May Must-Reads: Top 10 Articles From Last Month

Last month on Planetizen, readers zeroed in on a story about a massive mall redevelopment project in Montreal, a plan to save California’s high-speed rail project, and the nation’s first ‘shared streets’ law, passed in Washington state. Advocates for unhoused people in Texas say bills being pushed in the state legislature would exacerbate the state’s housing crisis and further criminalize homelessness, and service providers in rural Kentucky struggle to meet the unique barriers posed by rural homelessness. New Hampshire could soon reduce parking requirements for residential projects, and an ode to the disappearing ‘third place’ offered by Dairy Queen restaurants.

The full list of May’s most-read stories:

1. Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units 

A 62-year-old shopping complex will be redeveloped over the next 25 years to include a school, a hotel, and thousands of housing units.

2. California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself 

The rail authority’s CEO has a plan to get the beleaguered project back on track. Can it be done?

3. Washington Passes First US ‘Shared Streets’ Law 

Cities can now create pedestrian-friendly streets with speed limits of 10 miles per hour.

4. Texas Bills Could Push More People Into Homelessness 

Proposals to speed up the eviction process and accelerate enforcement of a camping ban could make the state’s homelessness crisis worse, advocates say.

5. Oregon Bill Would End Bans on Manufactured Housing 

Under the law, new developments would not be allowed to prohibit manufactured housing, which offers an affordable option for many homebuyers.

6. New Hampshire House Passes Parking Reform Bill 

If passed by the Senate, the bill would limit parking requirements to one spot per residential unit.

7. Rethinking Redlining 

Were HOLC maps really to blame for the patterns of spatial inequality in U.S. cities?

8. Addressing Rural Homelessness in Kentucky 

People experiencing homelessness in rural areas and those trying to offer services face a unique set of challenges.

9. New York MTA Says No More Borrowing, Will Cut Costs Instead 

The transit agency says it will stop taking out new loans as USDOT threatens to suspend federal funding over NYC’s congestion pricing program and purported security concerns.

10. Dairy Queen and Rural Third Places 

The closure of dozens of Dairy Queens across Texas leaves some communities suddenly missing a key social space.