Cities like San Francisco or New York can suck up all the oxygen for the conversation about housing affordability in the U.S. Meanwhile rapidly growing cities like Nashville, where the scope of a crisis of affordability is no less dire.
"The affordable housing crisis has grown more severe in Nashville over the last year," reports David Plazas, who is covering the housing beat in Nashville for the ongoing "Costs of Growth and Change" series for the Tennessean.
The latest article serves as kind of a summary for what Plazas has learned while covering housing for the newspaper.
Despite public outcry, investment and good intentions by area leaders, a confluence of events has created an even more acute problem for those left out of Music City’s prosperity.
Scarcer inventory of homes; rising interest rates; population growth that is inflating home prices and rents; and relatively stagnant wages, especially among lower-income residents, are at the heart of the problem.
In addition, some people are still recovering from the effects of the Great Recession and the foreclosure crisis, while newer factors such as tariffs on lumber, worker shortages and rising costs of supplies are exacerbating the issue.
The feature length article goes into detail on some of the specifics in Nashville, places the city's situation in context of national research like the recently released State of Housing report by the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies.
FULL STORY: Affordable housing in Nashville: The urban crisis worsens
Portland Housing Bond Created Nearly 5,000 Units, But Affordability Remains Out of Reach
Despite better-than-expected results from multiple local housing bonds, housing costs and homelessness remain top of mind for many Oregonians.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
High Housing Costs Driving Down Transit Ridership in LA
When neighborhoods gentrify and displace lower-income residents, transit ridership suffers, new research shows.
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.
San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.
Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.
Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.
In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont