Thousands of homes in the city were found to be underused and subject to a vacancy tax.
Nearly 8,500 homes in Vancouver—or about 4.6 percent—will be subject to a new vacancy tax of 1 percent of their assessed value, The Guardian reports. They were found to be "empty or underutilized" for at least 180 days out of the year, based on declarations submitted by nearly 99 percent of homeowners in 2017.
More than a quarter of the vacant properties are in downtown Vancouver, and nearly 61 percent are condos.
Vancouver's controversial vacancy tax went into effect in 2017 as part of a multipronged strategy to reduce housing prices in the city. Economist Robert Hogue told The Guardian that while the new data on homeownership vacancy is "difficult to put into context," it contrasts with the city's rental vacancy rate, which is less than 1 percent.
FULL STORY: Vancouver declares 5% of homes empty and liable for new tax
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