Housing

Bus Stop Winter

Poor Suburbs Struggle with Job Sprawl

Although unemployment has declined, according to this report commutes are getting longer. "Job sprawl" often plagues minority and poor areas where housing is more affordable.

May 29, 2015 - Al Jazeera America

Los Angeles Apartments

Does $15 an Hour Mean Higher Rents?

Los Angeles will raise its minimum wage incrementally to $15 an hour by 2020. But with an inadequate supply of new housing, will this new spending power simply enable landlords to charge more? Some economists say yes.

May 28, 2015 - KPCC

Ribbon Cutting Red Tape

Ask the Ethicist: Making Room in the Development Review Pipeline for Social Justice

The latest installment of Planetizen's "Ask the Ethicist" series features the advice of our resident expert: Carol D. Barrett, FAICP, author of "Everyday Ethics for Practicing Planners."

May 28, 2015 - Carol Barrett

Report: Rents Rising Faster Than Home Values

A housing report by Zillow finds that rents are growing faster—much faster, in some cases—than home values.

May 23, 2015 - HousingWire

High Rise Construction

Glut of Luxury Buildings Blamed for Rising Rents

A Wall Street Journal trend piece argues that a shift toward luxury apartments in cities across the United States is driving up the cost of rent throughout the market.

May 22, 2015 - The Wall Street Journal

An Aggressive Pitch to Bail out New York City's Public Housing

Mayor Bill De Blasio released an aggressive and likely contentious plan to fund the New York Housing Authority, which is currently sitting on $16 billion in needed maintenance work.

May 20, 2015 - The New York Times

Google's Loss is LinkedIn's Gain in Silicon Valley

The city of Mountain View chose to allot most of the redevelopment rights in its much sought-after North Bayshore area not to the city's largest employer and taxpayer but to LinkedIn's more conventional proposal.

May 19, 2015 - The New York Times - Bits

San Francisco Rebooting its Airbnb Regulation Efforts

Despite approving legislation to regulate short-term rentals in October 2014, San Francisco must go back to the drawing board to find legislation that works. Stay tuned.

May 19, 2015 - The San Francisco Examiner

San Diego Gaslamp District

Stiff Opposition to San Diego Mixed-Use Mega-Project

In February, the city council approved One Paseo, a 1.4 million-square-foot mix of offices, residences, retail, and entertainment. The project's detractors have forced a referendum, putting a kink in San Diego's urbanist planning ambitions.

May 18, 2015 - ULI Urban Land Magazine

Young Family

Will Young Families Stay in Cities?

With their reputation for decent schools, lower crime, and affordable housing, suburbs can be an attractive prospect for young families. Can cities retain that demographic? Should they?

May 16, 2015 - The Washington Post

Demolitions Increased After Vancouver's 'Heritage Action Plan' Took Effect

Vancouver, British Columbia's Heritage Action Plan went into effect in January of this year. According to an article in the Vancouver Courier, the policy has failed to achieve its intended goals.

May 16, 2015 - Vancouver Courier

How D.C.'s Department of Housing and Community Development Will Tackle Housing Challenges

Aaron Wiener interviews Polly Donaldson—the recently hired head the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) in Washington, D.C.—about her strategies for improving housing in the Nation's Capital.

May 16, 2015 - Washington City Paper

How Regulatory Changes Facilitate Transit Oriented Development

Darnell Grisby makes the case for focusing on ridership and boardings (rather than travel time) and clarifying joint development rules to better facilitate transit oriented development and transit oriented communities.

May 15, 2015 - Urban Land Magazine

Home Sold Sign

Should You Rent or Should You Buy? Trulia Maps the Question

Real estate website Trulia has released its most recent Rent vs Buy report, breaking down the value proposition of buying a home relative to renting one for cities around the country.

May 14, 2015 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Bay Bridge, New Year's Eve

Study: NIMBYs Stunt the National Economy

A new study calculates the national consequences of restrictive housing regulations in three cities: San Francisco, New York, and San Jose.

May 12, 2015 - New York Magazine

ULI Takes the Country's Pulse with 'America in 2015' Report

With the recently released America in 2015 report, the Urban Land Institute undertakes a broad survey to discover what Americans are looking for in their communities.

May 12, 2015 - Next City

Controversial Housing Moratorium Proposed for San Francisco's Mission District

San Francisco Supervisor David Campos, who represents the popular Mission District, has proposed a 45-day moratorium on market-rate, multifamily residential development. A ballot measure is possible.

May 12, 2015 - San Francisco Examiner

Seattle Mixed Use Development

Seattle Densification Strategy: Build Apartments Without Parking

Not just any apartments, only those served by frequent transit. Developers will still have a "mobility" requirement: In lieu of a parking space, they'll need to provide tenants with transit passes and memberships in car and bikeshare services.

May 11, 2015 - KIRA 7

Graffiti and Family

Building the Inclusive City

Income inequality, housing affordability, and residential segregation are big challenges that require more self-critical analysis and less civic self-promotion.

May 7, 2015 - Dean Saitta

Seattle Gasworks Park

Seattle Zealously Protects Its Parkland

Based on a history of park-friendly ordinances, Seattle parks and urban forests are largely off-limits to developers. Landowners who flout these regulations must provide the city with an adjacent and equivalent parcel.

May 7, 2015 - KUOW

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.