Housing

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Facebook Offers $1 Billion to Ease California's Housing Affordability Crisis

Facebook joins as Google in the $1 billion club, though this club plans to spend that money on housing programs to help alleviate the exploding cost of housing in the state of California.

October 22, 2019 - The Mercury News

Underpass Camp

Costs of Seattle's 'Safe Lot' for Homeless in Cars Questioned

The city has proposed a "safe lot" for homeless residents living out of their cars, but the cost could run above $1,000 a person.

October 22, 2019 - Seattle Times

South Mall Parking Lot

How Parking Reform Could Relieve the Housing Crisis

The benefits of equitable mobility policy will extend to equitable housing outcomes, according to this article published by Sidewalk Labs.

October 22, 2019 - Sidewalk Talk

Washington, D.C. Rowhouses

Short-Term Rental Legalization Hangs on Zoning Changes in D.C.

The D.C. Zoning Commission delayed a decision that would be the final step toward legalizing Airbnb and other short-term rental companies operating in Washington, D.C.

October 22, 2019 - WAMU

Texas Flood

Texans to Vote on Flood Control Funding, Property Tax Breaks in Disaster Areas

The fingerprint of Hurricane Harvey and recurring flooding events around the state are evident in the statewide election in Texas on November 5, 2019.

October 21, 2019 - Austin American-Statesman

Construction

Research Reveals the Growth of Home Building Oligopolies

New research reveals an "unseen force" in the housing crisis: consolidation of home building capital and land ownership.

October 20, 2019 - The Washington Post

Homeless Encampment

Massive Discrepancies Identified in Official Homeless Counts

The Los Angeles Times crunched data from the 2019 point-in-time count of homelessness in Los Angeles County. What they found diverged profoundly from official findings.

October 19, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

Washington, D.C.

Is NIMBY-Shaming a Viable Housing Strategy?

Facing a severe housing shortage, Washington, D.C. grapples with how to approach the challenges presented by local stakeholders who oppose any and all development.

October 19, 2019 - WAMU

Canadian Election

More Than One North American Political Campaign Ignoring Housing and Transit

When it comes to ignoring matters of housing affordability and public transit during an election cycle of great significance, the United States is not the exception. Candidates in Canada's 2019 Federal Election have mastered the same trick.

October 19, 2019 - The Star

New Orleans Doors

As New Orleans Property Values Climb, Property Taxes Relief Considered

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell is searching for ways to mitigate the impacts of "skyrocketing property values" while also holding on to some of the new revenue created by the corresponding rising property taxes.

October 18, 2019 - NOLA.com

Chicago, Illinois

Scaling Up Co-Living With Adaptive Reuse

In Chicago, a developer plans to convert 31 floors of a commercial building in Chicago into space for 505 co-living residents.

October 18, 2019 - Chicago Tribune

Senior Housing

Housing Inequality More Apparent in Older Populations

A new report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University digs into the housing market for older Americans, finding more evidence of a widening gap between each end of the wealth spectrum.

October 17, 2019 - Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University

Minneapolis Downtown East

Minneapolis Debates Inclusionary Zoning

The city of Minneapolis approved an interim inclusionary zoning measure in December 2018, but very few projects were subject to the policy. Supporters and opponents of the policy are sparring over the policy's future.

October 17, 2019 - MinnPost

Wild Detroit

Detroit Program Would Offer Property Tax Relief to Low-Income Homeowners

The Pay As You Stay program would lower back taxes for qualifying homeowners and help them avoid foreclosure.

October 17, 2019 - Detroit Free Press

residential Neighborhood

McMimpact Fee Proposed

Should there be an extra fee for property owners who tear down an existing single-family home and replace it with a much larger, more expensive single-family home?

October 17, 2019 - WAMU

Single-Family Housing Construction

Builders Look to Growing Home Rental Market

Subdivisions in states across the country are catering to people who want the benefits of living in homes without the burdens of home ownership.

October 17, 2019 - NPR - All Things Considered

Suburban Home

Report: Housing Choice Vouchers Fall Short of Intended Goals in Houston Region

The Housing Choice Voucher program is intended to provide new opportunities for low-income Americans to live in higher-priced neighborhoods, but few recipients of vouchers are taking full advantage of those opportunities.

October 16, 2019 - Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research

Redlining Map

Study: Historical Redlining Maps No Longer a Proxy for Black America

Black Americans have moved on from formerly redlined neighborhoods, and other minorities and whites have moved in. The wave of presidential campaigns that have based housing policy proposals on redlining maps might be misguided as a result.

October 15, 2019 - Brookings

Tenants' Rights

Why the Poor Cannot Move: It's Not Just the (Official) Rent

A discussion of the book Evicted, and in particular its suggestion that rent in poor neighborhoods is not much lower than the rent in middle-class areas.

October 14, 2019 - Michael Lewyn

Suburbia

When Large Corporations Buy Homes and Become Landlords

Since the Great Recession, homeownership is down and corporations are taking advantage of the profit opportunities.

October 14, 2019 - CityLab

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.