Housing
Paper Series Sheds Light On Adaptive Reuse
A series of reports from Berkeley's Terner Center assess the potential of commercial-to-residential conversions to help ease the housing crisis.
Vancouver's New Housing Plan Takes Shape
If its proposals are effectively implemented, Vancouver's new housing plan would promote 'missing middle housing' and increase density near jobs and transit.
Report: San Diego Transportation Plan Won't Meet Climate Goals
A regional plan announced by the San Diego Association of Governments will fall short of the city's goals to increase alternate mode trips to 50 percent, report finds.
L.A. Shifts Homeless Policy to Clear Street Encampments
Advocates say L.A.'s new focus on clearing 'unsightly' homeless encampments is a political band-aid that won't help people find permanent housing.
St. Louis Could Fine Developers For Multi-Family Conversions
The city is considering implementing a fee for developers who reduce the number of units in a rehabbed building in a bid to discourage the loss of housing.
The Blue State Problem
The New York Times and Last Week Tonight With John Oliver have a message for progressives living in liberal cities in Blue States: you're part of the problem.
Could France's Approach to Combating NIMBYism Work in the United States?
France passed a law that required cities to have a certain percentage of social housing. Since then the country's most exclusionary cities and suburbs have seen a fivefold increase in the availability of social housing.
Opinion: To Meet Climate Goals, Bay Area Needs More Transit-Oriented Development
The region's transit-oriented development (TOD) plan requires a significant update to achieve the density and housing goals laid out in the MTC's 30-year vision.
Land Costs and Housing Costs
One common argument against upzoning is that it increases land costs—but land costs rose in the most restrictive markets as well as the least restrictive ones.
Which Cities Are Upzoning?
A recent study surveyed 800 jurisdictions in 50 U.S. metropolitan areas to quantify the amount of change in zoning regulations throughout the 21st century so far.
Minor Defendants: Kids Are Being Named in Evictions
Absurd as it may sound, minor children are sometimes named in eviction filings. If a child’s name makes in onto official court records—especially if those records are public and online—the damage can be irreversible.
Toronto Adopts Inclusionary Zoning to Spur Affordable Housing Development
Inclusionary zoning, a policy tool designed to ensure new developments include a required number of affordable housing units, will soon be the land of the land in Toronto, Ontario. Not everyone is a fan of the new policy.
Businesses Oppose Conversion of Parking Structure Into Affordable Housing
Business owners in downtown Santa Monica have filed a lawsuit opposing the city's planned replacement of a parking structure with housing, despite city studies showing that the city's downtown parking supply far exceeds demand.
Freeway Expansions Continue to Threaten Black and Brown Communities
Despite calls to center equity in infrastructure projects, highway construction and expansion still disproportionately impacts communities of color, according to a Los Angeles Times investigation.
Contracting with the Community
To connect with hard-to-reach communities, a Twin Cities agency diverted some of its consulting budget away from national firms and to organizations that already had those relationships.
Local Group Ordered to Pay $500K Bond for Delaying Affordable Housing Project
What starts as a familiar story about a local group wielding the California Environmental Quality Act to delay an affordable housing project includes a surprise twist: another state law requires the group to cover some of the cost of the delay.
In Defense of Asian American Neighborhoods
How do you address a history of anti-Asian housing discrimination? Not by destroying Asian American communities.
Downtown Neighborhoods Lead In New Apartment Construction
Neighborhoods in urban cores are seeing the highest rates of new apartment construction in the last five years, signaling a continued interest in downtown living despite fears of an 'urban exodus' brought on by the pandemic.
Study: Low-Rise Density Is Better for the Climate
New research analyzing carbon emissions throughout the life cycle of buildings shows that high-rises create more carbon emissions than dense, low-rise developments.
Planning Commission Calls for More Density at Berkeley BART Stations
Berkeley planning commissioners recommend taller buildings, more density as the city evaluates zoning changes near BART stations.
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.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie
