Housing

Butte County, California

Rebuilding Paradise: Time to Consider Sewers

Paradise is the largest incorporated city west of the Mississippi River lacking a public sewer system. The town of of 27,000 relies on septic systems, now potentially damaged. Without sewers, multi-family housing construction becomes more difficult.

December 20, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

Home Sold Sign

Zillow to Start Flipping Homes in California

Tech companies that use algorithms to make rapid offers on a large scale are growing players in the U.S. housing market.

December 19, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

Hope VI Housing

Is PHIMBY Realistic?

Government-subsidized housing is a useful complement to market-rate housing, but an affordability strategy that relies solely on low-income housing may be impractical.

December 19, 2018 - Michael Lewyn

Trailer Parks

The 'Goldilocks' Problem of Housing Supply

All over the country, housing markets are faced with too much supply, too little supply, and just the right of supply.

December 18, 2018 - Brookings

San Diego Gaslamp District

A Transit-Oriented Parking Reform Proposal in San Diego

Under a new plan proposed by the mayor of San Diego, new developments in transit-rich parts of the city would no longer require parking.

December 17, 2018 - Voice of San Diego

Suburban Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh's New Housing Opportunity Fund in Action

The city of Pittsburgh has a new resource for funding affordable housing projects.

December 16, 2018 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

San Jose Arterial Street

Proposed Law Would Empower Section 8 Voucher Users

A law under consideration in San Jose would prohibit landlords from disallowing Section 8 voucher users, though landlords could still turn away renters based on other criteria.

December 15, 2018 - The Mercury News

Beach Homes

Oregon to Consider Statewide Ban of Single-Family Zoning

Legislation in Oregon would follow the lead of Minneapolis in overturning single-family zoning—for all cities in the state with more than 10,000 residents.

December 15, 2018 - Willamette Week

California Streetcar

Gas Stations, Other Car-Centric Uses Banned From Transit-Oriented Areas in Sacramento

The city of Sacramento has implemented one of the most aggressively transit-oriented land use regulation schemes in the country.

December 14, 2018 - The Sacramento Bee

Washington D.C. Stores

D.C. Council Chooses Commercial Property Tax Breaks Over Homeless Funding

Carolyn Gallaher, an associate professor at American University, makes the case for local political leadership to better support Washington, D.C.'s homeless population. The D.C. Council has been focusing its resources elsewhere.

December 13, 2018 - Greater Greater Washington

Los Angeles Density

L.A. Adopts Strict Short-Term Rental Regulations

The Los Angeles City Council approved significant new regulation of short-term rentals, available on platforms like Airbnb, earlier this week.

December 12, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

Eviction

Thresholds of Rent Affordability Trigger Homelessness

New research reveals details of when and where rising rents trigger homelessness.

December 12, 2018 - Zillow Research

Tiny Houses for the Homeless Planned for San Jose

The Bay Area's most populated city is taking a small step to house its homeless population.

December 11, 2018 - The Mercury News

Queen Anne Hill Seattle

Seattle Needs More Housing Diversity and Less Single-Family Zoning

The city should look back to its past for lessons about creating more livable, affordable, and equitable neighborhoods, says a new report.

December 11, 2018 - The Urbanist

HUD

HUD's Spotty Record on Inspections

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is desperately in need of reform in its system of inspections and enforcement of living conditions in public housing.

December 10, 2018 - The Southern Illinoisan

Suburbia

Thoughts on California's Housing Strategy

Balance between state and local control and between private and public solutions are necessary for meaningful improvement in housing affordability, according to planning activist and affordable housing developer Murtaza Baxamusa.

December 9, 2018 - UrbDeZine

Washington

Suburbs Encouraging Accessory Dwelling Units

Renton, a suburb of Seattle dealing with skyrocketing housing prices like many of the communities in the region, is allowing new density in residential neighborhoods in the form of backyard cottages.

December 8, 2018 - Crosscut

Front Porch

The Front Porch: A Space of Deep Meaning for African-Americans

Much more than just an extension of a house, the porch has long been a place of safety, intimacy, and communality.

December 7, 2018 - The New York Times

San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency

That's Mixed-Use: Housing on Top of a Bus Yard

San Francisco could try a new trick to help kill two birds with one stone.

December 6, 2018 - San Francisco Examiner

Seattle

Judge Upholds Seattle's Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda, Clears the Way for Upzoning

Since a city judge determined the legality of the long controversial Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda, Seattle has been able to move forward with the plan to allow new density around the city.

December 6, 2018 - The Seattle Times

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.