The mayor says allowing homeowners to convert garages to dwelling units could alleviate the city’s housing shortage.

Grand Rapids, Michigan Mayor David LeGrand is proposing to legalize accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in the city, pointing to garages as one potential option for boosting the city’s housing supply.
Grand Rapids needs over 14,000 new housing. units by 2027 to accommodate its population growth, notes Waleed Alamleh in an article for Fox 17. “The city plans to support the process of turning garages into Accessory Dwelling Units in the coming months, offering a potential solution to the housing crisis in Grand Rapids.”
One resident supported the concept, saying, “There are a lot of homes in Grand Rapids with detached garages that are ripe for that opportunity. And I've seen it done in lots of other cities around the country, like LA Seattle, which been a very successful way to increase the housing stock.”
FULL STORY: City working on transforming garages into housing in Grand Rapids

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

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

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?

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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