The hordes of people moving to Texas every year could soon encounter the same kinds of housing affordability challenges they left behind.
Chris Tomlinson writes on the growing pressure and controversies surrounding housing development in Texas, a state that saw an influx of 523 new residents every day in 2019.
"Most new Texans are under the age of 40, looking to start careers and families. They want to live and work in big cities. Harris County added 605,000 people from 2010-18, and Bexar County added 271,000. Texas has added 3.8 million since 2010, exacerbating a housing shortage," explains Tomlinson.
According to Tomlinson, homebuilders aren't keeping up with demand, and developers, homebuyers, politicians, and neighborhood activists are starting to point fingers. "Another problem is that people are holding on to their homes longer. In 2010, the median homeowner in Houston moved every 15 years. But today, they stay for 23, according to data collected by Redfin, the real estate sales app."
Tomlinson includes a call for government to do more to mitigate the growing housing market challenges, including changing development codes to allow more density and smaller homes on smaller lots.
According to a report by the Urban Land Institute cited in the article, housing prices in Texas are now rising faster than inflation, population growth, and income growth.
FULL STORY: Developers need help with affordable housing
Commentary: San Antonio Needs ‘Thoughtful Reforms’ to Improve Affordability
The growing Texas city needs a new approach to meet its residents’ housing and mobility needs.
Has the Millennial Housing Boom Only Just Begun?
The largest, most diverse generation in U.S. history has experienced setbacks, but many are now moving past student debt and the effects of the Great Recession into their prime buying years.
The Housing Affordability Recipe
Smart policies can ensure that low- and moderate-income households can find suitable housing in good neighborhoods where transportation costs are low. The research is clear: upzoning works.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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.
Baltimore to break ground on $50 million Transit Priority Project
The project will bring faster bus trips, safer streets and better bike connections to Baltimore.
Airbnb launches $250 million 'last-dollar financing' housing accelerator, makes first investment in Austin
The company will put $6.4 million towards affordable housing development in Texas’ capital.
Guerilla urbanists are building DIY bus stop benches in Chicago
A before-and-after of one of the bus stops with a new bench. The new benches are not officially sanctioned or permitted, but the residents who placed them hope they will be the start of a network of DIY benches across the city.
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