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.
"If we want to increase the supply of affordable housing, it's important to understand that it's not just about housing. Too often, efforts to increase affordability ignore transportation costs, resulting in cheap housing in isolated areas with high vehicle expenses. When all costs are considered, it's clear that the best way to increase affordability and economic opportunity is “upzoning” — allowing more housing in a given area — in accessible, high-opportunity neighborhoods."
"In the past, affordability was defined as households being able to spend less than 30 percent of their budget on housing, but many experts now define it as spending less than 45 percent on housing and transportation combined. That definition recognizes that a cheap house is not truly affordable if it’s located in an isolated area with high transportation costs, and that households can rationally spend more for housing in a walkable, mixed-use neighborhood where transportation is cheaper."
"This has important policy implications beyond simply increasing the supply of homes that people can afford. Smart-growth policies that increase affordable infill — more housing in existing residential areas — also can help achieve many economic, social and environmental goals. We know that children tend to be happier, healthier and more successful if they grow up in high-opportunity neighborhoods: areas with mixed incomes, good schools and convenient access to services and jobs."
FULL STORY: A Recipe for Achieving Real Housing Affordability
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
The State of E-Scooters in the US
Eight years after shared e-scooters were first introduced in US cities, the industry still teeters on the edge of success, hindered in part by limited infrastructure.
Rochester Shows Possible Future for Former Highways
A former freeway is undergoing a massive redevelopment that goes beyond highway removal to reconnect and revitalize surrounding areas.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
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