Proposed housing solutions, Chicago transit in peril, and executive actions in limbo.
The housing crisis, at its various scales, took center stage for Planetizen readers last month: While Florida could legalize ADUs statewide, San Diego is reining in its rules, which allowed developers to build multi-story, multi-unit buildings that some residents said were not the intended result of the law. Meanwhile, a crucial source of affordable housing, mobile home parks, is losing ground to investors. HUD announced a plan to explore housing development on federal lands, though many of these are far from the urban centers where housing is most sorely needed, and California’s shelter system reveals major gaps in service and safety. Chicago-area transit leaders warn that without additional funding, their agencies could face severe cuts, kneecapping the regional economy. And Volkswagen brings a new look to the van that defined the hippie era with the electric re-release of its iconic VW bus.
The full list of March’s most-read stories:
1. Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
A proposed Florida law would bar municipalities from restricting ADUs in single-family-zoned neighborhoods.
2. Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
An article in Shelterforce explains how manufactured housing, once a key source of affordable housing, is becoming a profit-driven sector that threatens the livelihood of many low-income Americans.
3. San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
Newly passed ADU regulations opened the door for what some residents called ‘granny towers.’ Now, the city wants to rein them in.
4. Trump Administration Unfreezes Pennsylvania Climate Funding Amidst Lawsuits
Pennsylvania will receive over $2 billion in previously frozen federal funds for abandoned mine remediation due to an ongoing lawsuit filed by Governor Josh Shapiro.
5. Has President Trump Met His Match?
Ontario Premier Doug Ford isn’t backing down from President Trump’s tariff war with Canada.
6. HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands
The administration wants to build housing on federally owned lands, but housing advocates argue that the focus should be on urbanized areas where the need for affordable housing is greatest.
7. Chicago Transit Agencies on Brink of Major Crisis
Chicagoland transit riders could experience service cuts of 40 percent without additional funding from state and regional sources.
8. Investigation Reveals Just How Badly California’s Homeless Shelters are Failing
An in-depth investigation of California shelters found them rife with violence, neglect, and unhealthy conditions.
No one can pretend to know what 2025 will hold, but we did our best to round up the most impactful movements in the planning world.
10. The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
The iconic hippie mobile looks — and sounds — a little different.
April Must-Reads: Top 10 Articles From Last Month
A key federal housing assistance program is in peril, Maui tries to balance housing affordability with its tourism-based economy, and a landmark Virginia law could set a new standard for road safety.
Planning Trends for 2025: Creative Housing Solutions, Ongoing Transit Woes, and the Ever-Creeping Tentacles of AI
Urban planners have no shortage of urgent issues to delve into, from a deepening housing crisis to an increasingly unpredictable climate to a new federal administration bent on slashing key funding for everything from electric cars to housing assistance.
Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.
Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.
Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.
In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
