Housing
Industrial Chic—Shipping Container Homes
Innovative Idaho developer wants to create a subdivision using shipping containers that will be targeted at eco-conscious home buyers looking for new options, first-time home-buyers and empty-nesters with a sale price: $152,000.
Vancouver and Toronto Lead Big Increases in Canadian Housing Prices
The bloated cost of housing in Vancouver and Toronto has raised concerns among market analysts about a potential correction. Presumably, people in Canada are also worried about the price of housing.
So, About That Anti-Inclusionary 'Study'
Last week, I submitted the following letter to the editor of the Los Angeles Times in response to a vicious, and more importantly, extremely misleading op-ed that decried inclusionary housing as a development killer.

Op-Ed: Let's Build Homes, Not Ideology
Knee-jerk, ideological reactions to the California housing crisis rest on faulty arguments and threaten to cheat the state out of workable solutions.

Socially-Blind Urban Planning
In this era of increased inequality, socially-blind urban planning is morally questionable. Specifically, on the issue of homelessness in America, there are three problems to which planners need to pay particular attention.

Oil Bust: Houston's Housing Surplus is Driving Rents Down
With a multitude of new high-end apartment complexes coming online, Houston residents are reaping the rewards of lowered rents as landlords struggle to fill vacancies due to a slowing oil economy.

Zillow: Suburbs Becoming More Like Cities
According to the real estate website, urban home values are growing faster than those in the suburbs, bucking a longtime trend. This isn't exactly surprising, but it has serious social justice implications.

Can a New Master Plan Fix What Ails São Paulo, Brazil?
Facing an ever expanding shortage of affordable housing and growing inequality, São Paulo's new master plan hopes to change the face of the city.

How Many Homeowners Became Renters During the Great Recession?
Trulia has undertaken an in-depth analysis of American Community Survey data to reveal some of the impacts of the recession on the housing market.
Los Angeles Passes Sweeping Homeless Plans—Funding Still Needed
The easy part for politicians at both the city and the county of Los Angeles is over. Funding their plans to improve services for the homeless will be the hard part.
Land Trusts Holding Ground for Affordable Housing in Pittsburgh
Community land trusts are facing an uphill battle as waves of gentrification reach new neighborhoods around Pittsburgh.
Lenders, Landlords Prepare for Market Correction in Manhattan
Multiple reports about the priciest real estate in New York City say a glut of supply is leading to high vacancies and lower rent.
Report: New Market-Rate Housing Affects Low-Income Housing Supply
A new report from California's nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office may dispel assumptions that construction of market-rate housing displaces low-income Californians.
Report Details Multi-Family Housing Gap on Long Island
When a region isn't building enough housing to meet the demands of a growing population and shifting demographics, zoning codes reform and infrastructure investment can be the solution.
Lead Poisoning in Children Common in Other Parts of the U.S.
The case of the lead contaminated waters in Flint, Michigan has renewed a national discussion of lead poisoning in children across the United States.
D.C.'s Record Construction Pace Credited for Easing Rents
Washington, D.C. joins Denver and Seattle as locations credited with slowing the rising cost of housing by building an abundant new supply of residential units.
Up for Debate: Rent Control Expansion in San Francisco
A newly elected member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has proposed an expansion of rent control that would circumvent state laws that limit such measures.
Mapping Ten Years of Affordable Housing Projects in Chicago
The power of open data and mapping is on display in a map by Chicago Cityscape that shows all building permits for affordable housing in Chicago over the past decade.
Cortright: Oregon Legislation Would Make Housing Affordability Worse
Inclusionary zoning and weakened urban growth boundaries are not effective tools for reducing the price of housing. Joe Cortright of City Observatory suggests ending parking requirements instead.

Heady Market in Chicago's North Side Drives Teardowns
Lakeview, located north of Lincoln Park and adjacent to Lake Michigan, leads the city by a wide margin in residential teardowns over the past five years. Local developers are selling new homes for four times the original price paid.
Pagination
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.
Tyler Technologies
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions