Many suburbanites purchasing dream homes soon find that weak soil wreaks havoc on their foundations, yet with the high demand for housing, hundreds of homes are continually constructed in such areas.
"Cracks are etched along the walls, creeping from the corners of the windows and the baseboards. Holes have been cut in various spots on the kitchen linoleum. There's also a series of holes in the backyard -- five feet deep."
"Worst of all: the crack running the entire length of the house, from the easternmost edge of the living room floor to the westernmost edge of the kitchen."
"This is a 45-foot gash bisecting the house's foundation, as if an earthquake struck Surprise [Arizona]."
"Some of the hottest areas for development in the Valley -- including parts of Anthem, Gilbert, and Surprise -- suffer from problematic soil."
"'You see the land with poorer soils, 10 years ago, the only thing you'd find there is a farm house,' [Jack Holden, chair of Arizona Building Officials] says. 'But then the building boom hit, and you had these mass builders come in, and now you've got hundreds of houses there.'"
FULL STORY: Cracked Houses
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.
Trump Approves Futuristic Automated Texas-Mexico Cargo Corridor
The project could remove tens of thousands of commercial trucks from roadways.
Austin's First Single Stair Apartment Building is Officially Underway
Eliminating the requirement for two staircases in multi-story residential buildings lets developers use smaller lots and more flexible designs to create denser housing.
Atlanta Bus System Redesign Will Nearly Triple Access
MARTA's Next Gen Bus Network will retool over 100 bus routes, expand frequent service.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)