The front lines of the short-term rental wars shift to the city of Boston.
Tim Logan reports: "Airbnb has filed a lawsuit in an effort to overturn Boston’s new short-term rental law, and is asking a judge to block the stringent rules from taking effect on Jan. 1."
"Under the rules set to take effect in January, Airbnb investors and apartment tenants would be prohibited from renting their homes by the night, and property owners would not be allowed to list more than one unit on the website," according to Logan.
The city of Boston approved its regulations to counter the proliferation of investor-owned properties listed on short-term rental sites like Airbnb. The city also believes the number of short-term rental units in the city is exacerbating the city's housing affordability crisis. In response, Airbnb is claiming that the city's regulations violate the federal Communications Decency Act, which, according to Logan, "protects online platforms from being penalized for third-party content," as well as the First Amendment.
FULL STORY: Airbnb sues city over rental rules
Boston Mayor Wants to Limit Short-Term Rentals
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh thinks short-term rental companies like Airbnb are having a negative effect on the city's housing market, and he'll walk a fine line to regulate the industry.
Airbnb Drops Lawsuit with the State of New York
The frontline of the ongoing battle between Airbnb and government regulators shifts from Albany to New York City.
Cincinnati Ponders Short-Term Rental Regulations
Controversies short-circuited similar legislation in 2018, but the Cincinnati City Council is taking up the issues surrounding short-term rentals again this year.
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