Housing

Black Lives Matter

Systemic Racism Starts and Ends with Housing

Along with standing up against police violence and systemic racism, we must also fight to end housing systems that devalue Black people.

July 27, 2020 - Shelterforce Magazine

Georgia

Roswell, Georgia Limits Multi-Family Development Despite Affordability Concerns

The Roswell City Council discussed how limiting multi-family developments could increase housing costs, and then voted to limit multi-family development anyway.

July 27, 2020 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Large Lot Vacancies

Neighborhood Homes Investment Act Offers Tax Incentives for Single-Family Rehabs

In struggling communities full of single-family homes, the cost is too high for developers to acquire and renovate blighted properties. The Neighborhood Homes Investment Act would offer an incentive for investment in existing building stock.

July 23, 2020 - Affordable Housing Finance

San Francisco Bay Bridge

Plan Bay Area 2050 Draft Released

A regional plan for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area is available for public comment.

July 23, 2020 - San Francisco Chronicle

Coronavirus

Federal Eviction Moratorium Expires This Week

The day that renters relying on public support to pay the bills have been dreading since March arrives tomorrow.

July 23, 2020 - The Washington Post

Ben Carson

Critics: Trump's Fair Housing Statements a 'Political Stunt'

President Trump is trying to marshal votes by raising fears about the effects of the Affirmatively Fair Housing Act on the suburbs, where the president is losing support among voters.

July 22, 2020 - Associated Press via U.S. World News and Report

Granny Flat

ADU Business Booming in California

The number of Californians adding Accessory Dwelling Units to residential properties has quickly grown during the pandemic, according to industry sources.

July 21, 2020 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Oakland

Black Californians Leaving the City and Reshaping the State

Hundreds of thousands of Black Californians are moving away from urban areas, opting for the promise of abundance and opportunity offered by suburban communities, a trend referred to as "California's Black exodus."

July 21, 2020 - Cal Matters

Houston

New Houston Housing Report Tells a Story of Under-Investment

A new report from the Kinder Institute for Urban Research highlights the state of housing the Houston and Harris County, and more specifically, the historically Black neighborhood of Settegast in northeast Houston.

July 21, 2020 - Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research

Connecticut

Pro-Development Coalition Forms in Connecticut

DesegregateCT is a growing coalition of groups coalescing behind ideas like Missing Middle Housing and zoning reform as a means to improved housing affordability.

July 20, 2020 - Hartford Courant

Freeway Underpass Encampment

The Onion Has a Blistering Take on Congress' Idea of a Social Safety Net

The latest foray by The Onion into the world of planning satirizes the American tendency to prioritize highway spending over housing and the homeless.

July 17, 2020 - The Onion

Jason Kofke Mural

HUD Toolkit Supports Landlords Supporting Residents Through the Coming Economic Hardships

The eviction moratorium put into effect by the CARES Act, applying to residents in public housing authority and Housing Choice Voucher programs, is set to expire later this month.

July 16, 2020 - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Salt Lake City

20 Years Later: Envision Utah's Quality Growth Strategy Deemed a Massive Success

The state of Utah created Envision Utah in the late 1990s to address growth while maintaining quality of life and protecting the environment in the state. The plan set goals for 2020, so it's time to evaluate its success.

July 16, 2020 - The Salt Lake Tribune

Ithaca, New York

Obstacles Remain in the First U.S. City to Cancel Rent

Ithaca took historic action by passing a resolution to offer rent forgiveness to support its large population of renters during the current economic crisis. The city still has work to do to deliver on that promise.

July 16, 2020 - Shelterforce

Down Payment

U.S. Mortgage Delinquencies Spike

The popularity of the mortgage forbearance program enabled by the CARES Act is one reason not to fear a housing crash like the Great Recession, yet.

July 15, 2020 - The Washington Post

African American

New Homes Selling Like Hotcakes

New homes, located mostly on the fringe of developed areas, are selling at a torrid pace this summer.

July 14, 2020 - CNBC

Coronavirus

'Metro Recovery Index' Measures the Impact of the Pandemic and the Trajectory of the Recovery

Brookings has released a new tool for measuring the impact of the coronavirus on local economies across the country, as well as the effectiveness of economic recovery efforts.

July 14, 2020 - Brookings

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

Lessons From Decades of Racist Land Policy

President and CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Dr. George McCarthy traces the legacy of racist policy and offers guidance toward an economic recovery that begins to undo systemic racism.

July 13, 2020 - Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Berkeley Hills Bay Area

Groundbreaking Affordable Housing and Homeless Shelter Project Underway in Berkeley

A new Berkeley development, the largest affordable housing development in city history, is slated to house 200 low-income and homeless residents by May 2022.

July 13, 2020 - The Mercury News

Murder, Redlining, and the Fight for Jamaica Plain

In “Redlined: A Novel of Boston” by Richard W. Wise, an organizer's murder in 1970s Jamaica Plain exposes an epic battle over the future of American cities.

July 12, 2020 - Shelterforce Magazine

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.