A new levy and a new housing bond enabled new levels of spending on affordable housing in Seattle.
New Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan recently announced $100 million in affordable housing investment around the city of Seattle. "The $100 million more than doubled last year’s Seattle Office of Housing budget, which tallied $47 million," reports Doug Trumm. "Seattle passing a doubled housing levy and the Seattle City Council approving $29 million in bonding for affordable housing explains much of the jump in funding."
The $100 million "will fund 896 new homes in nine new buildings around Seattle, preserve 535 existing units, and support low-income first-time homebuyers through two developments totaling 26 homes via Habitat for Humanity and the Homestead Community Land Trust," adds Trumm. The article includes analysis of the geographic breakdown of the investments as well as specifics on a few projects.
FULL STORY: Seattle Office of Housing Announces $100 Million Investment
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