With teacher salaries failing to keep up with housing costs, some districts are building housing to keep their employees.

In a bid to hire and retain teachers in areas with high housing costs, some school districts are taking it upon themselves to try to make more housing available for teachers and staff in their areas, reports Molly Bolan in Route Fifty.
In Eagle County, Colorado, the local school district “worked with property owners to secure master leases that give employees priority for units and has so far gained 27 units through such agreements, with another 13 expected to be obtained within the next year.” The district has also reached out to local property owners to make vacant rooms and accessory dwelling units (ADUs) available to district employees and began building 37 housing units on district-owned parcels. In Texas, the Austin Independent School District is repurposing underused land for housing that will be available to district staff and other local income-eligible households.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, says much broader efforts are needed at the state and federal level to make housing construction more affordable and address the growing gap between housing costs and teacher incomes. “Because at the end of the day … in order for there to be more housing, there needs to be a way for people to be able to afford the cost of building that housing.”
FULL STORY: Teachers can’t afford housing, so school districts are building homes

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.

Seattle’s Pike Place Market Leans Into Pedestrian Infrastructure
After decades of debate, the market is testing a car ban in one of its busiest areas and adding walking links to the surrounding neighborhood.

The World’s Longest Light Rail Line is in… Los Angeles?
In a city not known for its public transit, the 48.5-mile A Line is the longest of its kind on the planet.

Quantifying Social Infrastructure
New developments have clear rules for ensuring surrounding roads, water, and sewers can handle new users. Why not do the same for community amenities?
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