Housing

Bad Mortgages and Gas Prices = Good For Cities?

The article suggests that rising gas prices, enduring subprime mortgage crisis, and some changing demographics (i.e., the aging of Baby Boomers) are all contributing to the greater popularity of central city neighborhoods.

July 1, 2008 - The Chicago Tribune

Nation Can Learn From Philadelphia's Housing Struggles

Philadelphia has struggled to deal with its large supply of derelict housing, and it serves as a lesson for lawmakers when they try to find ways to stop neighborhoods from deteriorating.

June 28, 2008 - The Wall Street Journal

How Much Is Green Worth?

A recent conference in Austin, Texas, of real estate appraisers explored how they should incorporate green-building techniques and features into their assessment of properties.

June 27, 2008 - Austin Business Journal

'Independence Day' for Housing

Congress is promising to pass before Independence Day a sweeping set of housing legislation that would offer refinancing packages, a trust fund for affordable rental housing and offer tax credits for purchasing unoccupied houses.

June 27, 2008 - The New York Times

Bahamians Face Gentrification in Miami

Gentrification along Grand Avenue, the heart of Coconut's Grove Black and Bahamian community, has many residents fearing displacement and pushing for affordable housing inclusion.

June 26, 2008 - The Miami Herald

Ending the Ideology of Homeownership

Paul Krugman writes that we need to stop conflating owing a home with citizenship.

June 26, 2008 - The New York Times

Reviving the Lowly Clothesline

A grassroots group is working to remove barriers to erecting clotheslines, which are commonly banned by apartments buildings as a blight. The group is pitching their work as an energy conservation effort.

June 26, 2008 - Rutland Herald

Foreclose This!

A homeowner on the verge of foreclosure in Las Vegas is not going down without a fight. He is literally destroying his home from the inside out.

June 25, 2008 - CBS 8 Las Vegas

Boston Artist District Battles Gentrification

Boston's Fort Point Channel neighborhood, New England's largest artist community, is struggling to retain its identity as developers continue to transform studio space into condominiums.

June 24, 2008 - The Boston Globe

Lego Living: Shipping Containers Become Affordable Housing

A developer in New Jersey is looking to shipping containers as building blocks for affordable housing.

June 24, 2008 - Courier-Post

The Housing Bubble as a Social Phenomenon

In this excerpt from his forthcoming book, Subprime Solution, economist Robert J. Shiller writes of our tendency to succumb to "bubble thinking," and the role this has played in the current mortgage crisis.

June 24, 2008 - Atlantic Monthly

San FranYuppyland?

San Francisco's rapid loss of low and middle-income residents is taking a toll on the city's social fabric.

June 23, 2008 - The San Francisco Chronicle

The Incredible Shrinking Home

A new AIA report shows that new homes under construction are getting smaller in response to market forces.

June 19, 2008 - AIArchitect

Homeowner's Symbolic Fight Ends

In what is almost a real-life caricature of the battle of the single homeowner against the huge corporation, Edith Macefield refused to sell her home to a developer planning a major retail outlet, who then built around. This week Ms. Macefield died.

June 19, 2008 - The Seattle Times

Housing Relief Languishes in Washington

As the U.S. Congress and Senate wrangle with each other over how to address the housing crisis, housing advocates worry that federal assistance- if and when it comes- will be inadequate.

June 17, 2008 - Washington Independent

The Reversal Of The American Dream

As walkable urban communities become the neighborhoods of choice, are suburban subdivisions destined to become twenty-first century slums?

June 16, 2008 - CNN

The Gentrification of Harlem

From Home Depot to high-rise office buildings, Harlem's upward trend is producing "root shock," causing some residents to believe it is only a matter of time before they are displaced.

June 16, 2008 - The New York Times

Mega-Mansions Sprouting In L.A.

Despite the housing downturn, houses in excess of 20,000 square feet are still being built by the very wealthy — with no sign of a slowdown.

June 15, 2008 - The Los Angeles Times

Zurich, Geneva and Vienna: Best Quality of Life?

Central European cities lead the world in this assessment of 'quality of living.' The survey is oriented towards companies who could locate workers in those countries and need to calculate 'hardship allowances.'

June 13, 2008 - Citymayors.com

FEMA Sat On $85 Million in Katrina Relief

Housing groups in Katrina-affected regions are expressing their outrage after a CNN investigation uncovered that tons of supplies intended for hurricane victims sat in storage for two years before being given away to cities and other organizations.

June 11, 2008 - CNN

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.

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A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.