Housing

How Residential Architecture Got So Cookie Cutter
While it's fun to tease about the architectural shortcomings of most newly constructed urban residential buildings in the United States, the causes of its ubiquitous sameness reveals the depths of the country's housing crisis.

New Orleans Wants to Loosen Zoning Restrictions in the Lower 9th Ward
New Orleans could make it easier to build new homes on small lots in the struggling Lower 9th Ward.

The Affordable Housing Game Has Changed in Oregon
There are a lot of financial, and legal, reasons to get the rethink the city of Portland's approach to affordable housing funding.

SB 827: Part 2
California State Senator Scott Wiener has released the highly anticipated follow up to last year's failed bombshell of a housing bill, SB 827.

New Property Tax Changes Proposed in California
A new bill proposed in the California legislature would cut back on the number of Prop. 13 property tax breaks handed down to heirs—who then live somewhere else.

Airbnb Getting Into the Housing Business
Correction: Airbnb is diversifying its housing business.

Can We Reduce Foreclosures by Building More Diverse Neighborhoods?
Arnab Chakraborty of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Andrew McMillan of the University of Maryland College Park guest blog about a recent article in the Journal of Planning Education and Research.

Report: 'Segregation Tax' Depresses Home Values in Majority-Black Areas
According to a study, residential segregation and anti-black bias combine to devalue properties in majority-black neighborhoods by an average of $48,000 per home.

The New Rental Market: Get Less for More
New analysis from RENTCafe finds apartments shrinking while prices are expanding.

Kansas City Star Editorial Board Laments 'Denverization'
The Kansas City Star Editorial Board has concerns about gentrification and affordable housing.

Nashville Scored an Amazon Prize, But the Long-Term Outcomes for the City Are Less Clear
Critics say the new operations facility will make some of the city’s problems even worse.

Minneapolis 2040 Expected to Pass After Adjustments
One of the most ambitious comprehensive plans of a major city in the United States is headed to approval, after amendments and compromises garnered the necessary political support among city councilmembers.

Detroit Program Keeps Homeowners Facing Foreclosure Housed
The buyback plan diverts properties from Wayne County's tax foreclosure auction, keeping them in government hands until residents can repay the purchase price.

Millennials Choose Cities for First Homes
New research suggests that millennials are remaining in urban areas as they transition from renting to homeownership.

British Columbia Wants to Curb Mega-Mansion Construction in the Agricultural Land Reserve
Farmers around Vancouver's Agricultural Land Reserve have been building "mega-mansions" on their farmland. The province wants to limit the scale of such homes, but farmers are pushing back.

More Seniors Living in Suburban and Rural Areas; Aging-in-Place Solutions Needed
Less dense communities provide specific challenges in providing services to residents in need of extra care. More seniors living in suburban and rural communities will require new and scalable solutions.

St. Louis Lawsuits Focus on Delinquent Properties
Special suits give property owners an opportunity to fix up rundown properties before the city sells them.

Fair Housing Bill Targets Voucher Discrimination
A bipartisan bill tackles landlords' unwillingness to rent to housing voucher holders.

White People Don't Recognize Black Middle Class Neighborhoods
According to a series of studies, white people have a blindness for seeing the black middle class in neighborhoods—even if they don't display other forms of racial animus.

Upzoning, Inclusionary Zoning Designed to Increase Affordable Housing Supply in Miami
The city of Miami will for the first time require that affordable housing be included in private residential development projects. The mandatory inclusionary zoning was made more palatable to developers by upzoning the affected area.
Pagination
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont