In Cambridge, Massachusetts, residents speak positively of the renovations to their public housing stock. The housing authority attributes its success to an innovative mix of RAD with other funding sources.
Cambridge, Massachusetts offers a compelling model for public housing preservation at a time when many housing authorities face shrinking federal support and deteriorating buildings. By combining RAD with Section 18, MTW flexibility, LIHTC, and ARRA stimulus funds, the Cambridge Housing Authority was able to renovate or rebuild more than 2,300 units while minimizing resident displacement and retaining long-term public control.
Residents report improved building systems, better comfort, and newly activated community spaces. Cambridge’s approach — layering funding tools strategically and maintaining strong tenant engagement — highlights what’s possible for other PHAs navigating aging housing stock and limited resources.
FULL STORY: What We Can Learn From Cambridge’s Public Housing Overhaul
Long Island public housing applicants face longest wait times in America
Applicants to large, medium and small housing authorities in Long Beach all face exceptionally long waiting periods.
Book review: Co-ops, commons and the conundrum of cashing in on the American dream
Jonathan Tarleton’s "Homes for Living: The Fight for Social Housing and a New American Commons" shows what happens when a loophole in housing legislation opens the door to the privatization of a common good — and when an affordable home suddenly becomes a commodity.
Seattle social housing agency can now issue bonds
The new Seattle Social Housing Developer funds affordable housing through a tax on the city's highest-paying companies.
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.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
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