Housing

The De-Evolution of a Suburban Gated Community

Inside this gated community in the L.A. suburb of Hemet, the recession is taking a tough toll and making life difficult for the families that had moved there for quiet calm.

March 31, 2010 - Los Angeles Times

A Toolkit to Improve the Slums of Brazil

Brazilian slums represent huge segments of the country's urban population, especially in Sao Paulo. Upgrading them into economically sustainable segments of the city is a challenge, but a new toolkit offers a path to success.

March 31, 2010 - Citiscope

Development in Cities Outpaces 'Burbs

Development is occurring more rapidly in urban centers than in the suburbs, according to a new study from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

March 30, 2010 - The New York Times

Affordable Housing for Tel Aviv

The Tel Aviv Municipality has approved a plan to create affordable housing units in the city, making it the first Israeli city to do so.

March 29, 2010 - Sustainable City blog

Regional Housing Plan Trumps Growth Control Ordinances

A court has ruled that, contrary to its zoning laws, the bedroom community of Pleasanton must add more bedrooms. The ruling wipes out local, voter-approved growth control ordinances.

March 28, 2010 - California Planning & Development Report

New Obama Plan to Save Homeowners from Foreclosure

The new plan includes controversial ideas like moving underwater homeowners to government-backed FHA loans and giving grace periods to unemployed owners.

March 27, 2010 - The Wall St. Journal

Expanding or Shrinking Your House at Will

The Klip House is a series of modular, prefab units that can be clipped together much like the binding on a ski boot, allowing homeowners to lease or own the home parts they need for their stage in life, then upgrade or downgrade when necessary.

March 27, 2010 - BLDBLOG

HUD Findings Support Housing the Homeless

The results from HUD's first study on the costs of services to the homeless finds that securing and subsidizing rental housing for the homeless is more cost-effective than emergency homeless shelters.

March 26, 2010 - Houston Chronicle

Do Housing Tax Credits Create Jobs?

With Gov. Schwarzenegger promising $200 million in tax credits to homebuyers, Paul Shigley says it's worth looking closely at the promises that such credits create new jobs and bolster the economy.

March 26, 2010 - California Planning & Development Report

Land Use Success and Failure in Two Florida Towns

This post from NRDC's Kaid benfield compares the two Florida cities of Lehigh Acres and Venice, where land use decisions created one city doomed to fail and another that's on a fast rise.

March 25, 2010 - NRDC Switchboard

Detroit Mayor Makes Big Plans in State of City Speech

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing recently delivered his first "state of the city" speech since taking office, and included a broad list of proposals that could bring about a widespread revisioning of the struggling city.

March 25, 2010 - The Detroit News

Portland's New Complex Aims At Curing Homelessness

The city of Portland is moving ahead with a $47 million shelter and services project known as the Resource Access Center. It's the largest efforts underway to solve the city's notorious homelessness problem.

March 25, 2010 - The New York Times

Deciding Which Homeowners To Bail Out

The Feds have $1.5 billion to help homeowners at risk of losing homes to foreclosure. Deciding just which homeowners to help is no easy task. This article looks at the decision-making process in Arizona, one of the five states receiving federal aid.

March 24, 2010 - The New York Times - Business

Where Americans Will Be in 2050

Where will Americans live? Everywhere. The third article in a three-part series based on Joel Kotkin's new book, "The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050," looks at where Americans will live and how our communities will grow to accommodate them.

March 23, 2010 - AOL News

House of Garbage

A Welsh company is using ground-up plastic remnants to create a building material sturdy enough for housing.

March 21, 2010 - Treehugger

Residential Growth Cap Overruling Could Reshape California

A recent court ruling preventing a California town from placing a cap on residential development could change the shape of the state, according to the San Francisco Chronicle's John King.

March 21, 2010 - San Francisco Chronicle

Israeli Housing Plan Draws Ire of Peace Negotiators

The Quartet on the Middle East (the United Nations, the US, the EU and Russia) have issued a statement denouncing the Israeli settlement plan, but Palestinian groups are disappointed that it contains no enforcement provisions.

March 19, 2010 - Al Jazeera English

Splicing Small Farms into Residential Development

Small farms are increasingly being integrated into new housing development proposals. One new project in Washington is betting on the growing popularity of local food to draw in homebuyers.

March 19, 2010 - Crosscut

The Rise of NORCs

There are senior-living and retirement communities all over the U.S., but a new breed of housing for the elderly is emerging in cities across the world: the Naturally Occurring Retirement Community, or NORC.

March 18, 2010 - Urban Omnibus

Town's Plan to Cap Residential Growth Violates State Law

A judge has overruled a voter-approved plan in the California city of Pleasanton to cap the number of new residences allowed in the city in an effort to curb the area's growing congestion.

March 18, 2010 - San Francisco Chronicle

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.

Transportation Planner I

KFH Group Inc.

Director, Strategy and Research

Greater Baltimore Committee

Senior Planner

Eagle County Government

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100 Most Influential Urbanists

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Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

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