Housing
Austin Metro Home Sales Slow Dramatically
After a whirlwind of rising costs and sharply spiking demand for housing in smaller cities, the housing market is cooling down to pre-pandemic levels.
La Placita Cinco: A Strip Mall Redevelopment for Housing Affordability and Neighborhood Revitalization
U.S. cities lack land for new development but have many derelict or defunct parcels in need of revitalization. There are an estimated 70,000 strip mall centers in the country, all with tremendous potential for affordable and workforce housing.
Spokane Prepares To Disband the State’s Largest Community of Unhoused People
With $24 million in state funding directed to Spokane’s efforts to reduce homelessness, city officials plan to relocate the over 600 residents of Camp Hope. But will services follow?
San Diego Not Meeting State Housing Goals
Based on the number of permits issued for new construction in the last year, the city must triple its production to meet the targets set by the state in the latest round of the Regional Housing Needs Assessment.
Report: Nation Short 3.8 Million Housing Units
Housing underproduction in the United States is growing more severe and more widespread.
How To Build More Affordable Housing in Idaho
Idaho cities can remove barriers to development, adjust zoning codes, and encourage the construction of accessory dwelling units and single-occupancy apartments to sustainably accommodate the state’s growing population.
Missouri Criminalizes Sleeping Outside
The state legislature passed a bill that bans sleeping on state land and threatens to pull state funding from cities with high rates of homelessness.
New York City Issues Nearly All Its Housing Vouchers
After a slow start to the program, the city has distributed 91 percent of the housing vouchers issued through the American Rescue Act. Now housing agencies must help recipients actually find housing.
Capsule Housing: Affordable Solution or Dystopia?
Like Japan’s capsule hotels, the ‘podsharing’ housing model offers minimal, shared living space—but can it work as a long-term housing solution?
To Meet Housing Goals, California Cities Turn to Mall Redevelopment
As brick-and-mortar stores decline due to the rise of e-commerce, cities look to mall sites as ideal locations for new housing.
Boise Backing Off Proposed Citywide Zoning Changes
Boise was considering allowing up to four units by-right on any residential parcel in the city, but has since rolled back the scale of the proposed zoning changes.
Local, State Governments Creating Obstacles for Institutional Investors on the Housing Market
Large Wall Street investors are increasing their footprint in the housing market, like they did after the Great Recession, and some local and state governments are inventing new ways to prevent these institutional investors from cornering the market.
What Is a Non-Conforming Use?
A non-conforming use is an existing building that would not be built under current land use regulations. While esoteric, the term is nonetheless critical to understanding the changes in development regulations over time.
What’s at the Root of Homelessness? A Lack of Affordable Housing
Despite the common belief that drug abuse and mental illness are some of the main factors that cause people to become unhoused, a new book concludes that high housing costs and low availability, more than anything else, push people into homelessness.
Aspen Imposes New Limits on Short-Term Rentals as Housing Prices Soar
The Aspen City Council hopes the stricter regulations on short-term rentals and new home construction will stem the astronomical rise of housing costs in the mountain town.
Rents Likely To Stay High as Home Sales Market Cools
The Fed’s recent decision to raise interest rates is causing a slowdown in the housing market, but rents are poised to remain high as demand for rental housing continues to outpace supply.
St. Paul Landlords Raising Utility Costs To Circumvent Rent Control
After the city passed a rent stabilization ordinance, landlords are reworking leases to include new utility charges, effectively raising rents by as much as 14 percent.
Charlotte To Consider Fines for Housing Voucher Discrimination
A proposed policy would fine landlords who refuse to rent to voucher recipients, calling it “source of income discrimination.”
California Density Law Didn’t Kill the Single-Family Neighborhood
After the passage of a contentious zoning reform law that encourages ‘light infill’ in single-family neighborhoods, few California households have submitted applications to build extra units, largely due to onerous restrictions imposed by local laws.
Pittsburgh’s Downtown Office Buildings Could Soon Become Housing
The city is proposing a $2.1 million boost to state and county efforts aimed at converting office buildings to affordable workforce housing.
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.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie
