Housing
Lessons from 20 Years of Enabling Tenants to Buy Their Buildings
As cities around the country consider legislation that will allow tenants a chance to buy their buildings, Washington, D.C., can provide lessons on what to do—and not to do.
Residents of Nonprofit Housing Have Lower Rates of COVID
Affordable housing providers have touted the connections between health and the places where people live for years. In a small city outside of Boston, the evidence is incontrovertible.
Researchers Flaunt the Benefits of Reduced Minimum Parking Requirements
Seattle is one of the U.S. cities shrinking minimum parking requirements to allow for denser, more affordable development near transit.
Connecting Light Rail Plans to Affordable Housing Opportunities
To keep up with affordable housing demand, Snohomish County needs to add 200,000 units by 2050. Planned light rail stations could be the ticket.
A Dark Night for the Right to Housing Movement
After a string of high-profile successes in places as geographically distant as Philadelphia and the East Bay Area, an ugly episode in L.A. County the day before Thanksgiving dealt a brutal setback to the burgeoning right to housing movement.
On Rent Control and a Green New Deal, Portland, Maine Voters Go Where Others Don't Dare
Rent control was dealt another high-profile setback in California, and the Green New Deal is a hot button issue stuck in limbo in Congress. Both efforts got the go-ahead from voters in Portland, Maine in November.
Accessory Dwelling Units Gain Legislative Momentum in Denver
Accessory dwelling units, also known as granny flats or mother-in-law units, gained a critical foothold in Denver earlier this month, and the Denver City Council is already maneuvering for more.
Cascadia Expects Millions of New Residents. Should it Build New Cities or New Density?
A recent report calls for the region stretching from Oregon to British Columbia to think big about accommodating expected population growth. The report's recommendation to build four new, large cities isn't universally accepted, however.
The Top Urban Planning Books of 2020
The public health crisis of the coronavirus pandemic upended all the normal day-today routines this year. At least there are plenty of great urban planning books to read.
Vancouver Again Raises its Empty Homes Tax
The Vancouver Empty Homes Tax will soon be three times as high as it was when adopted in 2017.
Flooded: How Natural Disasters Lead to Predatory Lending in the Rio Grande Valley
The devastation that communities in the Rio Grande Valley face is twofold: the initial destruction of the floods and the cycle of debt and poverty as a result of predatory loans.
Anaheim Tries a New Approach for 1,000 New Units of Workforce Housing
Many cities in California are too expensive for the firefighters, teachers, and nurses that provide essential professional services. Anaheim is hoping to leverage a new statewide program to put a significant dent in that housing challenge.
'Seriously Delinquent' Mortgages Explode, But Don't Expect a Great Recession-Style Meltdown
More and more homeowners are falling behind on mortgage payments as the pandemic lingers, according to recent market data.
Cleveland Has Yet to Recover From the Last Recession
Decades of racist policy and a lack of critical resources have left Cleveland in a perpetual state of economic fragility. The city can't afford another recession.
The Unfounded Fears of Affordable Housing Opposition
Neither evidence nor experience support the fearful visions expressed by opponents to affordable housing development, according to a recent feature article for the New York Times.
The Legacy of Structural Poverty in Alabama
In rural Alabama, a long history of racial inequality and poverty has left people struggling to survive in uninhabitable housing.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pagination
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association