Housing
'Lofty' Visions For Historic Urban Center
The historic downtown of Santa Ana, CA, is being transformed with lofts, concerts, and an experimental music festival featuring a "carchestra".
North Carolina Wetlands Protected, For A Moment
A recent change in the method of calculating the size of developable land took the state's wetlands out of the acreage. The result could have been vastly expanded stormwater-runoff infrastructure requirements for developers. But it wasn't.
In Seattle, Detached Garages May Be Approved For Apartments
With an aim toward affordable housing and helping homeowners pay their mortgage, Seattle considers allowing backyard apartments, much to the chagrin of local opponents.
City Chooses Economic Development Over Environment
Planning commissioners in the City of Tracy cite a CEQA provision as they choose the environmentally un-friendly alternative -- a sprawling subdivision of 500 new homes.
Which Metro Areas Have The Strongest Housing Price Appreciation?
A summary look at why the housing affordability crisis continues to exist in major metro areas of the country.
Looking For Retail Along Indy Waterfront
Developers in Indianapolis want to bring retail to its downtown canal, an area already busy with visitors and concentrated with housing. They're looking at San Antonio's River Walk for inspiration and advice.
UN Reports On Housing Policies Of Developing Countries
The report looks at the largest cities in developing countries and measures their growth and development. Cities such as Cairo have been praised for improvements to utilities, but criticized for not addressing the root of poverty in its slums.
Stockton Leaves Its Crime-Ridden Past Behind
Once rife with crime, Stockton is taking baby steps towards reducing the crime rate and attracting development to one of the Central Valley's burgeoning population centers.
No Housing Bubble In Canton, Ohio
Victorian houses are for sale for $6,000 in Canton. Local real estate investors flip, rent, or renovate in "the city the boom passed by".
Boston Bio-Tech Hub To Develop More Housing
Though Cambridge's Kendall Square has long been a hub of employment, it has always lacked a significant residential component. With several projects in the pipeline, that is about to change.
Reducing Ecological Footprints In A House Of Hay
One man's Connecticut home has no electricity, heating, air-conditioning, running water, or even conventional walls. He's made a structure of hay and stucco his home for 20 years, and his meager lifestyle causes little or no harm to the environment.
Developing The Un-Park In San Francisco's Presidio
A stream of high-dollar developments have been popping up in San Francisco's Presidio, a former Army base and currently the only park in the National Park Service's collection that is operated privately. Some feel the developments don't fit the site.
Urban Gentrification Typifies Growing Economic Polarization
A snapshot of urban gentrification in San Francisco shows what is happening throughout the U.S., according to a new Brookings Report. The middle class is not only losing ground, but entire neighborhoods, and the consequences are far-reaching.
Boston Rents On The Rise
For the first time since 2001, monthly rental rates in the greater Boston area are beginning to rise.
Georgia Law Slows Booming Latino Housing Market
Georgia law targetting illegal immigrants drives legal residents away from buying homes.
Sharply Rising Rents In NYC Increase Burden For Most Households
Since 2002, the combination of falling incomes and rising rents has significantly increased the burden housing costs impose upon New York City's households, especially those earning less than 80% of the median income.
Mortgage Changes Could Lead To More Foreclosures
Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) have traditionally been lower than fixed rates, but recent slowing in housing markets has led to an increase in rates and decrease in affordability.
Florida Enacts Workforce Housing Innovation Program
The affordable housing crisis in Florida, arising from the state's booming real estate market, has pushed moderate income residents out of the housing market. Florida's legislature passed a bill in 2006 to create new programs addressing the problem.
2006 State of the Nation's Housing Identifies Cities With Highest Home Prices
Affordability problems are escalating even as the housing market cools, according to a new report published by Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies. House prices will continue to appreciate in 2006.
Building Industry Blames Onerous Regulations For Housing Shortage
In the second of two reports, the California Building Industry Association asserts that "red tape and regulations", primarily the California Environmental Quality Act, prevent builders from meeting housing demand and boosting the state's economy.
Pagination
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.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions