The city of Boston is in the midst of a housing boom, and the city is considering asking developers to set aside a larger number of their units for affordable housing.

Boston's hot property market is putting a crunch on affordable housing. The city's Inclusionary Development Policy requires developers to set aside a percentage of their units for lower rents and the city is now considering raising that percentage. "That would make it the second increase in three years," writes Tim Logan.
The Inclusionary Development Policy is one of a few tools the city has for creating affordable housing. "Walsh has tried other ways to boost affordable housing, endorsing a small surcharge on property owners approved by city voters in 2016, and requiring more affordable units in buildings that go up on city-owned land," Logan reports.
Those in favor of raising the requirement point to Boston's housing boom as evidence that more could be asked of developers; those against it caution that adding too many requirements might slow developers too much and stop affordable housing from getting built in the first place.
FULL STORY: Boston might require developers to set aside more low-income units

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.

What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.

Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
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.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie