The company announced a $125 million investment in housing near Metro stations in northern Virginia, where the promise of jobs at its new Arlington headquarters sparked rising demand for housing.
Amazon has announced it will contribute $125 million to financing affordable housing near Metro stations in the Washington, D.C. area, reports Libby Solomon for Greater Greater Washington. "The goal is to build 1,000 affordable, transit-accessible units over the next five years, according to a press release."
The money will be used to finance joint transit-oriented developments and "is part of Amazon’s $2 billion Housing Equity Fund, which the company launched in January. Other projects under that umbrella include Crystal House, an 825-unit apartment building that Amazon helped the nonprofit Washington Housing Conservancy purchase to preserve affordable housing."
Meanwhile, housing advocates blame the e-commerce giant and other tech giants for exacerbating the housing crisis and rising income inequality. Dain Evans writes, "Tech companies are disproportionately hiring white and Asian male-identified individuals for tech jobs, leaving lower-wage jobs for mostly Black and Latinx individuals," while housing costs continue to rise. In the Washington area, demand for housing spiked as Amazon opened its new headquarters in Arlington. "The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments estimated in 2019 that the region will need 320,000 new housing units by 2030, and unmet demand has sent prices sky-high."
FULL STORY: Amazon puts capital toward affordable housing development at Metro stations
New Amazon HQ2 Renderings Reveal a Futuristic Look for Northern Virginia
Renderings for the second phase of Amazon's second headquarters in Northern Virginia grabbed a lot of attention today.
How policy changes helped Minneapolis beat rent inflation
Despite a boom in population, Minneapolis has managed to keep rents relatively steady through a combination of legislative action and private investment.
LA delays state housing mandate with 'low-rise ordinance'
The new ordinance allows the city to delay implementing SB 79, a state law requiring more density near transit.
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