Housing

Commenting on a recent drop in new-home sales, mortgage applications, and slowing home price increases, Goldman Sachs analysts are reporting that America's housing market has hit “a pothole.”

August 30, 2013 - Marketwatch

An improving housing market driven by investors has continued to drive down America's homeownership rate. In many neighborhoods, this means that renters now occupy a substantial amount of homes, distressing owner-occupiers.

August 30, 2013 - The New York Times

A five-story, 60 ft. building proposal in Berkeley, Calif. that would house 70 'high end' micro-apartments ranging from 307 to 344 sq. ft. was presented to the city's Zoning Adjustment Board, but commissioners and neighbors were not impressed.

August 29, 2013 - Berkeleyside

Over the course of a year beginning in June 2008, a 'mysterious holding company' named Urban Assets bought 240 parcels across a five-mile swath of the north side of St. Louis. Since then, it's just let them decay.

August 28, 2013 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

In communities across the U.S., setback requirements and lot coverage maximums mandate acres of private open spaces. Eliminating such requirements could produce more affordable and more eco-friendly places, argues Matthew Yglesias.

August 28, 2013 - Slate

In the land of the blooming condo high-rise a different housing type is starting to sprout - the 'urban townhouse'. Tracy Hanes explains what makes such homes attractive to buyers, and looks at three popular townhouse projects.

August 28, 2013 - Toronto Star

Sarah Watson makes the case for micro-apartments, those controversial 250-350 sq. ft. units that neighbors often oppose but meet a critical need.

August 27, 2013 - The Urbanist

An agreement between Related Developers and a community organization that has gotten substantial support from an area councilman to support a job training and referral program draws criticism from some groups who feel left out.

August 25, 2013 - City Limits

The increasing scarcity of affordable accommodation in large cities has seen the rise of the 'micro apartment'. Taking its lead from studios but on a much smaller scale, this article questions the appeal of living in a space of less than 15m2.

August 23, 2013 - Sydney Morning Herald

A Chicago-based community development financial institution (CDFI) and efficiency group help apartment building owners tame high utility costs, preserve affordable housing, and cut global warming emissions.

August 23, 2013 - WBEZ FM Chicago

A controversial plan to generate revenue for New York City's struggling public housing authority by allowing private development is being reconfigured and pushed off until the next administration after it received considerable opposition.

August 22, 2013 - The New York Times

To take advantage of NYC's inclusionary zoning giveaways, developer Extell is including 55 'affordable' units in a luxury condo building planned for Manhattan. Just one hitch: the plan segregates those tenants in their own 'separate entity'.

August 20, 2013 - The Village Voice

A scheme to transform a Watts housing project with mixed-use development earned final approval from the L.A. City Council on Wednesday. Shops, town homes, and open spaces are to replace "one of the city's most poverty-stricken and violent areas."

August 18, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

A new report by the office of City Councilman Brad Lander finds that New York's voluntary inclusionary housing program is failing to entice developers in large numbers, producing only 2,700 permanently affordable units over the past 8 years.

August 17, 2013 - The New York Times

Amid political demagoguery, a bill to help spur infill redevelopment and the creation of affordable housing in California, following the dismantling the state's redevelopment agencies, is advancing through the California legislature.

August 16, 2013 - Frying Pan News

What if the people who keep a city running -- including urban planners -- can't afford to live there? An updated database highlights the gap between incomes and housing costs in hundreds of U.S. cities.

August 16, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

They sound too good to be true: houses that remain a comfortable temperature throughout the year without traditional climate control systems. Yet 30,000 such homes have been built in Europe. Why haven't passive houses caught on in the U.S.?

August 16, 2013 - The New York Times

Urbanists must adopt less bureaucratic approaches so that the next generation can build and grow the economy, Andres Duany says. Hence the proliferation of “lean” codes that emphasize only the essentials of shaping community.

August 16, 2013 - Better! Cities & Towns

The latest 'digital gold rush' has been a boost for the Bay Area's high earners, but a blow to its diversity and affordability. Conspicuous transportation modes - fleets of private buses and black town cars - epitomize the area's growing divide.

August 15, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

Just south of Chicago, the city of Gary is suffering from post-industrial blight, decaying infrastructure, and declining finances - an all too common trajectory in the Rust Belt. A program selling vacant homes for $1 hopes to stabilize neighborhoods.

August 15, 2013 - The New York Times