Neighborhoods in urban cores are seeing the highest rates of new apartment construction in the last five years, signaling a continued interest in downtown living despite fears of an 'urban exodus' brought on by the pandemic.

A recent analysis by RentCafe shows that 'hyper-urban' downtown neighborhoods have seen the most active apartment construction in the last five years, reports Florentina Sarac.
"Despite the fact that downtown areas haven’t always been desirable places to live in, that has certainly changed in the last decade," writes Sarac. The article lists the top 20 neighborhoods for apartment construction in the U.S., led by downtown Los Angeles with 10,136, or a whopping 39% of the city's new apartment supply and twice as many apartments as any other neighborhood. Other popular areas include Midtown Atlanta, Hunters Point in Queens, New York, and Downtown Fort Worth, Texas. The neighborhood with the highest share of new apartments in its city was San Jose, California, where tech workers continue to fuel an intensely competitive housing market.
These numbers show that despite concerns about COVID-19 transmission, urban cores remain attractive places to live. Once the bastion of 9-to-5 workers, some experts say central business districts will likely transform into multi-purpose neighborhoods as the demand for physical office space falls.
FULL STORY: Apartment-Crazed Neighborhoods: The Nation’s Downtowns See Historic Boom, with DTLA Leading the Way

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

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

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network
The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

New State Study Suggests Homelessness Far Undercounted in New Mexico
An analysis of hospital visit records provided a more accurate count than the annual point-in-time count used by most agencies.

Michigan Bills Would Stiffen Penalties for Deadly Crashes
Proposed state legislation would close a ‘legal gap’ that lets drivers who kill get away with few repercussions.

Report: Bus Ridership Back to 86 Percent of Pre-Covid Levels
Transit ridership around the country was up by 85 percent in all modes in 2024.
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.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions