Housing

Construction

A 'Housing New York' Report Card

The de Blasio Administration set lofty goals for the creation and preservation of housing in New York. So how's that going?

July 27, 2016 - Politico

Vancouver Skyline Bikes

Vancouver to Tax Foreign Real Estate Investments

Big news has emerged from British Columbia, where the government has been criticized for not doing more to address the housing affordability crisis.

July 26, 2016 - Vancouver Sun

Back Bay Boston

Market Not Cooperating With Boston's Housing Goals

Just because the public sector has set a goal to deliver thousands of new workforce housing units, doesn’t mean the market, or the private sector for that matter, will cooperate.

July 25, 2016 - The Boston Globe

Cleveland

Planetizen Week in Review: July 25, 2016

The Republic National Convention dominated the news last week, and for good reason. There was also eye candy for New York transit advocates and lots of new housing research to enjoy.

July 25, 2016 - Planetizen

Section 8 Kids

Housing Quality Can Impact Child Development

A home in poor physical condition can be "devastating" to a child's early development, a study of Cleveland kindergarteners found.

July 24, 2016 - The Atlantic

Architect Declares the End of Micro-Housing in Seattle

Though housing advocates consider micro-housing units a helpful tool in keeping housing affordable, the city of Seattle has nonetheless produced a series of regulations making such projects harder and harder to build.

July 24, 2016 - Neiman Taber

Portland Maine

Portland, Maine Is Ready to Tackle its Housing Shortage

Like many cities around the country, Portland, Maine is faced with rising costs for housing as demand outpaces supply.

July 23, 2016 - Island Institute

Lawns and Suburban Homes

4 Reasons Home Ownership Won't Close the Racial Wealth Gap

Homeownership is often promoted as a way for low-income and minority families to build wealth. But it is those very families who assume the most risk in buying a house.

July 22, 2016 - City Observatory

Construction

A Portrait of the Nation's Inclusionary Zoning Policies

The number of inclusionary zoning programs is growing quickly around the country. A recent study by the National Housing Conference takes stock of this prominent affordable housing tool.

July 21, 2016 - American Planning Association

Reimagining LA

Study: Bureaucracy Restricts Housing Supply

A recent study by Trulia concentrates on elasticity (i.e., the rate at which housing stock grows, relative to demand), and arrives at the conclusion that bureaucracy, not regulation, is responsible for rising housing prices.

July 21, 2016 - Trulia

Stockton Foreclosure

Study: Land Use Regulation Restricts Housing Supply

A new paper studies the impacts both of specific land use regulations and land use regulations in the aggregate.

July 21, 2016 - Market Urbanism

New York City Greenwich

Fallout Over Expired Tax Abatement Program Grows in New York City

When the state allowed the 421-a tax abatement program to expire in January, the city of New York lost a key tool for development in the city. Now scuttled developments are blaming their demise on the lack of 421-a.

July 21, 2016 - DNAInfo

The World's First 'Tesla Town' Coming to Australia

Tesla's 7kWh lithium-ion Powerwall batteries come standard in every house in the planned community of YarraBend. The community is billed as the "suburb of the future."

July 20, 2016 - RenewEconomy

Tudor City

Visualizing Hyperdensity

The most dense neighborhood in Manhattan is surprisingly low-key.

July 20, 2016 - Michael Lewyn

Centennial Olympic Park

20 Years Later: the Redevelopment Legacy of the Atlanta Olympics

It's been 20 years since the city of Atlanta hosted the 1996 Summer Olympics. The city's National Public Radio station is exploring the legacy of the games.

July 20, 2016 - WABE

Community Engagement Book

The Toxic State of Public Discourse and How to Clean It Up

Dave Biggs interviews author James Hoggan about his new book, "I'm Right and You're An Idiot: The Toxic State of Public Discourse and How to Clean It Up."

July 19, 2016 - Dave Biggs

Dallas City Hall

What Mayors Talk About When Everyone Is Listening

An annual report analyzing the "State of the City" speeches of 100 mayors finds remarkable consistency in messaging.

July 19, 2016 - Next City

Parking Sign

Portland Seeks Affordability By Subtracting Parking

Portland's City Council has sided with housing advocates against neighborhood groups who wanted new developments to include parking spaces.

July 18, 2016 - Willamette Week

Philadelphia Ben Franklin Bridge

$9.3M Awarded to Affordable Housing Development in Philly

The Pennsylvania Governors Office announced that eight developers were awarded a total $9.3M in tax credits from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) to build 495 affordable housing units in the city of Philadelphia.

July 15, 2016 - Curbed Philadelphia

Vancouver Skyline

Op-Ed: Upzonings Hurting Affordability More Than Helping in Vancouver

Zoning for new housing supply isn't the answer to Vancouver's housing affordability crisis, according to an editorial in the Vancouver Sun. In fact, it might only be making the problem worse.

July 15, 2016 - Vancouver Sun

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

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.