Housing

What's Next For New Orleans Demolition Sites?

In this commentary from Bloomberg, James S. Russell looks as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's threat to withdraw hundreds of millions of dollars worth of housing vouchers from New Orleans and the future of the city.

December 19, 2007 - Bloomberg

The Pleistocene Dream?

Owning a home may appeal to primitive happiness-seeking instincts, but the resulting suburban isolation and solitary commutes many people face may be making us profoundly unhappy, writes Charles Montgomery.

December 18, 2007 - The Walrus

Buying Foreclosed Homes A Struggle Unless Occupants Are Booted

Buyers looking to snatch up renter-occupied foreclosed homes and apartment buildings are meeting opposition from mortgage companies who want all tenants out before a sale. This leaves many buyers unsatisfied and many renters feeling insecure.

December 18, 2007 - The Boston Globe

New York: The New American Teardown Capital

Surpassing metropolitan Chicago, metro New York now hosts the highest amount of teardowns in the country.

December 18, 2007 - The New York Times

Anaheim Plans To Remake Its Sports District Into Highrise Urban Village

Anaheim (Orange County, CA) has big plans: 20,000 urban infill homes planned for their sports district. While the zoning change passed the council on a 4-1 vote, developers will wait for the housing market to recover.

December 17, 2007 - The Los Angeles Times

Land of the Living, Dead

Vice Magazine presents this photo essay on a cemetery in Manila that is heavily populated with both the living and the dead. More than 10,000 families make this graveyard their home.

December 17, 2007 - Vice Magazine

Inclusionary Housing Bill Gets Approval In Philadelphia

The Philadelphia city council has approved an inclusionary housing bill requiring developers to include a certain percentage of affordable housing in all projects of 20 units or more.

December 16, 2007 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Are Jerusalem's Ghost Towns A Problem To Solve?

Jerusalem has an increasing number of "ghost town" neighborhoods, where tourist housing has left areas empty for much of the year. This article looks at the proposed solution to this problem, and wonders whether there is even a problem at all.

December 15, 2007 - The Jerusalem Post

NOLA Public Housing Demolished

Despite protests, thousands of public housing units in New Orleans are being demolished.

December 14, 2007 - Yahoo! News

Housing Demolitions Spark Protests In New Orleans

Plans to demolish about 4,500 units of public housing in New Orleans have angered many in the city and inspired a string of protests.

December 13, 2007 - Associated Press via The Times Picayune

Spanish Government To Green Houses

Officials in Spain have announced billion-dollars plans to help homeowners retrofit and renovate houses to be more energy efficient.

December 13, 2007 - Reuters

Lagos: Africa's New York City

This video from Current profiles Lagos, Nigeria, the world's fastest growing megacity.

December 11, 2007 - Current

Small Towns Look To Keep Young Professionals By Increasing Affordable Housing

County officials in New York are looking to award more than $87 million to small towns to increase their stock of affordable housing -- an effort aimed at luring and keeping young professionals. But opposition to this development type is a hurdle.

December 11, 2007 - The New York Times

Selling The Garden City That Isn't A Garden City

This article from the Warsaw Business Journal looks at how the concept of the Garden City is gladly embraced by developers to market their housing projects, but rarely are its design characteristics included in the actual development.

December 10, 2007 - Warsaw Business Journal

New Orleans To Slash Low Income Housing

Plans to demolish low income housing and remove FEMA trailers are putting the poor of New Orleans in a tight spot.

December 10, 2007 - Bloomberg

Report Says Growth Management Plans Make Housing Unaffordable

In this new report from the Cato Institute, Randal O'Toole writes that regional growth management plans make housing unaffordable and that states with these laws should repeal them.

December 10, 2007 - Cato Institute

Green Housing Meets Low Income

This article from Utne Reader looks at a green housing complex that aimed at an atypical market: low-income residents.

December 10, 2007 - Utne Reader

Brad Pitt Announces Plans To Build Eco-Friendly Homes In New Orleans

The actor-turned-developer announced plans to build 150 environmentally-friendly homes for low-income families in New Orleans's Lower Ninth Ward.

December 9, 2007 - CNN

Developing Affordable Housing In The Suburbs

With more low-income households settling outside of urban centers, planners are faced with the challenge of getting affordable housing built in traditionally upscale suburban communities where zoning has all but forbid low-cost homes.

December 7, 2007 - The Economist

Is The Gate Closing On Gated Communities?

The luster seems to have come off of gated communities: not only is the market for them shrinking, but they are facing rates of crime and foreclosure no different from other forms of development.

December 6, 2007 - AlterNet

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

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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.