Housing

Detroit, Michigan

Unexpected 'Airbnb Ban' in Detroit's Residential Neighborhoods Causes a Stir

Somehow the city of Detroit managed to start enforcing an Airbnb ban in single-family neighborhoods without anyone realize the council had approved the regulation.

February 12, 2018 - Curbed Detroit

Last Days of Cabrini Green

Cabrini-Green's Life And Death

A new book tells the story of Chicago's Cabrini-Green and reflects on what the lives of the people in this public housing project have to say about the lives of all Americans.

February 10, 2018 - South Side Weekly

Fringe Development

Housing Limits Potentially on the Ballot in Colorado

A ballot initiative is moving forward in Colorado that would severely limit housing production in the already housing-constrained Front Range region. We're not talking about urban growth boundaries here.

February 9, 2018 - The Denver Post

Gay Marriage celebration

Trulia Launches House Hunting Tool for Evaluating LGBT Protections

Call it buyer beware: the real estate website Trulia is offering a new tool to helps house hunters evaluate whether communities discriminate against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender residents.

February 9, 2018 - Trulia

One Native American Family, Two Housing Crises

In Oakland, California and Torreon, New Mexico, Julian Brave NoiseCat reports that "[f]or Indigenous people, the crisis of the home is intergenerational."

February 8, 2018 - High Country News

French Density

Demand For Higher Density Development Slowing Down

Will 2018 signal the end of the latest real estate cycle as we know it?

February 8, 2018 - Modern Cities

Queen-Spadina

Study: Mixed-Use Neighborhoods Fail Affordability

A study published recently in the Journal of the American Planning Association finds that mixed-use neighborhoods in Toronto are only delivering benefits to those who can afford to pay a premium.

February 7, 2018 - CBC News

Silicon Valley

Most California Cities Now Subject to State-Mandated Development Streamlining

Given that 97 percent of California cities aren't meeting their housing targets, SB 35, last year's landmark "by-right" housing bill, now applies to projects that contain varying amounts of affordable units.

February 6, 2018 - East Bay Times

Hoboken, New Jersey

HUD Mulling Work Requirements and Higher Rents for Housing Assistance

More details of the Trump Administration's agenda at the Department of Housing and Urban Development were revealed late last week.

February 6, 2018 - The Intercept

Telepgraph Avenue from UC Berkeley Campus 1981

Berkeley Mayor Condemns Legislation to Increase Housing Density by Transit

Mayor Jesse Arreguín's charges about permissible heights, demolition of rent-controlled housing and displacement that would result from Senate Bill 827 by Sen. Wiener are refuted in the Berkeleyside article, though the latter two have resonance.

February 5, 2018 - Berkeleyside

Gentrification Protest

Why Housing Messaging Backfires

Despite decades of our raising the issue of displacement in the face of rising rents, many Americans still do not see this as a call-to-action or a failure of public policy. Here is why our housing messaging may be backfiring.

February 5, 2018 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Short-Term Rentals

Study Finds More Reasons to Worry About Airbnb's Effect in the Housing Market

The new study, published by the Urban Politics and Governance research group at McGill University, comes with a major disclaimer: it was funded by the Hotel Trades Council, AFL-CIO, among other.

February 1, 2018 - Politico

Uptown San Diego

Four Steps to More Affordable Housing in San Diego (and Elsewhere)

San Diego is one of the most expensive housing markets in the country and has the fourth highest homeless population. Planning activist Murtaza Baxamusa identifies four needed measures.

January 31, 2018 - UrbDeZine

Race Map

Pollution Does Discriminate in Orlando’s Parramore Neighborhood

Poor air quality has decimated the health of residents in this predominantly black community ringed by highways.

January 31, 2018 - Huffington Post

Floodplain

'America’s First Climate Refugees' Are Still on the Island

The 99 residents of Isle de Jean Charles have $48 million to relocate together, but that doesn’t make it easy.

January 30, 2018 - CityLab

California

One Obstacle to ADU Construction in California: The Price of Permits

The price of a permit to build an accessory dwelling units in the city of Thousand Oaks in Southern California is prohibitive—putting the permitting fee in opposition to the stated intent of the city's zoning code and state law.

January 30, 2018 - Thousand Oaks Acorn

Wood Construction

Affordable Housing Fallout From Tax Reform

Despite saving tools like the low-income housing tax credit, affordable housing will still take a hit.

January 30, 2018 - The New York Times

Phoenix

Millennials and Housing Markets: Case Studies From Houston and Phoenix

Researchers from Arizona State University have produced a new working paper that examines efforts to attract and retain Millennials to downtown neighborhoods in Houston and Phoenix.

January 29, 2018 - The Urban Edge

Bed Stuy view

New HUD Rule Could Redefine the Geography of Section 8 Voucher Payments

A new rule will make it easier to send vouchers for rent assistance to wealthier neighborhoods. The Trump Administration is not a willing partner in this effort.

January 29, 2018 - Next City

Vacant Home, Cleveland

Cleveland Still Experiencing Fallout From Great Recession

National economic indicators may look good, but some areas are still clawing their way back from the 2008 recession. Cleveland's Slavic Village, an "epicenter" of the foreclosure crisis, is one of them.

January 29, 2018 - Marketplace

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.

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100 Most Influential Urbanists

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