San Francisco Mayor, Ed Lee, released his directive saying the city should be approving the building or renovating of 5,000 units a year.
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee urges the streamlining of housing approvals, hoping to build or renovate 5,000 units per year. "That would more than double the city's average annual production of around 1,900 units over the last 30 years," Roland Li reports for the San Francisco Business Journal. Mayor Lee's directive states that it should take no more than six months to get approvals. "Currently, even small projects can take years for approvals," Li writes. Housing activists voiced their support for the move, but have also expressed concerns over whether or not the city can deliver on the directive.
FULL STORY: San Francisco Mayor orders city departments to speed up housing approvals
Another Attempt at California's By-Right Affordable Housing Proposal
The new streamlining bill for affordable housing will not have the governor's name, but that of freshman Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener, who made a name for himself as a tenacious housing advocate while San Francisco County Supervisor.
San Francisco Mayor’s ‘Family Zoning’ Plan Faces Pushback, Displacement Concerns
Newly proposed legislation aims to protect long-term tenants from displacement caused by Mayor Lurie’s proposed zoning reform plan, which would allow for more housing construction in parts of the city.
A San Francisco University Just Built Over 650 Affordable Units. Are Institutions the Answer to the Housing Crisis?
With access to planning resources not always available to private developers, universities are uniquely positioned to build housing quickly and cost-effectively.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association