to limit the size of SUVs and trucks and the urgent need to relocate communities at risk from climate change.

Here is the full list:

1. Putting the Myth of the Redlining Maps to Rest

The feature article by Alan Mallach debunks the myth that historical Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) maps are a primary cause of racial inequities in today’s Black neighborhoods. Research shows it’s a false narrative that needs to be put to rest, lest we risk investing in strategies that don’t result in any meaningful improvement to the lives of struggling low-income Black families.

2. ADUs as Condos: What Does it Mean for Homeownership?

The article explores how California's AB-1033 law that allows the sale of ADUs as condos could impact homeownership in the state, including making homeownership more attainable, especially in high-cost urban areas where median home prices are out of reach for many.

3. We Must Relocate to Prepare for Climate Change, and We Must Do it Now 

This article highlights the critical need to relocate communities at risk from climate change and immediately prepare for its impacts, arguing that proactive measures are essential to protect vulnerable populations and build resilience against increasing climate-related threats.

4. Good As New: The Vital Role of Preservation in Solving the Housing Crisis

The article discusses how historic preservation can play a crucial role in addressing the housing crisis. By repurposing and maintaining existing structures, communities can increase affordable housing options while preserving cultural heritage and reducing environmental impact.

5. Project 2025 and Housing Policy

The blog examines the potential influence of Project 2025, a conservative policy platform from the Heritage Foundation, on housing policy, including potential impacts on affordability and development

6. Pedestrian-Friendly Cities: The Impact of Walkability Grants

This blog discusses how pedestrian-friendly city designs and walkability grants contribute to urban improvement. It highlights the benefits of such grants in enhancing walkability, reducing traffic, and fostering healthier, more vibrant communities.

7. Congress Introduces Bill to Limit Size of SUVs and Trucks

In late August, Congress introduced a bill to limit the size of SUVs and trucks to address safety and environmental concerns. The proposed legislation aims to reduce traffic accidents and lower emissions by setting size restrictions on these vehicles.

8. Book Excerpt: Rochester, New York’s Forgotten Subway

The book excerpt from Lost Subways of America: A Cartographic Guide to the Past, Present, and What Might Have Been by Jake Berman tells the story of Rochester, New York's long-since-shuttered subway system.

9. Book Review: Killed By A Traffic Engineer

Planetizen blogger Michael Lewyn offers his perspective on Killed By A Traffic Engineer by engineering professor Wes Marshall. The book explores the engineering errors that have led to the U.S.’s high traffic fatality rates.

10. Planners Be Nimble, Planners Be Quick

Planning should be methodical and responsive to community needs, but not to the point of inefficiency, Too much planning can be just as harmful as too little, writes Planetizen blogger Todd Litman.

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Editor’s note: Portions of this Planetizen blog post were generated using OpenAI’s language model, ChatCPT. Planetizen editors have been looking into ethical uses of AI in journalism and wanted to test it. In this post, ChatGPT was used to summarize previously published Planetizen stories, which provided text that served as a starting point and then was edited and refined further. We want to assure our readers that any policies adopted around the use of AI on Planetizen content will be grounded in transparency.