Housing
Underwater Homeowners Taking New Gambles on Real Estate
The Wall St. Journal reports that some homeowners are selling their underwater homes at a loss and turning right around and investing in new homes with lower mortgage rates and getting more house in the process.
From Housing Developer to Landlord
Homebuilders in recession-struck Bakersfield, California, have turned into landlords, renting their units while they wait for the housing market to rebound.
The Suburban Cycle of Life
Adam Meyer describes his parents' and grandparents' experiences growing up in the San Gabriel valley of east Los Angeles and charts the changes that have taken place since they first moved there in the 1950s.
Rapid Growth Puts Pressure on Planners in Cairo
"Officials argue that the main problem with Cairo is not that it is too big, but that three-quarters of its inhabitants are concentrated in a 20km radius from the center," reports Heba Saleh
Cities Adjusted to Attract the Elderly
America is aging. 'By 2030, nearly 1 in 5 Americans will be 65 or older.' This aging population has significant clout. Nearly one third of the population is over 50, and they control half the country's discretionary spending.
Agricultural Urbanism in Illinois
This piece from Grist looks at Prairie Crossing, a planned community in Illinois that integrates agriculture into its village-like setting.
Good Capitalists and the Meltdown
Suburbia has brainwashed Americans into being good capitalists, which brought about the economic crisis, according to neo-Marxist economic geographer David Harvey.
Protecting The Open Spaces of Cascadia
Forest land and open space have been steadily gobbled up by development in the Pacific Northwest. A new initiative in Washington seeks to relocate some of developers' planned greenfield housing into cities.
Sustainable and Obtainable
A new sustainable housing development breaking ground in Oregon has put affordability on the same pedestal as sustainability.
Cities Shrinking to Survive
"More cities in the developed world shrank than grew in the last three decades. More than 40 of those cities were in the United States, according to City Mayors, an urban affairs think tank," writes Gordon Young.
South Korea's City of The Future
Being developed on 1500 acres of Incheon's waterfront, Songdo is a completely planned city harnessing the latest innovations in green technology and planning doctrine aimed at creating a sustainable, self contained 'city of the future.'
Brownfield Approved For Huge, Controversial Mixed-Use Redevelopment
By an 8-3 vote at 1:35 AM, July 14, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a plan to add 10,500 homes (32% affordable) on a 720-acre brownfield site known as Hunters Point, a former shipyard, including 320 acres of parkland and open space.
Air Conditioning and Community
A new book looks at the environmental, energy, and social consequences of keeping cool by using air conditioners. In this 4-minute public radio interview, author Stan Cox explains how to keep cool, just in time for the East Coast heat wave.
Walking's Role in Home Buying Decisions
How walkable neighborhoods are is playing an increasingly important role in decisions about where to buy homes.
Mixed Use Outperforms Big Box Development
Tax revenue-per-acre figures for big box developments are only slightly higher than residential developments, and not as high as mixed use project, according to this column from Mary Newsom.
Small Cities Fill CNN's 'Best Places to Live'
Apparently metropolises are out- CNN Money's annual list of the "Best Places to Live" is filled with small cities like Eden Prairie, Minnesota and Overland Park, Kansas.
New Development: Always a Good Sign?
Dan Rodricks has been reading a lot of "good news" about new residential building permits being taken out around Baltimore, and questions whether new development is always a good sign.
Foreclosure Rate Highest Among Wealthy
What's not known is how many of the homes are investments, or primary or secondary residences, but it's clear that the foreclosure rate for mortgages exceeding $1million is higher than for lower priced homes, according to the New York Times analysis.
Obama Announces New Urban Policy to Shelter 1.6 Million Homeless
A total of 1.6 million people experienced homelessness last year alone. President Obama has decided to attempt to remedy this sobering fact with the new Interagency Council on Homelessness' (USICH) "Opening Doors" plan.
Calculating the Decision: House or Apartment?
The New York Times calculates the cost difference between living in a single family house versus an apartment in the New York area.
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
