Housing

Moms 4 Housing

Pandemic Uncertainties Could Push Even More Black Residents Out of the Urban Bay Area

Add the coronavirus pandemic to an already deeply troubled housing market and the Bay Area has a recipe for even more displacement in a region already facing a massive demographic shift.

October 28, 2020 - Sfist

Texas Townhomes

Four Steps for Effective Land Use Reform

Land use and zoning reform is not a magic wand, and effective changes to any planning regime change requires careful work. A new report Urban Institute provides case studies and guidance on how to achieve desired outcomes from a reform process.

October 27, 2020 - Urban Institute

New York Apartments

Rents Falling, Vacancies Spiking: The NYC Rental Market Is Shifting

The rental market is triggering metrics not seen since the depths of the Great Recession, according to a new report on the state of the rental market in three New York City boroughs.

October 27, 2020 - StreetEasy

HUD

Losing Nonprofit Control of Tax Credit Housing?

How an ambiguous legal definition is endangering nonprofits’ control of dozens of affordable housing developments in the final years of their tax credit agreements.

October 26, 2020 - Shelterforce Magazine

Boston, Massachusetts

Unlocking the Potential of Transit Adjacent Land for Housing Affordability

A case study from the Boston region shows the power of allowing moderate density on transit adjacent residential parcels currently available only to single-family detached homes.

October 26, 2020 - Brookings

Public Housing

How Scaled Affordable Housing Asset Management Helps in the Time of COVID

How the Joint Ownership Entity NYC is helping its community developer members stay strong during COVID.

October 23, 2020 - Shelterforce Magazine

Spain

Abandoned Rural Spain Rebounds With People Fleeing Cities

COVID-19 is leading an exodus to rural areas, according to this article. The shift could hurt the economies of cities, but it also presents opportunities for younger residents and people looking for a more sustainable lifestyle.

October 23, 2020 - Cities of the Future

Wyoming

Real Estate Market Setting Records in One of the West's Most Desirable Escapes

Jackson Hole, Wyoming is seeing a pandemic bump in real estate prices that mirrors the experience of vacation and tourism towns all over the United States.

October 22, 2020 - Jackson Hole News & Guide

Living and moving

Insights from the 2020 Community and Transportation Preference Survey

The National Association of Realtors' recent Community and Transportation Preference Survey shows that many households prefer living in walkable urban neighborhoods, and those that do have a higher quality of life.

October 21, 2020 - 2020 Community and Transportation Preference Survey

Vancouver, British Columbia

Vancouver Affordable Housing Programs Could Be the Envy of the Continent

It will take a combination of local, provincial, and federal funding, but Vancouver, B.C. recently approved the most ambitious vision anywhere in North America to directly address homelessness and housing affordability challenges.

October 21, 2020 - Globe and Mail

Omaha Tiny Homes

Tiny House Movement Arrives in Omaha

A tiny house village has been approved for a location in Downtown Omaha. When complete, the new homes will provide stability and shelter for the formerly unhoused.

October 21, 2020 - Omaha World-Herald

Las Vegas Golf

Las Vegas Golf Course With a History of Development Controversy Cleared for Houses

A golf course formerly owned by "legendary sports bettor-turned-convicted insider trader" Billy Walters finally has the residential zoning that created so much controversy in the past.

October 19, 2020 - Las Vegas Review-Journal

Second Home

The State of the Market for Second Homes, Prior to the Pandemic

Half of the nation's second homes are found in nine states, according to recent data analysis by the National Association of Home Builders, and building is likely to increase in vacation areas soon, according to one expert.

October 19, 2020 - National Association of Home Builders Eye on Housing

Fort Worth,Texas Oct.21, 2017 Food truck at the trendy area of South side also called the Magnolia area in Forth Worth,Texas.

Fort Worth Plans Big Moves to Rebrand Near Southside

Fort Worth business owners plan to promote the Near Southside area as a hub for artists and entrepreneurs.

October 16, 2020 - Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Zoning Code Rendering

First Look: Zoning Changes Proposed to Implement Minneapolis' Landmark Comp Plan

A plan is only as good as its implementation, and so the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan needs the right zoning code to achieve its lofty goals.

October 16, 2020 - Streets MN

Society Hill Historic Buildings

Mayoral Veto Kills Controversial Philadelphia Downzoning

The mayor, planning staff, and the Philadelphia Planning Commission agree. The Philadelphia City Council and residents of the wealthy neighborhood of Society Hill, not so much.

October 15, 2020 - WHYY

Beautiful Pink Flowers along the East River at Hunters Point South Park during Spring in Long Island City Queens

Two New Affordable Housing Towers Offer a Side of Climate Resilience in Queens

Two new buildings are under construction at Hunters Point South and will contain 719 units of affordable housing.

October 14, 2020 - The New York Times

Atlanta Ocean

Florida Real Estate Market Sounds Climate Alarms

New research suggests that real estate values were declining before prices started falling, but a climate-driven housing crisis could already be here in coastal Florida.

October 13, 2020 - The New York Times

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Rezoning Every Residential Neighborhood in Cambridge for Affordable Apartment Buildings

Cambridge, Massachusetts has opened all residential neighborhoods to the development of apartments buildings with 100 percent affordable units. It might be the most "sweeping attack on elitist and racist single family zoning" in the country.

October 13, 2020 - Wicked Local

Tenant Protections

Another Rent Control Initiative on the Ballot in California

There are significant differences between Proposition 21, a statewide rent control measure on the ballot in California, compared to a similar measure defeated soundly by voters in 2018.

October 12, 2020 - Los Angeles Times

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.