Housing

How Tax Assessments Are Racist
Between biased property appraisals that undervalue Black-owned properties and biased tax assessments that levy an unfair burden, homeowners of color are flanked by a double-whammy of racism.

Soaring Home Values and Property Tax ‘Sticker Shock’ in Texas
The quickly rising cost of housing in Texas comes with consequences. Rising property taxes have become a central issue in the state gubernatorial campaign.

Why a Third of Private Garages Don’t House Cars
With curbside parking available for free in front of most American homes, residents with private garages often choose to utilize the space for household storage. Putting a price on street parking could change that.

How Construction Costs Affect Housing Prices
The high cost of housing in the United States can be attributed in part to the high costs, regulatory and otherwise, of building new housing.

How Urban Sprawl Came To Dominate U.S. Cities—And How To Change That
The auto-centric development patterns of American cities are a result of decades of misguided, but reversible, policy decisions.

Diverging Fortunes: Winners and Losers in the Pandemic Housing Market
The sharp rise in housing costs created massive wealth for property owners, while shutting many potential homebuyers out of the market.

Mayor Releases ‘One Fresno Housing Strategy’
The document outlines 47 policies aimed at maintaining affordability and encouraging more housing production in the increasingly expensive Central Valley city.

Maine Passes Zoning Reform Laws
The state legislature passed two bills, one supporting accessory dwelling units and another incentivizing adaptive reuse, aimed at boosting housing affordability.

Madison To Create Transit-Oriented Zoning
The city plans to create a TOD overlay district to encourage density and affordable housing near transit.

Philadelphia Leads the Way in Adaptive Reuse
Philadelphia, a city rife with historic architecture, seeks to incentivize more conversion of historic buildings into housing.

Co-Living Banned in Shawnee, Kansas
Anti-multi-family housing sentiment hits a new note in Shawnee, Kansas, after the city council votes to prohibit co-living from the city.

Southern California City To Draft Mobile Home Rent Stabilization Ordinance
After complaints from a seniors-only development that saw a sharp rise in rents in recent months, Torrance will consider an ordinance limiting rent increases for mobile home park residents.

Mechanisms for Improving Equity in the Housing Market
A new initiative seeks to support innovations that reduce inequalities in home valuations between Black and white neighborhoods.

San Diego To Consider Upzoning in College Area
Local residents worry that city proposals to increase density will harm neighborhood character, while the city is touting ‘smart growth’ as the goal.

Denver Affordable Housing Package Moves Forward
A set of proposals aimed at improving housing affordability will go before the Denver City Council after approval by a committee.

Pittsburgh To Assess Limited-Equity Coops as Affordable Housing Tool
The mutual housing developments known as limited-equity cooperatives give lower-income residents an opportunity to buy into a building where they could not otherwise afford it.

Maine Looks To Legalize ‘Missing Middle Housing’
Maine could become the third state to eliminate single-family-only zoning to encourage light density increases in residential areas and make it easier for homeowners to build accessory dwelling units.

Opinion: Cooling Market Won’t Make Housing More Affordable
As mortgage rates creep higher and builders continue to experience supply bottlenecks, the future of the housing market remains uncertain.

Sustainable and Affordable Housing Is No Longer a Pipe Dream
Fresh interest in green building among investors, new incentives, and stricter building codes are making it more possible to include green building practices in affordable housing production.

How To Preserve Both Affordable Housing and Urban Trees
Housing and environmental activists are calling on the city to commit to a ‘Trees and’ approach, rejecting the perceived conflict between housing affordability and a healthy urban tree canopy.
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