Housing

Aerial view of Barcelona, Spain with Sagrada Familia church in middle among dense buildings.

How Urban Form Impacts Housing Affordability

The way we design cities affects housing costs differently than you might think.

April 18, 2024 - The Conversation

Large blank mall building with only two cars in large parking lot.

Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House

If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.

April 18, 2024 - Central Penn Business Journal

Close-up of "No Loitering or Panhandling - Restrooms for Customer Use Only" sign in shop window.

Opinion: Criminalizing Homelessness Is ‘Expensive and Shortsighted’

Policies that punish and fine unhoused people for sheltering outdoors, even when other shelter is not available, are the most visible but least efficient ways to reduce homelessness.

April 17, 2024 - Bloomberg Law

Single-family homes in a suburb of Dallas, Texas

Texas Law Could Limit Local Control Over Zoning

If upheld, a Texas law would likely prevent cities from enacting zoning reform that would increase density or eliminate single-family-only zoning.

April 17, 2024 - D Magazine

Aerial view of Maine harbor town with fall colors on trees.

Maine Law Promotes Smart Growth

New state legislation encourages cities to plan around ‘smart growth’ principles to preserve farmland and open space, and use infill development to build more housing.

April 17, 2024 - Maine Public

Vacant corner lot in Atlanta, Georgia surrounded with low orange plastic construction fencing.

Atlanta Infill Project Takes Inspiration From Dutch Design

A residential development includes a central courtyard designed to be shared by pedestrians and cars.

April 17, 2024 - Urbanize Atlanta

View of Spanish-style homes in dense neighborhood in Orange County, California at sunset.

Median Home Prices Top $1 Million in Over 200 California Towns

Towns once known for their affordability are seeing sharply rising home prices.

April 16, 2024 - Los Angeles Times

Four-story light-colored multifamily apartment building.

How Financing Restricts the Rental Housing Market

The way apartment buildings are financed has a major impact on supply and costs.

April 16, 2024 - Strong Towns

Close-up of red For Rent sign with white text on porck of brick building.

Understanding Average Versus Median Rent

The disparity between these commonly used terms can give vastly different outlooks on the housing market.

April 16, 2024 - Marcelo Remond

Modern six-story office building in Washington, D.C. formerly occupied by Federal Aviation Administration.

Legislation Introduced to Support Adaptive Reuse of Federal Buildings

The proposed bill would promote the conversion of vacant and underused buildings into affordable housing.

April 15, 2024 - Route Fifty

White sign with No Camping - Violators Subject to Arrest and municipal code in red text with snowy trees in background.

Opinion: Unhoused People Need Housing, Not Law Enforcement

The sharp increase in the unhoused population calls for urgent action, not criminalization.

April 14, 2024 - The Hill

Google street view of grassy lot next to brick church with elevated freeway on other side in Houston, Texas.

Houston Supportive Housing Development Sparks Debate

Critics say a proposed apartment building would negatively impact the neighborhood’s walkability.

April 12, 2024 - Houston Chronicle

Closed black wrought iron gate in front of gated residential community with large palm trees along sides of street.

Friday Funny: Gated Community Doubles Down

The Onion skewers suburbia.

April 12, 2024 - The Onion

Wood-frame two-story rowhouses under construction.

Fair Housing Cannot Take a Back Seat to ‘Build, Baby, Build’

If we overlook fair housing principles in the plan to build US housing back better, we risk ending up right back where we started.

April 11, 2024 - James Jennings

Aerial view of Oakland, California with bay in background

California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million

Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.

April 11, 2024 - Los Angeles Times

A view straight down LaSalle Street, lined by high-rise buildings with an El line running horizontally over the street.

Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing

Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.

April 10, 2024 - Chicago Construction News

Aerial view of homes on green hillsides in Daly City, California.

Depopulation Patterns Get Weird

A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.

April 10, 2024 - California Planning & Development Report

Aerial view of New Jersey and New York City.

New Jersey Passes Fair Housing Reform

A new law streamlines and clarifies the state’s affordable housing requirements for cities and towns.

April 10, 2024 - National Low Income Housing Coalition

WMATA train on elevated track passing by brick multistory buildings in Alexandria, Virginia.

Making TOD More Viable

Tying housing and land acquisition funding to transit projects could make dense, walkable development easier and more cost-effective.

April 9, 2024 - Smart Cities Dive

View of street in small town of Camillus, New York on a cloudy day.

Rural Affordable Housing in Crisis

Rural U.S. communities are poised to lose hundreds of thousands of affordable housing units as federally backed mortgages mature.

April 9, 2024 - HousingWire

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.

Senior Manager Operations, Urban Planning

New York City School Construction Authority

Building Inspector

Village of Glen Ellyn

Manager of Model Development

Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO

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.