Housing

Terms and Concepts for Understanding Land Banks

Clarifying some of the jargon that drives the land bank process in Cuyahoga County, Ohio reveals the importance and scale of neighborhood stabilization in some parts of the country.

August 21, 2015 - Cleveland.com

Another McMansion

Why the McMansion Isn't Really Back

Joe Cortright criticizes reports linking high median new home sizes to a renewed demand for McMansions. The market for single-family homes, he argues, locks out buyers of modest means. Only the well-off are buying.

August 21, 2015 - City Observatory City Commentary

HUD Decides to Evict 'Over-Income' Public Housing Tenants

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has shifted its response to an audit finding tens of thousands "over-income" residents living in subsidized housing.

August 20, 2015 - The Washington Post

Rental Construction

Escaping the Cycle of Inflated Housing Costs

In an insightful article, William Fulton unpacks the supply-demand cycle driving costs skyward in certain areas. To address the problem, new construction needs an unprecedented level of diversity.

August 18, 2015 - California Planning & Development Report

Hotel California

Sacramento's Careful Approach to Legitimizing Airbnb

The battles in New York and San Francisco have cities like Sacramento preparing for the growth of the home-sharing economy.

August 18, 2015 - Sacramento Business Journal

Luxury Multi-Family Housing Boom Creates Scarcity in Other Markets

The Wall Street Journal examines one of the causes of the missing middle of the housing market—luxury multi-family developments pencil out while the supply of mid- and market-rate housing options dwindles.

August 18, 2015 - The Wall Street Journal

The Golden Age of Television's New Subject: Public Housing

A new miniseries on HBO, from the creators of the seminal series The Wire, will spend the next weeks addressing issues raised by public housing and desegregation in Yonkers during the 1980s.

August 17, 2015 - Vox

Strong Housing Market a Lesson in Contrasts to the Slumping Oil Industry

Houston's housing market is chugging along, although one of the area's key industries is struggling.

August 16, 2015 - Houston Chronicle

Uhaul Trucks

Report Finds Historically Unaffordable Rents

A new report from Zillow shows evidence of a deepening crisis in the rental housing market.

August 15, 2015 - Bloomberg Business

Lafayette BART

Bay Area Town: 44 Single-Family Homes on a Site Once Considered for 315 Apartments

Lafayette provides a case study of the San Francisco Bay Area housing market.

August 15, 2015 - Contra Costa Times

slum housing

Why Concentrated Poverty Matters

The Architecture of Segregation: The slums are racially concentrated, on the rise, and spreading to the suburbs.

August 13, 2015 - CityLab

Gentrification Concerns Raised Around 'The 606' Trail in Chicago

When an exciting and popular addition to the public realm becomes available, like it did in Chicago earlier this year with The 606 trail, concerns about gentrification and displacement are sure to follow.

August 13, 2015 - Chicago Tribune

Wealthy Suburbs Flout Illinois' Affordable Housing Mandate

The state of Illinois finds itself without a "stick" to enforce the mandates of its Affordable Housing Planning and Appeals Act. Towns have noticed and are flouting the law.

August 11, 2015 - Chicago Tribune

Home Sold Sign

$1 Billion Master Planned Community Moving Forward on the Ohio River

A suburb of Cincinnati provides evidence of renewed demand for master planned communities.

August 10, 2015 - Cincinnati Business Courier

Seattle's 'Oh So Human' Hesitations About Change

Seattle's recent Housing and Livability Agenda (HALA) recommendations have created a sensational dialogue about zoning, affordability and neighborhood change. Chuck Wolfe explains how this may create an unprecedented basis for consensus in the city.

August 9, 2015 - Crosscut

Common Issues Facing Cities—Aggregated from 100 'State of the City' Speeches

Around the country, issues related to the field of planning dominate the public discussion of the "state of the city."

August 6, 2015 - Fast Co.Exist

Condo Development

The Failure of Preservation

Attempts to limit new construction to preserve neighborhood character are an example of "beggar thy neighbor" politics.

August 5, 2015 - Michael Lewyn

Op-Ed: Nashville Should Coordinate Transit, Housing Plans

Urban planning is front in center in Nashville, with a general plan update underway and a mayoral election looming on August 6. One candidate took to the editorial pages of The Tennessean to lay out a housing and transit agenda.

August 4, 2015 - The Tennessean

Old Timey Ticky Tacky

400 Years of Single-Family Homes in America

A data visualization project illustrates the long and varied traditions of American single-family housing.

August 4, 2015 - The Washington Post

Washington DC Chinatown

Residents Forced Out of Washington, D.C.'s Chinatown

Can a neighborhood still call itself Chinatown when everyone living there is wealthy and white? Beset by rapid gentrification, longtime residents of D.C.'s Chinatown fight to keep their homes.

August 3, 2015 - The Washington Post

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.

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.