Housing
The World's Skinniest House
Take a tour inside what may be the skinniest house ever built -- the bite-sized answer to the McMansion.
Shhh, Don't Share This News About Portland
After a New York Times real estate article points out that on top of being one of America's most livable cities it is also one of its most affordable, there could be mass migration to Portland.
Despite Congratulations, Completed Affordable Housing Falls Short Of Need
As public officials in New York tout their own work to build affordable housing, housing advocates are filing lawsuits against them arguing that they have fallen way short of the amount of units their cities need.
Pricing Blue Collar Workers Back Into The Housing Market
As part of a new effort to increase access to housing, advocates are working in three target areas to try to find the best ways to create affordable workforce housing in areas that are typically too expensive for many blue-collar workers.
What L.A. Can Learn About Homelessness From Other U.S. Cities
Strategies used by cities such as Miami, Philadelphia, New York, St. Louis, Seattle, & Denver for reducing homelessness are working.
The 'Horror' of Gentrification
The recurring theme in horror movies of newly-arrived tenants being haunted by former tenants and vengeful spirits may be seen as a metaphor for gentrification, writes Sam Miller.
Cottages, Not Trailers, Set For Louisiana's Jackson Barracks
Already lagging behind Mississippi, Louisiana has finally approved the construction of 75 "Louisiana Cottages" (AKA Katrina Cottages) as an alternative to FEMA's temporary trailers, long thought to be a sub-standard and undignified form of housing.
The Other Firestorm
While catastrophic, the California fires will not have nearly the destructive impact as the other firestorm still in progress: the subprime meltdown.
Use It Or Lose It
Housing activists are pushing city officials to adopt a type of eminent domain to take over neglected buildings and turn them into affordable housing. That idea is easier said than afforded by city coffers.
Border Towns Share More Than Boundary
The border towns of El Paso, Texas, and Juárez, Mexico, are increasingly becoming more and more alike -- from demographics, to land development types, to housing prices.
Energy Efficiency Grants Under Scrutiny
Government programs that subsidize energy-efficiency improvements in houses are being reconsidered as some claim the effort isn't worth the benefit.
Condos Keep Vancouver's Market Hot
Now Canada'a most expensive housing market, downtown Vancouver is attracting more and more big-spending buyers and watching its property values skyrocket.
Growth Pushes People Into Fireplace
Increased development in wooded and fire-prone areas is one of the major causes of California's recent "megafires".
If The Youth Can't Rent, They Probably Won't Stay
Low vacancy rates are threatening to push younger populations out of Vancouver.
Instant Shelter For Disaster Areas
This slideshow from Wired shows some examples of temporary, quick-build housing that can be used in post-disaster situations.
The Limitations Of Infill Development In The Bay Area
A home builder points to the "no-growth, anti-housing environmental alliance" that restricts greenfield development as the primary reason the Bay Area is unable to house its growing population.
San Diego Lures Second Home Buyers
Homebuyers increasingly look to developing downtown San Diego, California, as the site for their second homes.
From The Projects To Section 8
Traditional public housing complexes are on the way out in Atlanta as the city looks to move all of its low-income residents to a system of renting with Section 8 housing vouchers.
Condo Project Upsets Affluent Houstonians
In Houston, the only major U.S. city with no zoning laws, plans to construct a high-rise condo complex in an affluent neighborhood have residents outraged.
Is Los Angeles Ready To Adopt Inclusionary Zoning?
Two years after a prior proposal failed to pass, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has once again challenged the city's developers to help solve L.A.'s affordable housing crisis by including lower-cost units in new projects.
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
