Housing
'Doubling Up' Increases
'Doubling up', when multiple families live under one roof to save money, is nothing new - it increases when economic times are difficult, especially with extended families. However, the Census reports that adults aged 35+ now exceed younger groups.
More Americans Overspent on Housing
Data from the Census shows that 36.7% of U.S. households pay more than 30% of their pretax income on housing, an increase of 1.5 million since 2007.
Operational Issues Keeping Residents Out of Olympic Housing in Vancouver
Housing created for the Olympic Village in Vancouver was intended to be reused after the 2010 event as affordable housing. But the province hasn't been able to find an operator. Now the city wants to move ahead without the province's help.
The Post-Olympics Neighborhood
For a few weeks in 2012 a part of East London will be host to 20,000 journalists. After the Summer Olympics, though, the area set to host the media will be a mixed use neighborhood of nearly 3,000 homes, if all goes as planned.
Troubled Times for Sun Belt Cities
Recent figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show that poverty is at a high point in America. Hit especially hard is the Sun Belt.
Could Classic Hill Towns Be a Model for Town Planning?
In classic hill towns, people showed innovation and dynamic placemaking--lessons learned for urbanism in the new century, says Chuck Wolfe.
From Displacement to Permanent
In Haiti, displacement camps full of people left without homes after the devastating January earthquake are becoming more and more permanent. Deborah Gans argues that these sites should be more carefully planned to foster functioning places.
'Zombie Buildings' Plague Spain's Economy
The burst of the housing bubble is still causing major economic turmoil in Spain, where 1.5 million "zombie" housing units sit empty.
Rental Housing Market Still Recovering in New Orleans
A new report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development finds that the median price of rental housing in New Orleans has risen from $662 in 2004 to $882 today.
Struggling Towards TOD on Long Island
Developers on Long Island are hoping to build transit-oriented developments as a way of keeping young residents on the island and increasing the amount of affordable housing. But some local opposition is standing in the way.
Looking Down on Sprawl
Writing in The New York Times, Geoff Manaugh looks at Christoph Gielen's aerial photography of urban development and sprawl.
No Progress in Program to Convert Luxury Condos to Affordable Housing
A year-old program in New York City intended to convert stalled condo projects into completed affordable housing has yet to make any progress.
Making the Transit-Land Value Connection
When the link between transit operators and real estate developers was severed in the early 20th century, transit became both unprofitable and unresponsive to market demand, and land value-lowering MTA cuts are just one example, says Stephen Smith.
Bike Storage is the New Hot Commodity
With bike riding and commuting soaring in NYC, the question of where to store bikes - at home, is becoming more important. Bike storage is now a hot amenity in many Brooklyn and Manhattan apartments - so much that monthly fees may apply.
Suburbs Go Head To Head With The City
"With cities worldwide busy repurposing their industrial districts and docklands as upmarket housing and waterfront retail centres, the suburbs need to find a new competitive edge," writes Sarah Murray.
Re-Rio
With the next World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics on their way, Rio de Janeiro is in the midst of a vast citywide regeneration campaign.
Dubai's Formula of Tax Free Economic Zones and Mass Tourism Doesn't Work
Joshua Hammer describes his visit to the financially straitened emirate where he found "deserted highways, empty hotel rooms, miles of unsold residential and office space."
Google Creates Affordable Housing Fund
Google has invested $86 million in a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit fund to create 480 affordable rental housing units for low income families.
Could General Stores Reduce Car Trips in The Suburbs?
Belinda Lanks details architect Frank Ruchala's scheme to bring general stores back into America's residential areas. He believes "a general store could work just as well in a (suburban) subdivision as it did in small villages a hundred years ago."
Kowloon Cultural District Takes Shape in Hong Kong
Office of Metropolitan Architecture, Foster + Partners, and Rocco Design Architects have each submitted plans for Kowloon's new cultural district to be built on reclaimed land.
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.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
