Housing

San Francisco Residential Neighborhoods

Density Demands Good Design

California's Senate Bill 50, to increase housing near transit hubs and job centers, failed amid fears of density. If the next version is to succeed, architects and urban designers must ensure that critics' fears are not realized.

June 17, 2019 - The Architect's Newspaper

Amazon HQ2

Report Details the Many Risks of Climate Change Facing Queens

The Regional Plan Association recently released a report targeting the climate risks associated with the older housing stock in Central Queens, New York City.

June 16, 2019 - QNS

Young Apartment Residents

World's Largest Co-Living Development Coming to San Jose

The communal living opportunity for San Jose residents was made possible by the creation of an entirely new designation in the city's zoning code.

June 15, 2019 - CityLab

Montreal, Quebec

20-20-20: Montreal Sets New Goals for Inclusionary Zoning

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante is championing a new approach to inclusionary zoning, recently released in draft form to the public.

June 15, 2019 - Montreal Gazette

San Francisco Construction

The Housing 'Migration Chain' That Results From Upzoning

A new working paper adds another perspective to the debate about easing zoning regulations to address the affordable housing crisis.

June 14, 2019 - CityLab

East Village

East Village Rezoning Falls Short on Affordable Housing

Enacted in 2008, a partial rezone of Manhattan's East Village and Lower East Side failed to deliver on affordable housing projections, falling short by 45 percent.

June 14, 2019 - Curbed New York

San Francisco Homeless

San Francisco to Use Conservatorship for Some Mentally Ill Homeless People

Thanks to legislation by Sen. Scott Wiener passed last year, San Francisco will apply a new tool to force treatment on some homeless, mentally ill people who refuse it, but it's limited to five people annually. A new Wiener bill would expand it.

June 13, 2019 - The Washington Post

Los Angeles Bungalow Court

On the Massive Carbon Savings of Gentle Density

A thought experiment compares the carbon impact of three new single family homes with the same block if it contained a duplex, a triplex, and a fourplex.

June 13, 2019 - Sightline Institute

Arlington County, Virginia

Amazon Donates $3 Million for Housing in Northern Virginia

The online retail giant also donated funding for educational programs at a nearby university and a nearby community college.

June 13, 2019 - The Washington Post

Seattle Multi-Family and Downtown

Doubt Cast on Induced Demand for Housing

Applied to roads, the theory of induced demand says new construction only brings out more users. But can something similar be said of housing? According to this research, the likely answer is no.

June 12, 2019 - City Observatory

Albany

'Landmark' Rent Protections Deal Moving Forward in New York

The New York State Legislature has made a deal paving the way for local governments to approve rent regulations—a degree of local control that was previously impossible in the state.

June 12, 2019 - The New York Times

McMansion

Study: A McMansion Can't Buy Happiness

As houses grow and households shrink, many Americans have a lot more space to themselves. But recent research says they aren't any happier trying to keep up with Joneses.

June 12, 2019 - The Atlantic

Adams Morgan District

The Case for Upzoning

The parallel crises of pollution and housing affordability require denser zoning of land uses, otherwise known as upzoning, according to this article.

June 12, 2019 - Greater Greater Washington

Hudson Yards, New York City

NYC Planning Head Defends Growth-Oriented Policies

Acknowledging anti-development sentiments currently simmering at an "all-time high," New York's planning director Marisa Lago defended de Blasio administration policies like mandatory inclusionary housing.

June 12, 2019 - Crain's Business New York

Accessory Dwelling Unit

ADU Reform Moves Forward in Seattle

A sweeping reform of Seattle's current accessory dwelling unit (ADU) rules is currently underway. Proposed legislation sets the stage for an ADU boom to potentially match Vancouver and Portland.

June 11, 2019 - The Urbanist

Homeless in New York City

Beyond YIMBY: Racism and Finance in the Housing Crisis

Upzoning without addressing speculation and finance could exacerbate the housing crisis for the nation’s most vulnerable communities, a professor of urban planning warns.

June 11, 2019 - The Planning Report

Denver Region

Cities on the Verge of a Housing Crisis

This analysis of the largest metropolitan areas in the country reveals high housing prices spilling over into many parts of the country not located on the coasts.

June 11, 2019 - 24/7 Wall St.

Glendale California

Poll: On Housing, Californians Want What the Legislature Won't Give

"This particular solution, which has been very controversial in the Legislature, is not very controversial when it comes to the general public."

June 9, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

Philadelphia Rowhouses

Designing Homes for the In-between Spaces

"Leftover lots" are the object of one Philadelphia-based architecture firm's fascination.

June 8, 2019 - PlanPhilly

Downtown Minneapolis Streetscape

Tempering the Expectations for the Minneapolis 2040 Plan

The ability of the landmark Minneapolis 2040 plan, which adds density in various forms all over the city, to solve the cities climbing housing prices and growing lack of affordable housing, might have been exaggerated.

June 7, 2019 - MinnPost

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.