Housing

Cleveland and Pittsburgh Lead First-Time Buyer Market

Calling Pittsburgh "the next Boston," recent analysis finds Pittsburgh and Cleveland are bucking trends in stagnant first-time buyer rates in the housing market.

September 23, 2014 - DS News

Home Construction: Too Much Too Soon

Analyzing newly released data from the American Community Survey, Jed Kolko finds reason to believe that construction of singly-family housing is outpacing demand.

September 19, 2014 - Trulia

Real Estate Boom and Bust Hit Minorities the Hardest

A new visualization tool by the Urban Institute provides a vivid portrait of an unfortunate truth: the foreclosure crisis and other effects of the Great Recession real estate market were worse for minority groups.

September 18, 2014 - The Washington Post

Atlanta Atlantic Station

Learning From My Condo

Even if new housing is expensive, it can reduce overall housing prices by causing existing units to become more affordable.

September 17, 2014 - Michael Lewyn

Transit Oriented Development Ordinance in Chicago Saves Space and Money

A recently adopted ordinance allows developers to build significantly fewer parking spaces for projects in proximity to transit stations. Developers have already responded to the advantages offered by the reduced requirements.

September 11, 2014 - The Architect's Newspaper

Where D.C.'s 'New Communities' Public Housing Program Went Wrong

Washington D.C.'s New Communities program has failed to live up to its titular promise, according to a new report released by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.

September 11, 2014 - Washington City Paper

Downtown Los Angeles Punching Above its Weight in Residential Development

Shane Phillips shares the results of his own analysis about how completely Downtown Los Angeles has dominated the supply of new housing units in the city since 1999.

September 10, 2014 - Better Institutions

Chicago Bronzeville

Mapping the Shrinking Neighborhoods of Chicago

Daniel Kay Hertz shares a map tracking the population of neighborhoods in Chicago since 1950, providing insights into how the city has changed.

September 9, 2014 - City Notes

Integrating Health, Housing, and Resilience

The Urban Land Institute proposes the blending of solutions in housing and public health as a method of increasing the resilience of cities threatened by natural disasters of all kinds.

September 6, 2014 - Urban Land Institute

Is Living in New York City a Consumption Choice?

To what degree are people's location decisions dictated by their consumer preferences? Jordan Weissmann of Slate Magazine discusses whether living in an expensive city like New York City is a consumption choice.

September 4, 2014 - Slate Magazine

Housing America's Older Population—New Report Details the Challenge

A new study from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University and the AARP Foundation has produced a pile of data on the country's aging population and its implications for housing and planning policy.

September 3, 2014 - Harvard University Gazette

Evictions Increase as Renters Struggle to Compete

Shaila Dewan details the increasing rates at which renters all over the country forced from their homes by eviction.

September 2, 2014 - New York Times

New York Skyline Fisheye

New York Times Editorial Board Goes YIMBY

The New York Times editorial board has published on op-ed in support of Mayor Bill de Blasio's ambitious targets for affordable housing in New York City over the next ten years.

August 31, 2014 - New York Times

London's Height Debate Reaches Fever Pitch

In the midst of a building boom and expecting another 1.4 million residents to live in the city by 2031, London is embroiled in a debate about how it should meet housing demands.

August 30, 2014 - New York Times

When it Comes to Seismic Safety, It's Each City for Itself

Buildings constructed of unreinforced masonry get much if not most of the media's attention on seismic safety, but so-called 'soft story' wood buildings, often with garages on the ground floor, compose the greatest numbers of vulnerable buildings.

August 28, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Napa Earthquake Shows Urgency of Building Retrofits

Sunday's powerful Bay Area earthquake brought attention to the urgent need to retrofit existing buildings in California. One expert stated the damage in Napa "was predictable." Do you know the three types of construction that need to be reinforced?

August 27, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

Good News? Housing Prices Now Rising at a Less Meteoric Pace

Neil Irwin takes an optimist's view toward recent data that show a slowing rate of increase for the price of housing in many parts of the country: "the new data offer hints that a disastrous era for housing may be ending."

August 27, 2014 - New York Times - The Upshot

Developers Fail to Meet Affordable Housing Quota in Portland's Pearl District

Despite a contractual obligation, Hoyt Street Properties under-built 258 affordable housing units in Portland's Pearl District. The city has to react.

August 24, 2014 - The Oregonian

Living the TOD Lifestyle in Denver: Growing Transit and Affordable Housing

Dana Hawkins-Simons writes about how the Denver TOD Fund produces and ensures equitable, affordable development around the city's expanding transportation network.

August 24, 2014 - Shelterforce

Cash Buyers are Dominating the Real Estate Market

Kriston Capps shares news of a report by RealtyTrac.com showing just how much, and where, cash homebuyers are blocking the middle class from homeownership.

August 24, 2014 - CityLab

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.