Housing

residential Neighborhood

McMimpact Fee Proposed

Should there be an extra fee for property owners who tear down an existing single-family home and replace it with a much larger, more expensive single-family home?

October 17, 2019 - WAMU

Single-Family Housing Construction

Builders Look to Growing Home Rental Market

Subdivisions in states across the country are catering to people who want the benefits of living in homes without the burdens of home ownership.

October 17, 2019 - NPR - All Things Considered

Suburban Home

Report: Housing Choice Vouchers Fall Short of Intended Goals in Houston Region

The Housing Choice Voucher program is intended to provide new opportunities for low-income Americans to live in higher-priced neighborhoods, but few recipients of vouchers are taking full advantage of those opportunities.

October 16, 2019 - Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research

Redlining Map

Study: Historical Redlining Maps No Longer a Proxy for Black America

Black Americans have moved on from formerly redlined neighborhoods, and other minorities and whites have moved in. The wave of presidential campaigns that have based housing policy proposals on redlining maps might be misguided as a result.

October 15, 2019 - Brookings

Tenants' Rights

Why the Poor Cannot Move: It's Not Just the (Official) Rent

A discussion of the book Evicted, and in particular its suggestion that rent in poor neighborhoods is not much lower than the rent in middle-class areas.

October 14, 2019 - Michael Lewyn

Suburbia

When Large Corporations Buy Homes and Become Landlords

Since the Great Recession, homeownership is down and corporations are taking advantage of the profit opportunities.

October 14, 2019 - CityLab

Elderly Walking

A New Vision for Senior Housing

The interest in less traditional housing arrangements for older people, such as shared housing and cohousing, is increasing.

October 14, 2019 - The New York Times

Georgetown

Zoning Stifles New Construction in D.C.'s Pricey Neighborhoods

New research by Jenny Schuetz shows that already-expensive neighborhoods in D.C., zoned for low-density single-family homes, are not doing their part in adding new supply to meet rising demand.

October 14, 2019 - Brookings

San Diego Beach Housing

Coastal City Rejects 'Managed Retreat' Strategy

Del Mar, in Southern California, says it does not want to adopt the approach as part of its sea-level rise adaptation plan.

October 13, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

Annapolis Maryland

Changes to Annapolis Housing Program After Lackluster Results

Too many developers chose to pay in-lieu fees to the Maryland city, and the inclusionary housing program was not producing much affordable housing.

October 12, 2019 - Next City

Fresno Portal

Fresno Feeling Stress of California Housing Crisis

While the Central Valley city was long considered relatively affordable, rents are rising and affordable housing is harder to come by.

October 10, 2019 - CityLab

Tiny House Prefab

Denver Makes Space for Tiny Homes

A law approved by the Denver City Council this week makes it much easier to build tiny homes in Denver.

October 9, 2019 - The Denver Post

Los Angeles in 1939, as determined by the  Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC).

Watch: Segregation's Terrible Legacy in U.S. Cities

"Segregation by Design" is a new film available to the public on Vimeo.

October 9, 2019 - Greater Greater Washington

Twin Cities

Opinion: End of Single-Family Zoning Won’t Solve Minneapolis' Housing Problems

Even as density increases in Minneapolis, affordable housing is not going to be accessible to the people who need it, according to an article by James S. Russell.

October 8, 2019 - Architectural Record

Tiny House

The Downsides of Tiny House Living

Advocates argue the array of small dwelling options provide much-needed affordable housing. But, living in these units, many of which are extremely small, isn't the alternative many people would choose.

October 7, 2019 - Fast Company

aerial view of identical suburban homes

Opinion: The Old Visions of Suburbia Are an Anachronism

Low-density suburbs are on their way out, and the suburbs of the future will better address the present-day needs of the people living in them.

October 7, 2019 - Common Edge

New York Development

Is National Rent Control the Right Answer?

Proposed legislation from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a move toward more progressive housing policy. But critics say the one-size-fits-all approach is not the best solution for addressing the national housing crisis.

October 4, 2019 - CityLab

Pasadena Light Rail

These Transit Agencies Want You to Build on Their Land

Transit providers are often major landowners in their communities, controlling underutilized properties like park-and-ride lots or storage and maintenance facilities. These sites are also opportunities to provide desperately needed affordable housing

October 3, 2019 - Shelterforce Magazine

Down Payment

The Future of the Community Reinvestment Act

In a new policy brief and a series of working papers, housing experts consider the future of the Community Reinvestment Act, the federal law enacted in 1977 to combat redlining and discrimination in mortgage markets.

October 2, 2019 - Penn IUR Urban Link

Hover Board

Household Sizes Growing in the U.S. for the First Time in 160 Years

This decade is likely to produce demographic news that will shock anyone born after 1850.

October 2, 2019 - Pew Research Center

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.