Housing

City by the Bay

State Audit Faults California's Affordable Housing Development Processes

The California State Auditor's office is proposing an overhaul of the state's approach to affordable housing development, citing the cost burdens of the housing market as proof of the necessity for change.

November 18, 2020 - Auditor of the State of California

Potted Plants

Tiny Homes Village Planned in St. Louis

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson hopes to use CARES Act funding to 50 new homes for homeless living in the city.

November 18, 2020 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Multi-Tenant Housing

Searching for a Path to Legalized Rooming Houses

Toronto could legalize rooming houses, also known as multi-tenant or lodging houses, in an effort to bring the city's many unpermitted examples of this low-income affordable housing type up to humane standards of health and safety.

November 18, 2020 - Yahoo News via Toronto Star

Moms 4 Housing

Moms 4 Housing Founders Elected to Office in the East Bay

Two leaders of Moms 4 Housing, which has grown to a national housing movement, have been elected to office in Oakland and Berkeley.

November 17, 2020 - Vice

Coronavirus

National Rent Debt Projected to Reach $7.2 Billion by the End of 2020

The weight of the pandemic is hanging around millions of renters' necks.

November 16, 2020 - Orange County Register

Massachusetts State Capitol

Massachusetts Showed States How to Create an Eviction Ban. Now It’s Backpedaling

The Massachusetts eviction moratorium—one of the strongest in the nation—expired, just in time for winter. How did this happen?

November 16, 2020 - Shelterforce Magazine

Housing protest

Lessons From Rent Control's Latest Election Rejection

California voters, with a reputation for liberal politics, have repeatedly refused to approve statewide rent control laws at the ballot box.

November 12, 2020 - Los Angeles Times

Glenwood Green Acres, Philadelphia

One Key, Underappreciated Affordable Housing Strategy: Repairing Existing Homes

The city of Philadelphia offers a case study for the challenges and potential benefits of home repair programs.

November 12, 2020 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Accessory Dwelling Unit

Why Have ADUs Proliferated in Portland, Lagged in D.C.?

A new report by the Urban Institute examines the consequences of small differences in land use regulations.

November 11, 2020 - Greater Greater Washington

Election 2020

What Biden's Win Could Mean for Land Use, Transportation, and Climate

Campaign in poetry and govern in prose, the saying goes. Now that the reality of a Biden presidency is settling in, what does it mean for how the United States plans its future?

November 10, 2020 - James Brasuell

Tomatoes

Forming Partnerships With Public Health Departments: How to Make the Connection

Tips for community organizations looking to build relationships with local public health departments.

November 6, 2020 - Shelterforce Magazine

Congresswoman

Housing Advocates Gain More Allies on Capitol Hill, by Way of New York City

A growing number of congressional representatives serving the city of New York support aggressive public investment in housing programs.

November 5, 2020 - Curbed

Stars and Stripes

2020 Election Results for Transportation and Land Use

Thinking beyond the presidency: Here's an Election Day 2020 roundup of election issues related to planning, urban design, and the built and natural environments.

November 4, 2020 - James Brasuell

Arizona Canal

Phoenix Takes a New Approach on Homelessness

Phoenix is centering housing—affordable housing, permanent supportive housing, and eviction protections—in a new planning framework designed to reduce the number of homeless people living on the streets of the city.

November 4, 2020 - Arizona Republic

Resilient Home

New Collaborations for Land Banks and Community Land Trusts

Land banks and community land trusts are finding new ways to work together in light of the ongoing housing affordability crisis and the new economic pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic.

November 4, 2020 - Land Lines

College Students

What Generation Z Wants from the Rental Market

A new survey by RentCafé offers insights into the rental market preferences of Generation Z.

November 4, 2020 - RentCafé

Lafayette Square

Two Presidential Candidates, Two Approaches to Housing Policy

The Biden and Trump campaigns are from different worlds on housing policy, according to this analysis.

November 3, 2020 - CityLimits

2020 Election

Coronavirus and the Future of Cities: A Final Pre-Election Tour of the Issues

This is Planetizen's seventh collection of articles on the subject of the future of cities in the wake of the pandemic, and how cities and communities are changing plans to respond to the many changes that world has experienced in 2020.

November 3, 2020 - James Brasuell

facades of victorian style residences in San Francisco

How California Plans to Slow the Corporate Takeover of the Residential Market

The state of California is trying to prevent a repeat of one of the most significant consequences of the Great Recession: large Wall Street interests buying for-sale housing in bulk for conversion to apartments.

November 2, 2020 - Next City

Cresskill, New Jerset

The CARES Act Was Supposed to Protect NJ Tenants from Eviction. It Didn’t.

State activists say eviction cases were filed in violation of the CARES Act’s ban on evictions. Pre-trial settlement conferences are further complicating the situation.

November 2, 2020 - Shelterforce Magazine

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.

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.