Cities will be required to submit plans for creating sufficient affordable housing under a new state law.
A new approach to housing in New Jersey will give each municipality a clear standard for how many affordable housing units they need to build, reports Daniel C. Vock in Route Fifty.
The new law “will allow local governments to develop their own housing plans, with incentives to build places to live for older people and for people with disabilities. It would also encourage development near rail stations, particularly those close to New York.” If cities fail to produce adequate plans, residents or developers can sue to move forward with their own proposals — echoes of California’s ‘builder’s remedy.’
Governor Phil Murphy, who signed the law this week, said “This legislation will enable us to build new, affordable housing, where it is needed, with far fewer hurdles.”
FULL STORY: How New Jersey’s new affordable housing law aims to ease the housing crisis
Less than 6% of California cities are building enough housing for very low-income households
Only five jurisdictions are on track to meet their housing goals for all income brackets.
Trump refuses to sign housing bill, throwing bipartisan agreement into limbo
The president's cancellation of the bill signing came as a shock to both sides of the political aisle.
The "vicious cycle of real estate mania" — and how we might find our way home
Book review: In "The Lost and the Found: A True Story of Homelessness, Found Family, and Second Chances," Kevin Fagan humanizes the housing crisis like never before.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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.
Baltimore to break ground on $50 million Transit Priority Project
The project will bring faster bus trips, safer streets and better bike connections to Baltimore.
Airbnb launches $250 million 'last-dollar financing' housing accelerator, makes first investment in Austin
The company will put $6.4 million towards affordable housing development in Texas’ capital.
Guerilla urbanists are building DIY bus stop benches in Chicago
A before-and-after of one of the bus stops with a new bench. The new benches are not officially sanctioned or permitted, but the residents who placed them hope they will be the start of a network of DIY benches across the city.
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