Housing

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.

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

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.

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.

Affordable Housing Losing Ground in New Orleans
For the second year in a row, New Orleans is losing more affordable housing than it is creating, according to a recent report published by HousingNOLA.

Boulders Meant to Deter Homeless Cause a Ruckus in San Francisco
Desperate times. Desperate measures.

Portland Surpassing Its Housing Bond Targets
Three years after passing a $256 million housing bond, city officials in Portland, Oregon, report that over 1,400 units of affordable housing will result from planned and completed projects.

L.A. River Restoration Challenged by Gentrification, Environmental Concerns
A massive effort to restore the Los Angeles River to more public access and open space amentias continues to raise the specter of gentrification in neighborhoods already feeling the pressure of the housing market.

Three Years of New York's Mandatory Inclusionary Housing Program
One of the more aggressive inclusionary zoning programs in the country has been in place long enough to evaluate for lessons regarding the effectiveness of the controversial affordable housing development tool.
2004 Rezoning Didn't Predict the Wave of Residential Development in Downtown Brooklyn
Downtown Brooklyn is New York City's third-largest central business district, and a 2004 rezoning was meant to increase the commercial footprint in the area. Instead there's been more residential development than planners anticipated.

Denver Suburb Bans RVs From Parking on Streets Citywide
Lakewood is taking an aggressive approach to homeless people sleeping in cars on public streets.

Seattle Tiny-Home Villages Facing Host of Challenges
The villages offer much-needed housing for homeless people, but controversy is brewing over their operations.

Not Enough Housing, Or Too Much of the Wrong Kind
Permits for new housing continue to lag despite a long economic boom. For coastal metros, it's a familiar story of job growth outpacing new construction. In some Sun Belt cities, sprawl is the bigger concern.

Behind America's Fixation on Big Houses
McMansion or not, the American home is a good 600 to 800 square feet larger than the average in most other countries. Possible reasons run the gamut from policy to culture to personal economics.

Another 989 Affordable Units on the Way in Toronto
The Housing Now program, née Open Door, is producing results in Canada's largest city.

Homeless Shelters and Property Values
In Manhattan, homeless shelters are shown to have a negative effect on property values.

Study Identifies Inclusionary Zoning's Fatal Flaw
Inclusionary zoning can't work because of the exclusionary zoning policies that the system relies on, according to new research.

Washington Post Editorial Sides With Economists on Rent Control
The Washington Post Editorial Board responds to the growing wave of approved and proposed rent control measures—from Oregon and California to the campaign platform of Bernie Sanders.

White House Report on 'The State of Homelessness in America' Criticized
Shortly after a tumultuous visit to California focusing on the homelessness crisis in San Francisco and Los Angeles, Trump administration has released a report on homelessness that is already facing criticism.

'Heartening Promise' Found in a Massive East Bay Area Redevelopment Project
The city of Concord, home to 130,000 but often neglected in the public consciousness of the San Francisco Bay Area, could set new standards for master planning practices.
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