Housing

The Next Step in Downtown Pittsburgh's Resurgence: Build More Parking?

With an approaching mayoral transition, Mark Belko looks at what Pittsburgh's next leader will need to focus on to keep downtown's rejuvenation rolling. Should building more parking be at the top of the list?

April 8, 2013 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

D.C.'s Displacement Woes Spread to the Suburbs

D.C.'s decade of prosperity and growth has been accompanied by a wave of development and displacement that is now threatening to submerge its inner-ring suburbs. Robert McCartney examines the consequences.

April 6, 2013 - The Washington Post

Miami’s Missing Middle

Miami’s housing stock can be characterized generally to encompass single family homes and condos. Between these two options, however, other choices are lacking.

April 6, 2013 - Global Site Plans - The Grid

Ocean Grove Sidewalk

The Case for Age-Friendly Suburbs

Several trends are conspiring to challenge America's ability to house and care for its senior citizens. Utilizing successful examples, architect and planner Eric C.Y. Fang examines how the suburbs can be adapted to support an aging population.

April 5, 2013 - Eric C.Y. Fang

Foreclosure Sign

The 'American Dream' Gets a Rewrite

A new survey has revealed that the housing bust has taken a toll on the fabled "American Dream," with the majority of respondents asserting that policies should be directed "to encourage rentals equally as much as home purchases."

April 4, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

To Create a Great 'Third Place', Get Out of the Way

For far too long, the shaping of public spaces has been left to architects and urban planners, who plan from the top down. The most successful projects involve people directly in deciding how their public spaces will look, feel, and operate.

April 4, 2013 - Shelterforce Magazine

Los Angeles Smog Skyline Zoom

Inspiring Ideas for Solving L.A.'s Biggest Challenges

With 279 submissions received, the pubic voting period has begun for determining who will receive the $1,000,000 in grants being awarded to improve the quality of life in Los Angeles along eight key indicators.

April 2, 2013 - Good

Can Office Conversions Ease London's Housing Shortage?

As a property buying binge by the global super-rich makes parts of London "more international, more expensive and more empty," the government is looking to ease the conversion of offices to residences. Can this ease the city's housing shortage?

April 2, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

Chinese Cities Take Steps to Tame the Housing Dragon

According to Michael Pettis, who teaches finance at the University of Beijing and is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, China "is awash in cash and credit," stoking fears of an out of control housing bubble.

April 2, 2013 - The New York Times

Canada's 'Slab Farm' Blind Spot

In Canada, more people live in suburban high-rise apartment buildings than any other housing type. Doug Saunders looks at the country's belated recognition for its "elevator suburban" identity.

March 31, 2013 - The Globe and Mail

Why S.F.'s Parking Requirements May Cause Your Building to Crumble in an Earthquake

1960s and 70s era Dingbat buildings, which are common in many California cities, may be hazardous to more than just your design sensibilities. Their much-loathed parking-oriented designs can make buildings especially vulnerable to earthquakes.

March 29, 2013 - SF.Streetsblog

Trend Towards Engagement Transforms America's Public Housing

Public housing models in the U.S. are becoming more community-oriented and taking varying demographics into account during the design process. Engagement with the street, the neighborhood, and social services are creating new design typologies.

March 29, 2013 - Architectural Record

How New York's Hasidim Solved the City's Affordable Housing Problem

The certainly won't win any design awards, but new multi-family residential buildings erected by Hasidic developers in Brooklyn show that it's possible to build spacious and cheap housing in New York for families small and large.

March 28, 2013 - The New York Observer

Bush Stadium Indianapolis

Holy Cow! Indy Ballpark Transformed by Unique Adaptive Re-Use Project

The conversion of an historic art deco baseball stadium in Indianapolis into loft apartments is one of the most inventive adaptive re-use projects we've ever seen.

March 26, 2013 - The Architect's Newspaper

Del Mar Station TOD

Value of Homes Near Transit Fared Much Better During the Recession

A new study conducted by the Center for Neighborhood Technology shows that homes in close proximity to transit stations lost much less of their value during the collapse of the housing market, reports Tanya Snyder.

March 24, 2013 - DC.Streetsblog

Why Are There So Many Vacant Condos in Vancouver?

New analysis of census data has found that a quarter of the condos in some areas of downtown Vancouver are empty or occupied by non-residents, leading analysts to raise concerns about the role of investors in the city's housing market.

March 22, 2013 - The Globe and Mail

Builders Can't Keep Up with Demand for Homes

The rapid recovery of the housing market has caught America's home builders off guard with record low levels of inventory. The return of "bubblelike price jumps" and bidding wars are causing problems for buyers and sellers alike.

March 22, 2013 - The New York Times

New York Sandy Power Outage

Top Trends 2012-2013

Over the course of the year, the editors of Planetizen review and summarize thousands of articles, books, studies and editorials related to planning and urban development. Here are our picks for the most notable planning trends of the past year.

March 19, 2013 - Jonathan Nettler

Schizo Skyline: Warring Williamsburg Mandates Leave Waterfront Out of Whack

Did the rezoning of the Williamsburg waterfront backfire? Stephen Jacob Smith reflects on the lack of transition between the neighborhood's skyscraping waterfront and its low-rise inland, a missing middle mandated by recent upzoning.

March 17, 2013 - New York Observer

Extremely Low-Cost Housing Solutions Gain Currency

Lamar Anderson offers a window into some promising extremely inexpensive housing solutions that engage the user in the design and construction process.

March 17, 2013 - Architectural Record

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.