Recent laws making it easier and less costly to build smaller residential buildings are having their intended effect.
Data from the city of Spokane reveals that missing middle housing including duplexes, townhomes, accessory dwelling units and other small multifamily buildings made up 20% of permitted housing units in 2025, signaling strong growth in the sector.
As Karina Elias explains in the Spokane Journal of Business, middle housing accounted for just 3% to 4% of permits between 2020 and 2022. "The uptick in middle housing projects follows the passage of a set of zone changes previously dubbed the Building Opportunity and Choices for All. BOCA was an interim ordinance allowing up to four units to be developed on a single-family lot approved by the Spokane City Council in July 2022." The ordinance, now known as Building Opportunity for Housing, was made permanent in November 2023.
FULL STORY: Missing middle housing gains traction in Spokane
Greenville, SC pushes for missing middle housing
The city recently overhauled its zoning rules to permit more 'low-intensity' housing options.
Salt Lake City Slashes Lot Size, Parking Requirements for Middle Housing Zones
A new ordinance alters regulations for middle housing zones, removing barriers that made multifamily development impractical or too expensive.
Delaware Governor Could Force Cities to Upzone
Gov. Meyer says the state will work with cities to encourage land use reforms that make room for more affordable housing types, but could take stricter measures if jurisdictions don’t comply.
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.
Mamdani overhauls NYC's Vision Zero plan with 100 new policy goals
The overhaul aims to reduce traffic deaths and make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers through lower speed limits, new safety infrastructure and more.
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.
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