Housing

Orenco Station

Oregon to Consider New Densities for Transit Adjacent Neighborhoods

The Oregon Legislature is already considering one of the most sweeping and ambitious statewide land use reform bills in the country. A new bill would allow even more density around transit stations.

February 20, 2019 - Willamette Week

San Francisco Housing

Steady Loss of San Francisco Bay Area Affordable Housing

Skyrocketing rental costs are hitting low-income residents even harder as available subsidized housing continues to disappear.

February 20, 2019 - The Mercury News

Downtown Charlotte

Affordable Housing Tipping Point in Charlotte

Charlotte saw the writing on the wall, and decided to act decisively in addressing its lack of affordable housing options.

February 20, 2019 - Governing

Rental Construction

Explained: The Common Look of the Contemporary Mid-Rise Apartment Building

Last week's urbanism social media landscape was dominated by discussion of an article that digs into the historical and technical origins of the contemporary mid-rise apartment building type.

February 19, 2019 - Bloomberg BusinessWeek

State capital building

Statewide Rent Control Moving Through the Oregon Legislature

Democratic legislators in Oregon are pushing hard to approve a statewide rent control bill that would be the first of its kind in the United States.

February 19, 2019 - Oregon Public Broadcasting

Los Angeles High Rise Construction

More Evidence That New Housing Lowers Rents (Maybe)

Even if new housing reduces rents regionwide, scholars are divided as to when and whether new market-rate apartments reduce rents in nearby blocks. A new study seeks to answer this question.

February 18, 2019 - Michael Lewyn

Minneapolis Celebration

Development, Population Growth Reshaping Downtown Minneapolis

Thousands of news residents and apartment units, along with almost a billion dollars of development investments, arrived in Downtown Minneapolis in 2017.

February 17, 2019 - Star Tribune

Construction Cranes

Another Approach to Affordable Housing

A new approach to affordable housing attempts to overcome the traditional approaches of supply-side economics and government-funded investments and extractions.

February 17, 2019 - City Observatory

Nuevo Development Santa Clara

Plans for an 'Urban Town' in the Silicon Valley

The Nuevo development will bring close to 900 homes and apartments along with commercial and outdoor space to a location near a Caltrain station.

February 15, 2019 - The Mercury News

U.S> Department of Housing and Urban Development

HUD Official Moves From Trump Plaza to New York Public Housing

The Trump administration's critiques of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) took a strange turn this week.

February 15, 2019 - The Real Deal

Ontario, Canada

Allowing, and Permitting, Rooming Houses Could Solve Multiple Problems at Once

Abuses by landlords and poor living conditions are common in illegal rooming houses around Toronto. Activists want to make them easier to build, and regulate, to add affordable housing options for low-income residents.

February 15, 2019 - The Star

New York Basement Apartment

Pilot Program Will Legalize Basement Apartments in East New York

One approach to easing New York City's housing crisis: legalize and incentivize the construction of basement apartments.

February 14, 2019 - Curbed New York

Astoria Oregon

Local Governments Weigh-in on Oregon's Statewide Upzoning Proposal

Local planners and elected officials are expressing their opinions about Oregon's House Bill 2001, which would allow fourplexes on single-family residential units around the state.

February 14, 2019 - The Oregonian

Sacramento

California's Commitment to Density Depends on Commitment to Common Destiny

Opponents of bills to promote transit oriented housing development throughout California need to do the math and develop some state pride.

February 14, 2019 - Josh Stephens

Ohio River

Citywide Housing Strategy Launched in Cincinnati

Stakeholders in Cincinnati have begun the process of drafting a citywide blueprint to tackle its shortage of affordable housing. The process is just getting started, but the need is already immense.

February 14, 2019 - WCPO

Illinois

Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance Proposed in Oak Park, Illinois

The suburb made famous by the likes of Frank Lloyd Wright and Ernest Hemingway is considering an inclusionary zoning ordinance in the hopes of enabling more affordable housing development.

February 14, 2019 - Oak Leaves (Chicago Tribune)

California

Cheaper, Easier Affordable Housing Development Proposed in San Francisco

San Francisco Mayor London Breed is proposing major reforms of the permitting process for affordable housing and accessory dwelling unit projects in the city. The idea is that cheaper projects are much easier to build.

February 12, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

New Orleans

Property Tax Relief for Longtime, Low-Income Residents of Gentrifying Neighborhoods

The city of New Orleans is pushing the state to allow property tax relief in neighborhoods where housing values are soaring—the proposal is designed to stabilize neighborhoods undergoing rapid investment and transformation.

February 12, 2019 - The New Orleans Advocate

Homeless Cars

Homeless People No Longer Prohibited From Living in Cars in San Diego

Until last week, it was illegal to live in a car in San Diego.

February 11, 2019 - San Diego

Twin Cities

Mapping the Wealth Accumulation of Homeowners

Exclusionary zoning really pays off for people that already had enough money to buy a home. A new mapping project shows exactly where that's true int he area around Minneapolis.

February 9, 2019 - Nick Magrino

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.