As brick-and-mortar stores decline due to the rise of e-commerce, cities look to mall sites as ideal locations for new housing.

“This week, the Daly City Planning Commission unanimously approved a plan to build 214 apartments on a piece of land previously occupied by the Burlington Coat Factory at the Westlake Shopping Center — home to a Target, Home Depot and DSW shoe store, in addition to dozens of smaller businesses.” The project would bring badly needed housing to the San Francisco Bay Area, reports J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle.
“If it gets the green light, the project would be the second housing development in the pipeline at the Westlake Shopping Center. The owner, Kimco Realty, has already received approvals to build 179 apartments to replace a 55,630-square-foot retail and office complex at 10 Park Plaza Drive.”
According to the article, “The latest proposal comes as Bay Area cities are increasingly targeting sprawling shopping centers to help meet ambitious state-mandated housing goals,” with similar projects in the works in other area cities. “Like every municipality in California, Daly City is deep in the throes of updating its housing element, a once-every-eight-years exercise required by the state,” Dineen explains. The redevelopment of former commercial sites such as defunct malls is one way for California cities to meet their housing goals and boost housing construction with less resistance from the opponents that frequently fight increased density in residential neighborhoods.
FULL STORY: Here’s the latest plan to convert a Bay Area mall into new housing

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

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

Missouri Law Would Ban Protections for Housing Voucher Users
A state law seeks to overturn source-of-income discrimination bans passed by several Missouri cities.

Op-Ed: Looking for Efficiency? Fund Intercity Buses
Much less expensive than rail, intercity buses serve millions of Americans every year, but public subsidies are lacking.

Philadelphia Councilmember Proposes Transit Access Fund
The plan would allocate 0.5 percent of the general fund toward mobility subsidies for low-income households.
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.
Ada County Highway District
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service