Housing

President Obama can rightfully claim that many of the initiatives his administration pushed through in his first years in office helped reverse the acute economic slide he inherited. His efforts to cleanup the housing crash were far less successful.

August 21, 2012 - The New York Times

Despite billions of dollars in reconstruction aid, with no overarching housing policy, Haiti's recovery from a devastating earthquake in 2010 has become a protracted humanitarian crisis, especially for hundreds of thousands remaining in tent cities.

August 20, 2012 - The New York Times

OPB investigates the flood of new apartment buildings going up in downtown Portland and finds that two-thirds lack any motor vehicle parking - which is great for renters without cars seeking affordable housing, but can anger the neighbors.

August 19, 2012 - Oregon Public Broadcasting

Architizer takes us to the Chinese city of Zhuzhou, where a project featuring residences atop a retail podium stretches the definition of mixed use.

August 18, 2012 - Architizer

Emily Badger explains how a Minneapolis-based non-profit organization is working to break the cycle of gentrification within artist communities by helping to create and preserve affordable space for artists and arts organizations.

August 17, 2012 - Fast Company

Amanda Erickson explains how communities could wield the power of eminent domain to rescue residents with "underwater" mortgages, by condemning homes and allowing owners to refinance their mortgages and pay a new, lower rate.

August 14, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Driven by its long-cultivated arts community, development of Columbus, Ohio's Short North neighborhood has defied the economic downturn as investment in the once-downtrodden area continues.

August 11, 2012 - The New York Times

With an astounding 6,000 new rental units due to come on the market in D.C. by the end of the year, the city's renters are about to get a welcome respite, report Brady Dennis and Amrita Jayakumar.

August 9, 2012 - The Washington Post

Zoning codes, street standards, parking regulations, and other hidden determinants of the built environment are like regulatory zombies from the distant past, throwing up barriers in the path of human-scale placemaking, writes Robert Steuteville.

August 9, 2012 - Better! Cities & Towns

Is the return of the factory town the solution to jump-start new housing construction? Myron Curzan and Janet Lowenthal propose a plan for developing housing that caters specifically to workers stuck in between affordable and median housing.

August 8, 2012 - Urban Land

As Toronto's new chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat made the media rounds last week, her deft comments left local urbanists drunk on the possible. As the city's boosters sober up, John Lorinc recommends two chief priorities that must be tackled.

August 8, 2012 - Spacing Toronto

In Colorado and the West, the most desirable real estate is also the most likely to burn, writes Michael Kodas.

August 8, 2012 - OnEarth

Sixty percent of premature deaths are accounted for not by medical care or lack thereof, but by social circumstances, environmental conditions, and behavioral patterns. So perhaps the medical field on its own can't prevent them.

August 2, 2012 - Shelterforce

Is your home historic? The Atlantic Cities challenges its readers to look at the history behind their own homes, providing a list of 10 things one can do to learn something new about the place we spend most of our time.

August 2, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

For a city of its size, London and its skyline are notoriously flat. Now, as the city struggles to expand its housing stock to meet the needs of it surging population, increasingly taller solutions are being prescribed, concerning some.

July 29, 2012 - The Global Urbanist

In this pair of 'cause and effect' articles, USA Today reporters describe the many companies seeking new office and R&D sites in San Francisco, whether relocating from expensive downtown Palo Alto, the South or East Bay, or outside the state or U.S.

July 28, 2012 - USA Today

Simon Clark and Chris Spillane document the illegal, and often squalid, housing that can be found only three miles from the gleaming Olympic Stadium.

July 27, 2012 - Bloomberg

Priced out of Brooklyn's hippest neighborhoods, young professionals who may have once fled Manhattan in search of affordable housing and "postindustrial charm" are making the reverse move in search of cheaper rents, reports Laura Kusisto.

July 26, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

As shifting demographics and the Great Recession increase the functional demands on the typical suburban single-family home, outdated zoning laws are preventing the economical use of underused space, writes S. Mitra Kalita.

July 24, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

Gone are the days of drab cinderblock housing for America's military families. Taking advantage of an initiative passed by Congress in 1996, today's privatized military housing developments are larger and packed with modern amenities.

July 22, 2012 - The New York Times