A community land trust took on a difficult site in suburban Seattle — and ended up with a sustainable, diverse, mixed-ownership-form development that challenges multiple norms.
Homestead Community Land Trust has completed The Southard in Tukwila, Washington, a groundbreaking 18-unit neighborhood that blends affordability, sustainability, and inclusion. The project is the first residential development in the United States to achieve both net-zero energy consumption and Salmon-Safe certification, thanks to features like solar panels, rain gardens, and bioswales.
Beyond its environmental achievements, The Southard stands out for integrating two group homes designed specifically for adults with developmental disabilities, developed in partnership with Parkview Services. By donating land and co-planning the units, Homestead helped secure critical funding and created a rare model of disability-inclusive housing within a mixed-income community land trust framework.
The development wasn’t easy—Homestead navigated zoning hurdles, pandemic-era cost spikes, and lengthy permitting delays. To close financial gaps, the trust plans to sell several units at market rate, raising questions about balancing affordability with long-term stewardship. Still, The Southard demonstrates how creative financing, inclusive design, and environmental stewardship can align to expand the future of community ownership.
Read the full story: Mixed Income, Net Zero, and Fish Friendly: Innovation at The Southard
Study: How California Can Shift Away From Car-Oriented Development
While the state continues to rely on driving as a primary means of transportation, fighting climate change and the worsening housing crisis means implementing policies that encourage infill development, higher density, and public transit.
Sustainable for Whom? Large-Scale Urban Development Projects and 'Environmental Gentrification'
Large, adaptive-reuse projects are all the rage in urban planning today, but absent a fundamentally new approach—with affordability at the center of the process—they are likely to become engines of what's been termed "environmental gentrification."
Is Net-Zero Building Realistic on a Large Scale?
Exploding global population numbers and worries about escalating energy prices, climate change, and energy independence have placed a priority on net-zero building. This article explores the viability of net-zero communities and cities.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority