Housing

The Cost of Solving Homelessness in Seattle: $400 Million
It’s "dramatically higher" than any number under discussion, and not even close to what the city will raise with its new tax on large businesses.
Controversial Redevelopment Plan Pleases No One in Pittsburgh
Affordable housing advocates, developers, and planning commissioners all got a bad taste in their mouth on this one.

Madrid Seeks to Sharply Curtail Short-Term Rentals
A suite of restrictions under consideration in Madrid would eliminate short-term rentals from 95 percent of the city.

Density Battles in Affluent Suburbs
The city of Edina, Minnesota, provides an example of the suburban reaction to a wave of multi-family residential construction.

The 'Missing Middle' Fills a Gap in Cedar Rapids
Developers are adding an unprecedented level of new multi-family residential construction. Most of the projects are examples of missing middle housing typologies.

Seattle Reaches Compromise on Controversial Tax for Affordable Housing
The Seattle City Council, prompted by pressure from Mayor Jenny Durkan, approved a smaller version of the "Head Tax" that provoked the ire of Amazon.

San Diego County Officials Ask State to Lower Housing Production Goal
The San Diego Association of Governments requested that the number of new housing units that the state housing agency assign the state's second largest county be reduced to more accurately reflect what the 18 cities and county can actually build.

Post-Harvey Homeowners Face an 'Army of Speculators'
In Houston, investors are snapping up damaged homes that will be dependent on flood insurance.

Defeating SB 827 Did Not Discourage the YIMBY Movement
Though the California housing bill was a high-profile failure for pro-development activists, there are initiatives all over the country that carry its spirit.

Rents Falling in New York City; New Supply Gets Credit
New York City is seeing an adjustment in the rental market as landlords struggle to compete for renters in a suddenly crowded market.

The Conscience of a Radical
Why local governments can not always be trusted to run housing policy.

Bay Area Home Prices Rise Despite Out-Migration
Kathleen Pender, business columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, points to two reasons why home prices rise amidst a Bay Area exodus to other states. On a state level, out-migration shows California's strong but dysfunctional economy.

California Population Grows to 39,810,000 in 2017
California added 309,000 residents last year, an 8 percent drop compared to annual increases since 2010. The state added a net 85,000 housing units, accounting for losses to wildfires.
Community Land Trust Looking for a Foothold in Buffalo
A community land trust is making moves in the Fruit Belt neighborhood of Buffalo, New York.

Why Equity Groups Opposed California Legislation to Increase Housing Production
YIMBYs don't understand poverty, claimed one social justice group. Few, if any, connections with equity groups and too many with tech companies may have helped doom SB 827's chances of making it to first base in the legislature this year.

Formerly Redlined Denver Neighborhoods Are Now Gentrification Hotspots
Prices remain depressed in most formerly redlined neighborhoods, but several such areas in Denver now boast higher home values than the city as a whole.

On the Do's and Don'ts of Housing Policy
Brookings has put together nine rules for more cohesive and effective housing policy, despite federalism's tendency to create near-infinite local variety.

Boston Mayor Wants to Limit Short-Term Rentals
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh thinks short-term rental companies like Airbnb are having a negative effect on the city's housing market, and he'll walk a fine line to regulate the industry.

Friday Funny: I'll Do Anything to Solve Homelessness, But I Won't Do That
A satirical post for McSweeney's about the typical approach to the country's growing number of homeless brought to mind a famous song by Meat Loaf.

Homeless Shelters a Tough Sell With Neighborhood Activists
A plan to streamline approval of a wave of homeless facilities in the city of Los Angeles is running into an early snag with an emergency shelter proposed for a parking lot in the Koreatown neighborhood.
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