Housing

Why Rent Control is a Flawed Tool

Scott James reports on the ironic application of rent control laws in San Francisco, which results in people of relatively modest means subsidizing the housing of the extraordinarily wealthy.

February 19, 2012 - The Bay Citizen

The Risks and Opportunities of Globalization as Reflected in Homeownership

Jonathan Massey pens an essay in the journal Places, in which he probes the implications of homeownership as the vehicle by which the microeconomics of household finance and the macroeconomics of a globalized economy are mediated.

February 18, 2012 - Places

Financing Post-Recession Development

Building in the New Economy isn't business as usual. Howard Blackson lays out policy, planning, land assembly and financing tools to help us with our task at hand.

February 15, 2012 - PlaceShakers

Green Home Industry Set to Flourish

Stephen Lacey reports on findings in a new McGraw-Hill Construction survey that show the growing strength of the green residential construction sector.

February 15, 2012 - Climate Progress

What the Feds are Doing to Connect Housing Policy to Health Policy

NewPublicHealth recently published an interview with HUD’s Raphael Bostic on the nexus between Housing Policy and Public Health, and the steps the Feds are taking to improve people's health through housing.

February 13, 2012 - New Public Health

Could Good Design Have Prevented the Housing Crisis?

Architect Jeanne Gang and scholar Greg Lindsay have penned an opinion piece in which they investigate the ways in which designers and planners can fix the housing crisis by responding to economic, demographic, and cultural changes.

February 12, 2012 - NY Times

Super Slim Me?

Kaid Benfield looks at recent trends in the housing sector and asks whether America's infatuation with the McMansion is over.

February 10, 2012 - Switchboard

Silicon Valley Primed for Facebook Real Estate Boom

Silicon Valley real estate agents and residents are primed for the potential rush of "newly minted Facebook millionaires," now that the company is on its way to becoming publicly traded.

February 9, 2012 - The New York Times

Getting Bullish on Housing

Peter Coy and Prashant Gopal report on recent developments in the housing market that may signal a solution to the four-year-old crisis.

February 9, 2012 - Bloomberg/Business Week

Using Adaptive Reuse to Scale the Urban Future

Chuck Wolfe uses the urban scale adaptive reuse of the Roman Emperor Diocletian's retirement palace in Split, Croatia to argue for blending the past and future on a broader scale.

February 8, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

The New American Dream: A Sidewalk

Nona Willis Aronowitz reports on a new survey indicating 60% of respondents would sacrifice a bigger house to live in a neighborhood that featured a mix of houses, stores, and businesses within an easy walk.

February 8, 2012 - Good

New Study Ties Housing Affordability to Sustainability

Sarah Laskow reports on a new study by the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) that seeks to rethink how affordable housing is defined to incorporate transportation costs.

February 7, 2012 - Good

The Obama Administration's Crusade for Homeowners

President Obama's multi-billion dollar proposal to help homeowners involves providing them refinanced, government-backed loans. The plan is not without its doubters, however.

February 7, 2012 - PBS NewsHour

Exhibit Seeks to Understand Japan's 'Metabolism' Architecture

The new exhibit at Toyko's Mori Art Museum will be the first architecture showcase since the 2011 earthquake, and displays a movement central to the country's history of building and rebuilding.

February 7, 2012 - The New York Times

Preserving Transit-Oriented Affordable Housing

As developers across the country increasingly recognize the market advantages of redevelopment oriented around transit, and property values rise in response, hundreds of thousands of units of affordable housing are at risk.

February 5, 2012 - Shelterforce

Top 8 Facadist Renovations, from Melbourne to Bucharest

Facadism is often criticized for its awkward juxtapositions, but here are eight of the nicest facadist renovations from around the world, according to Stephen Smith.

February 4, 2012 - International Business Times

Letting Fannie and Freddie Off the Hook

Although they played a part in the ensuing financial panic, noted economist Mark Zandi argues why Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac don't deserve to be blamed for the housing bubble.

February 1, 2012 - The Washington Post

The Next Best Thing For Those Priced Out in NYC

Jim Rendon has some inventive suggestions for those priced out of the most beloved and exclusive neighborhoods in New York.

January 31, 2012 - The New York Times

Ideas for Fixing the Housing Market

In the "Room for Debate" section of its Opinion Pages, The New York Times has gathered a series of ideas for fixing the struggling housing market from experts across the ideological spectrum.

January 27, 2012 - The New York Times

Reflections on Towers in the Park, and the Limits of Architecture

Michael Kimmelman, after visiting the Penn South housing cooperative in Manhattan and reflecting on the new film "The Pruitt-Igoe Myth", questions the role that design has in determining success or failure for tower in the park housing type.

January 26, 2012 - The New York Times

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.

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.