Housing
L.A. Developing Big Plans to Prepare for the "Big One"
Nearing the 20th anniversary of the last large earthquake to strike the L.A. region, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a year-long effort to identify ways to protect the city's vulnerable buildings and critical infrastructure from the next rumbler.
U.K. Coalition Government Split Over Garden Cities Report Publication
The leader of the Liberal Democrats, half of the UK's coalition government, accuses the Conservatives of withholding a report that identifies sites for two new towns in 'safe' Conservative regions.
NYC Lost 40% of its Affordable Housing Over the Last Decade
A new study by the Community Service Society has found that New York City lost an astonishing percentage of apartments affordable to low-income residents over the past decade. The study supports Mayor de Blasio's "tale of two cities" narrative.
Should Britain Scrap its Green Belts to Build Houses?
Housing construction hasn't kept up with Britain's robust population growth. The Economist floats several ideas for spurring development: relax permissions for developing greenfields, incentivize building on brownfields, and tax the value of land.
White House Makes $500 Million Promise to Lift L.A. Out of Poverty
One of the Obama administration's most promising anti-poverty initiatives will marshal federal grants and expertise from numerous agencies to improve infrastructure, services and opportunities across a wide swath of Los Angeles.
New York Governor Proposes Tax Relief for Renters
Since at least the housing crash, government programs like the mortgage interest deduction that subsidize homeowners over the millions of Americans that rent their homes have come in for criticism. A proposed New York tax might address the imbalance.
Developer Deals Shortchange Affordable Housing Program in Boston
With little outside oversight, Boston's powerful yet secretive Redevelopment Agency has squandered millions of dollars that were supposed to help build affordable housing by cutting deals with developers and allocating funds to other uses.
San Francisco Bracing for 1 Million Residents by 2032
An upcoming report by the Association of Bay Area Governments projects the city of San Francisco to add a record-breaking number of residents by 2040. The SF Examiner is running a week-long series exploring the impacts of the expected growth.
Chicago's Ubiquitous Housing Type Turns 100
As Chicago's population surged in the second decade of the 20th century, one dominant single-family housing type spread across the city. Over the next year the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association will celebrate these distinctive homes.
New NYC Zoning Rules Will Help Residents Build Against Floods
New municipal zoning laws don’t necessarily make for the most compelling reading material, but a new set of New York City regulations are worth paying attention to.
Lancaster Becomes First U.S. City to Mandate Residential Solar
As part of its quest to become the "Alternative Energy Capital of the World", Lancaster, California will require all new single-family homes to incorporate solar energy systems beginning Jan. 1, 2014.
The Creation of a "Drive to Qualify" World
The cost of intown housing makes suburbia fiscally tempting- but this is in part the result of deliberate policy choices by government.
San Francisco Explores Several Ways to Relieve Housing Pressure
Building on public lands and tweaking the city's inclusionary housing program are just two of the options being considered by San Francisco leaders and housing advocates to help alleviate the city's growing affordability crisis.
Top 10 City Scandals of 2013
As we bid farewell to 2013, here are the Top 10 scandals that cast a negative light on some global cities this past year.
Planetizen's Most Popular Pieces of 2013
We're looking forward to another stimulating year of news, commentary, and professional development. But before the calendar turns to 2014, we wanted to take a look back at our most popular blog posts, exclusive articles, and news items from 2013.
Peak Sprawl Shrinks Home Sizes in Southern California
In contrast to much of the United States, where home sizes are growing again following the recession, developers in Southern California are increasingly building attached homes - reversing the region's history of single-family sprawl.
NYC Will Pursue Place-Based Approach to Addressing Inequality
In remarks delivered last week, Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio's choice as New York's deputy mayor for economic development and housing hinted at how the city plans to tackle affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization.
The Smart Home Has Arrived
Though smart cities and smart phones have tended to dominate professional discussions of late, the smart home has been a gleam in the eye of futurists for decades. Experts predict home automation will accelerate over the next few years.
Should New York Better Police Its Skyline?
As a Billionaires' Row of sky-high residences rises along 57th Street, towering above Central Park, Michael Kimmelman wonders if it's time to tame the "leggy, cloud-piercing, sliver-thin residential towers".
2013 Started a New Chapter in L.A.'s Story
Will 2013 be remembered as the year that Los Angeles embraced a new urban identity? Cultural, political, and planning and design-related events over the past year seem to suggest the city is experiencing "an urban reawakening".
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.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association
