Analysts are using artificial intelligence to supercharge their research by allowing them to comb through data faster. Though these AI tools can be error prone, they save time and housing researchers are optimistic about the future.
Shelterforce checks in with housing researchers who are harnessing AI to process vast, disorganized data like eviction and housing cost records. The tools they used dramatically reduced manual labor, turning years-long tasks into work completed within days.
Projects at the RAND Corporation and the Urban Displacement Project have revealed key insights, including cost disparities between states and municipal fee impacts.
However, AI remains error-prone — misreading numbers, formats, or context — making human oversight essential. Ultimately, while AI shows promise for improving housing policy research at scale, clean data, careful review, and political commitment are still critical for meaningful change.
FULL STORY: Researchers are Using AI to Get a Clearer Picture of Housing in the U.S.
Planning Trends for 2025: Creative Housing Solutions, Ongoing Transit Woes, and the Ever-Creeping Tentacles of AI
Urban planners have no shortage of urgent issues to delve into, from a deepening housing crisis to an increasingly unpredictable climate to a new federal administration bent on slashing key funding for everything from electric cars to housing assistance.
Analysis: DC needs tens of thousands of new homes — not just 'zoned capacity'
Estimates for Washington DC's housing needs range from 15,000 to 170,000.
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.
LA Metro’s ultimatum: no extra buses for LA28 if federal funding isn’t imminently secured
If Metro does not provide additional buses, LA28 organizers will have to find a new way to manage Olympic traffic. LA28’s budget does not include a line item for transit.
Colorado’s Largest Data Center Could Rise Next to Homes — Without a Public Hearing
The proposed campus would consume 11 times the power of Denver International Airport; as it has across the country, opposition mounts.
5 New England states march closer to 800 megawatt wind energy project
Securing federal approval for the project may be complicated under the Trump administration, which has historically been hostile towards domestic wind power.
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