Housing
Report: Downzoning Fails Demographics on Chicago's Northside
Lakeview, on the North Side of Chicago lost one percent of its total households between 2000 and 2011, while its population grew 11 percent. That means more families, but according to a new report, the neighborhood might need new zoning to keep up.

NYC Public Housing Still in Grim Shape
Public housing doesn't suffer the derision that it used to, but housing agencies remain strapped. Critics and residents contend that the New York City Housing Authority, the largest landlord of them all, continues to let down the city's neediest.

How Cities Are Regulating the Sharing Economy
Compiled from interviews conducted with city officials, this National League of Cities report gives us a regulator's-eye-view of the sharing economy. Among the topics discussed are equity, taxation, and data transparency.

Seattle's Homeless Population Is Booming Too
While rates of homelessness drop elsewhere, tents and cardboard are becoming a very regular sight in Seattle. New wealth and newly unaffordable housing may be twin culprits.

The Wind Eyes: Designing for Natural Ventilation in Multi-Family Buildings
As cities provide incentives for density, it's important that new multi-family buildings implement best practices for natural ventilation to achieve quality of life and energy efficiency benefits.

Luxury Condos Versus Philadelphia's Jewelers' Row
Downtown gentrification threatens to displace skilled artisans in a district where workshops go back five generations. Some of the jewelers own their premises, but the rewards for building pricey condos are tempting.
Seattle Residents Look to Community Land Trusts to Insulate from Displacement
Community land trusts are gaining popularity as a tool for building and protecting affordable housing. Seattle residents are the latest to consider the option in the face of rapid gentrification and displacement.

More on the Cost of Anti-Growth Policies
As urban centers start making better sense for a digital economy, NIMBY policies might be worth re-examining. In addition to driving up the cost of housing, they may compound inefficiencies and slow down the economy.
Can Seattle Build 20,000 Affordable Units in 10 Years?
Frank Chiachiere provides some advice on how Seattle can achieve its ambitious goals for affordable housing over the next decade: build transit to places where land is less expensive.
Preservation and Revitalization in Latin America
Urban city centers have been decaying for years in Latin America, however, with renewed interest by Latin American governments, these city cores are once again being revitalized. Arup Connect spoke with urban design leader Pablo Lazo to learn how.

Where 20-Somethings Can Expect the Highest Rents
HotPads, an apartment listing site, has produced a new study finding the cities with the highest rent burden for residents in their 20s. Ana Swanson reports on the study and provides insight into its findings.
Survey: Interest in Buying a Home Hits All-Time Low
Despite many signs of a housing recovery around the country, the most recent survey by Fannie Mae indicates that more Americans than ever aren't sold on the idea of owning a home.
New Programs to House Rural Residents Closer to Jobs
Greg Aamot explores case studies from Minnesota of a conundrum that troubles many rural communities: how to house daytime workforces near their jobs, with the benefits in sales and property tax revenue that results.

Reconsidering Rent Control
Rent control's heyday came and went decades ago, as free-market advocates won out over long-term renters. With housing prices skyrocketing in many U.S. metros, the benefits of rent control may outweigh the harms.

A Mixed-Use Fire Station? Challenging the Limits of Mixed-Use Development
A visual essay exploring the emerging Potomac Yard neighborhood in Alexandria, VA and how one innovative project reinterprets the traditional definition of mixed-use development.

Cars Are Expensive (And Other Things the Census Taught Me)
National tables from the 2013 American Household Survey (AHS) are now public.

Grassroots Activists Take On Evictions, Displacement
On the ground, combating gentrification means putting a stop to cost-driven displacement and evictions. Grassroots organizations in some of the hardest-hit cities have dedicated themselves to that task.
Op-Ed: Time to Take Planning Power Back from Communities
In light of the current housing crisis, argues Stephen Smith, the community-based land use controls created as a response to urban renewal policies of the 20th century should be for forfeited to more development friendly political forces.
The Huge Potential for Passive Buildings in the Big Apple
In NYC, unlike most areas in the United States, buildings, rather than transportation, are the major source of carbon emissions. Passive buildings, with their negligible heating and cooling costs, could help meet carbon reduction goals.

Report: Coastal Los Angeles Will Likely Remain Unaffordable
Los Angeles home prices have long since skyrocketed above median income. A report by the Legislative Analyst's Office shows how difficult it would be to build L.A. out of its predicament.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont