Housing

The Rise Of The Surburban Slum?

William Fulton observes that while high-income households are flocking to the inner-city and gobbling up pricey condos, poor families are having to double and triple up just to afford a home in the suburbs.

July 31, 2007 - The Los Angeles Times

Corruption At The Los Angeles City Housing Authority

A Los Angeles Times investigation reveals a highly-paid manager for the Los Angeles City Housing Authority rigging bids worth nearly $1 million over four years.

July 30, 2007 - The Los Angeles Times

Atlanta Foreclosures Provide An Affordable Housing Opportunity

An Atlanta city councilwoman is trying to launch an affordable-housing program based on leveraging homes abandoned due to the mortgage-lending crisis.

July 30, 2007 - Atlanta Business Chronicle

A Look At The Miami Housing Agency Debacle

An investigative report airing on PBS stations chronicles the corruption and mismanagement uncovered at the Miami-Dade Housing Agency over the past year.

July 29, 2007 - PBS

Controversy Over Public Housing Rehab In Chicago

Chicago has plans to replace more than 50 high-rise public housing buildings, a renovation project that is expected to cost more than $1 billion. The plan has elicited criticism from housing advocates who argue that many residents will be displaced.

July 29, 2007 - NPR

The Impact Of McMansions On The Value of Neighboring Homes

A Wall Street Journal writer shares her family's experience in a neighborhood quickly being dominated by McMansions.

July 29, 2007 - The Wall Street Journal

The Health And Education Benefits Of Affordable Housing

A new collection of research shows that people who have access to affordable housing don't just have a better place to live, but more easily improve their health and education level.

July 28, 2007 - Center for Housing Policy

More Land May Not Mean Cheaper Housing

In the face of a proposal that would lighten planning controls over some new development in England, a recent report says that making more land available for development will not lower housing prices and will lead to sprawl.

July 26, 2007 - BBC

Preserve Industrial Areas Or Allow Housing?

As the popularity of condos and lofts in industrial areas rises amongst both developers and buyers, cities such as Chicago, L.A., and New York are taking steps to protect their historic industrial zones.

July 26, 2007 - Architectural Record

Canada's Building Codes Questioned After Massive Blaze

An enormous fire in Edmonton that destroyed a condo development under construction and damaged more than 70 nearby duplexes has resulted in calls to upgrade Canada's building codes.

July 25, 2007 - The Globe and Mail

Mexican Border City Going High-Rise

A new high density residential project adjacent to the U.S.-Mexico border is pioneering the market for high-end condo living in the traditionally sprawling metropolis of Tijuana.

July 25, 2007 - San Diego Union Tribune

L.A. Contemplates Tiny Apartments: Studios or Slums?

To help encourage development around downtown and increase the supply of affordable housing, planning officials in L.A. want to relax the rules governing the sizes of housing units. Critics argue that the plan will lead to the creation of tenements.

July 25, 2007 - The Los Angeles Times

Big Homes Causing Big Problems

The debate over McMansionization has pitted neighbor against neighbor across the United States.

July 24, 2007 - The Los Angeles Times

A Cheaper Way To Build Density

A new design for mid-rise apartments promises to help make more higher-density projects pencil.

July 23, 2007 - Apartment Finance Today

Construction Costs Continuing To Rise

Even with the housing slow down, the cost of building a new apartment building continues to rise -- due to increasing prices for materials and a surge of commercial construction projects.

July 23, 2007 - Apartment Finance Today

The Most Affordable Places To Live

Want a buy a home for less than $100,000? Check out these communities profiled by Money Magazine.

July 23, 2007 - Money Magazine

How Retiring Baby Boomers Will Transform Traditional Models of Senior Living

The idea of aging in community honors the elder stage of life as one with gifts and challenges. It encourages creation of caring neighborhoods and networks that provide for affordable, quality housing to support future needs and new opportunities.

July 20, 2007 - Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments

Townhomes Sprouting Up In Seattle

Hundreds of new townhomes are being built in neighborhoods across Seattle. Neighbors want input into the new housing, but a loophole allows development to move forward under the radar.

July 19, 2007 - The Stranger

Low-Income Residents Migrating From Cities In Search Of Public Housing

Public housing residents in crime-ridden urban areas are migrating to outlying communities in hopes of securing better housing and living in a safer neighborhood.

July 19, 2007 - USA Today

City Proposes Rewards For Building Smaller Homes

To curb excessive house sizes, Boulder, Colorado, is offering financial incentives to homeowners not to build out, and penalties for McMansions.

July 19, 2007 - Time Magazine

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

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.