Housing

Property tax bill notice with pen

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.

May 8, 2022 - Shelterforce Magazine

Texas Wind

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.

May 6, 2022 - Texas Tribune

Residential garage full of home storage

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.

May 5, 2022 - Sightline

Single Family Residential Construction

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.

May 5, 2022 - Sightline

Sprawl

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.

May 4, 2022 - Popular Science

White clapboard house with For Sale sign in front yard

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.

May 4, 2022 - The Denver Post

View of downtown Fresno, California

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.

May 3, 2022 - The Fresno Bee

Kennebec River

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.

May 3, 2022 - Maine Beacon

View of Madisonm Wisconsin with state capitol building

Madison To Create Transit-Oriented Zoning

The city plans to create a TOD overlay district to encourage density and affordable housing near transit.

May 2, 2022 - City of Madison

City Hall Philadelphia

Philadelphia Leads the Way in Adaptive Reuse

Philadelphia, a city rife with historic architecture, seeks to incentivize more conversion of historic buildings into housing.

May 2, 2022 - Axios

A map focuses on the city of Shawnee, Kansas and its surrounding roads and neighboring towns.

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.

May 1, 2022 - KCTV

View of mobile home park in Oceano, California

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.

April 29, 2022 - The Daily Breeze

Chicago, Illinois

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.

April 29, 2022 - Brookings

View of San Diego neighborhood

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.

April 28, 2022 - NBC San Diego

Denver

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.

April 28, 2022 - The Denver Post

Pennsylvania

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.

April 27, 2022 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Portland Maine

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.

April 27, 2022 - Reason

House under construction

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.

April 26, 2022 - The Washington Post

Modern Passive House Exterior. Modern energy efficiency house with skylight windows and solar panels on the roof top.

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.

April 26, 2022 - Wealth Management

Pioneer Square, Seattle

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.

April 26, 2022 - The Stranger

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.

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.

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A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.