Housing
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.
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.'
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.
Caring For Foreclosed Lawns
A city councilwoman in Galt, south of Sacramento, is cited for violating city code rules on watering. That's despite the fact that the City Council had urged the public to water and care for lawns at foreclosed homes.
New Palestinian City Planned in West Bank
A developer has plans for a new Palestinian city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which he says would be the first new city in the West Bank in thousands of years. But he is still awaiting approval on a crucial road.
Cities Seek Ways to Fight Growing Housing Blight
In California's Inland Empire, abandoned houses are plentiful- the fallout from the subprime mortgage mess. Bill Fulton reports on what some cites are doing to keep the abandoned houses from dragging down neighborhoods.
Homelessness Continues to Plague New Orleans
By some counts, the number of homeless people in New Orleans has more than doubled since Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. Aid workers are hoping a bill in Congress will bring extra aid to the struggling city.
Did Houston's Lack Of Zoning Shield It From The Housing Meltdown?
A recent report by a Federal Reserve Bank senior economist argues that Houston's resiliency during the ongoing housing crisis is due in part to its lack of zoning regulations.
A 'One Size Fits All' Rule For Affordable Housing Doesn't Work
Requiring all cities and towns to building affordable housing is bad policy. The focus should be on building housing in existing urban areas near jobs and transit, not in rural and suburban towns.
Prefab Apartments Slated For Seattle
A local commercial property developer has built two prototype units and announced plans to erect a 62 unit complex -- claiming the factory built units will cost 15 percent less then traditional housing.
Will LEED-ND Discourage Affordable Housing?
Critics worry that cities who require new developments to meet LEED-ND standards will sacrifice affordable housing for sustainability.
Foreclosures Hit Cleveland Hard
This segment from NPR looks at the city of Cleveland and examines how foreclosures have devastated the city and many of its neighborhoods.
The Thorny Problem of Affordable Housing
New Jersey struggles to develop fair rules on affordable housing. "The whole thing is madness at this point," says a Sussex County administrator.
Soon You Won't Be Able to 'Drive Until You Qualify'
High gas prices and slowing construction rates in exurban areas may mean that the era of "driving until you qualify" for affordable housing may be over soon.
Prices Plummeting in Far-Flung Suburbs
The areas hardest-hit by the subprime mortgage crisis are not just low-income and minority communities, but also outer-ring suburbs.
Parking Lot Hotels Serve Homeless
An outreach counseling group in Santa Barbara, California, has worked with the city to set up 12 parking lots where people can sleep in their cars at night -- an act that is illegal on city streets.
Rise in Vacant Housing Leading to Scams
The epidemic of vacant housing is leading not just to squatting, but to people illegally 'renting' out homes they don't own.
Developer To SF: Let's Make A Deal On Affordable Housing
Hoping to head off a competing ballot measure, Miami-based developer Lennar Corp. has voluntarily agreed to set aside 3,200 of the planned 10,000 homes on San Francisco's Hunters and Candlestick Point for low- and moderate-income families.
Did Smart Growth Policies Save Oregon's Housing Market?
Oregon's housing market has faired far better than other areas of the country, with some experts agreeing that the state's more restrictive land-use policies helped to prevent an oversupply of homes during the free-wheeling mortgage years.
Container Condos Planned in Detroit
Developers in Detroit are planning a condominium project completely made out of used shipping containers. But city approval is needed before the project can move forward.
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.
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
