Housing
Reconsidering the McMansion Business
Builders John Wieland Homes & Neighborhoods, hit hard by the downturn, is meeting consumer price points by creating compact home designs instead of the 4,700 sq. ft. homes that were their bread and butter.
New London, Four Years After Kelo
The 2005 Supreme Court decision on Kelo v. New London was a landmark in eminent domain law, paving the way for Pfizer to develop there. Four years later, Pfizer is pulling up stakes.
FHA Feeling the Pinch
The Federal Housing Administration said today that its reserves are dwindling because of risky loans they insured and the drop in home prices.
Can Homelessness be Designed Out?
Urban designers Terri Chiao and Deborah Grossberg Katz take on the problem of homelessness in New York proactively, rather than waiting for RFPs to come in.
The Solution for Homelessness? Homes.
Neal Peirce says that there is finally light at the end of the tunnel in the debate over homelessness, and a consensus that stopgaps don't work. The real answer is to, duh, give them homes.
Boom in Utah Town
Growth is at a standstill in most western boomtowns, but not in well-planned, thriving South Jordan, UT. An expedited permitting process and good planning are given credit as catalysts for growth.
Vancouver Seeks to Avoid Tragedy, Make Shelters More Practical
Homeless people may avoid seeking help or services because there is a lack of space secure their belongings in shelters. The death of a homeless woman in Vancouver last winter highlights the severity of the problem.
Seattle Approves Backyard Cottages
The Seattle City Council has unanimously approved an ordinance that will allow owners of single family homes to construct additional cottage-like housing units on their property.
Housing is Recovering - Will It Last?
Business Week looks at the recovering housing market, and believes that even though it was driven by massive government support there are signs that it might actually continue.
One Drug Hotel at a Time
British Columbia has converted nearly two dozen formerly notorious hotels into housing for the homeless.
Coalition Promises $4 Billion to Green Affordable Housing
A collection of non-profits working with HUD is promising to spend $4 billion on updating affordable housing across the country to be more sustainable.
Portable, Stackable Housing Units
GOOD Magazine highlights designer Michael McDaniel's Reaction Housing System, a temporary shelter that can be stacked up and loaded onto a flatbed 20 at a time.
Residential Construction Declines Sharply in New York City
2009 is expected to turn out as a bad year for residential constructoin in New York City. After five consecutive years with more than 30,000 units constructed, at total of 6,300 are expected this year.
Human Rights Violations in NY's Affordable Housing?
The United Nations has appointed a special envoy to evaluate whether lack of access to affordable housing in New York is so bad it violates basic human rights.
Cohousing Catches On
Cohousing, which is cooperatively-managed but independently-owned housing, is gaining popularity in the Northwest. A new cohousing project in Portland just opened its doors last weekend.
Foreclosed Homeowners Turning to Homeless Shelters
A new report shows a dramatic trend in homelessness: increasing numbers of former homeowners left with nowhere to live after foreclosure are turning to homeless shelters.
Testing Grounds
Housing development, architecture and community building have found a new learning lab in the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans.
From Foreclosure to Green TOD in Phoenix
Foreclosed homes in Phoenix are a new goldmine for one developer, who is buying up land near the city's mass transit lines and marketing properties as transit oriented development.
Bloomberg's Housing Plan Gains, Loses
Despite the NYC Mayor's progress in preserving or creating affordable housing, overall the city has seen net losses.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
