Housing

The San Francisco Bay Area is visible from San Carlos, across the bay to the East Bay. Mount Diablo looms in the background.

Formerly Redlined Neighborhoods Continue to Suffer Disparate Air Pollution

How did ZIP codes become such powerful determinants of public health? New new evidence of the disparate air pollution of redlined neighborhoods partly answers that question.

March 9, 2022 - Environmental Science and Technology Letters

The Prescott Passive House in Kansas City, Kansas

Passive Building Incentives Spur New Housing in Massachusetts

Two grant programs aimed at supporting highly efficient, affordable housing developments are yielding promising results.

March 9, 2022 - Energy News Network

A conceptual rendering of a high-rise apartment building in an urban area.

Vital Communities: Housing Quality for Social Equality

Transit-rich, “inner ring” neighborhoods with multi-family, mid- and high-rise housing (going beyond the limits of missing middle housing) will be necessary to deliver access to high-quality, safe, and affordable housing.

March 9, 2022 - Dan Kaplan

Rocky Mountains

How Zoning Reform Could Ease Montana's Housing Crunch

A new report recommends increased production of 'missing middle housing' in Montana, which, like other Western states, is experiencing rapid growth and an increasingly tight housing market.

March 8, 2022 - Daily Inter Lake

Williamsburg Brooklyn

NYC Rents Rising at Twice the National Rate

New York renters are being squeezed out as landlords raise rents by hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars.

March 8, 2022 - The New York Times

High-Rise Development

The Land Value Tax as a Solution for Housing Affordability

A Vox explainer digs into one of the esoteric ideas of planning theory: a land tax.

March 7, 2022 - Tax the Land

Riverside, California

More States Consider Tax Breaks for Low-Income Housing Developers

Legislators in five U.S. states this year will consider laws that create a state tax incentive program for low-income housing developers.

March 7, 2022 - Pew Stateline

Boise Idaho

Boise Looks to Upzoning To Ease Housing Pressures

The rapidly growing city is evaluating ways to increase housing production, reduce car dependency, and make Boise more walkable.

March 7, 2022 - Idaho Statesman

gaslamp Quarter

San Diego Housing Costs Cresting San Francisco Prices

The notoriously pricy Bay Area city has been dethroned as the country's most expensive metropolis.

March 7, 2022 - San Francisco Gate

Los Angeles Skyline with houses

Study: Most SoCal Neighborhoods Exclude Multi-Unit Buildings

Research shows that single-family zoning, frequently associated with 'exclusionary' housing policies, dominates Southern California's residential zoning.

March 7, 2022 - Press-Enterprise

View of Fountain Square in Evanston, Illinois looking south-southeast towards Chicago and Lake Michigan

Affordable ADU Builder Hopes Co-Op Model Can Catch On

A worker-owned developer in Evanston uses sustainable materials to build efficient, affordable ADUs to help homeowners create generational wealth.

March 6, 2022 - Next City

On-Street Parking

Philadelphia 'Diversion Program' Prevents Evictions Through Mediation

A program that provides mediation between landlords and tenants has helped a majority of applicants avoid eviction, signaling a promising avenue for renter assistance as landlords seek to recoup COVID-era losses.

March 4, 2022 - Next City

Phoenix Light Rail

Neighbors Oppose Transit-Adjacent Gated Development

Phoenix housing advocates are pushing back against a developer's plan to build a gated, luxury townhome community—complete with private garages—in an area designated for higher density.

March 4, 2022 - Phoenix New Times

UC Berkeley

U.C. Berkeley To Reduce Enrollment by Thousands, Court Decides

The California Supreme Court ruled against the university in a battle over a proposed enrollment cap, forcing the school to reject thousands of potential new students.

March 3, 2022 - San Francisco Chronicle

Downtown Reno

Reno-Area Upzoning Stirs Concern Among Residents

A county plan to allow a zoning change that slightly increases allowable density in unincorporated parts of Washoe County is drawing criticism from locals.

March 3, 2022 - My News 4

Washington D.C. Protest

How Cities Can Curb Climate Change and Protect Vulnerable Residents

A new U.N. report urges cities to upgrade their infrastructure to bolster climate resilience and build more sustainable, climate-friendly places.

March 3, 2022 - Wired

Senior Mobility

Opinion: Housing Reforms Critical for Older Americans

Older adults are some of the most vulnerable to threats of eviction and displacement driven by escalating housing costs.

March 3, 2022 - The Darien Times

Apartment Construction

No Evictions for Less Than $600, Says New D.C. Law

As part of a bill that made many COVID-era tenant protections permanent, the District voted to ban eviction filings for households owing less than $600 in back rent.

March 3, 2022 - DCist

Oahu

'Monster Homes' Not the Desired Density Solution for Oahu

Questions of density, and how to add it to single-family neighborhoods, abound in this article focusing on Honolulu and other communities on Oahu.

March 2, 2022 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Philadelphia, Chinatown

Equitable Development Plan Aims To Protect Philly's Chinatown

As the historic neighborhood experiences increased redevelopment around the new Rail Park, community activists are working to ensure older residents and businesses aren't displaced in the process.

March 2, 2022 - Next City

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.