A record-setting amount of apartments in Chicago were converted into condominiums in 2005, and Mayor Richard Daley has formed a task force to limit the trend which is rapidly diminishing affordable housing in the city.
"Conversions have become a hot political issue in other cities, including Los Angeles and Las Vegas, where politicians and housing advocates have proposed moratoriums on such developments. It's not clear whether the task force would go that far."
A similar conversion boom in the '70s prompted a 40-day moratorium on condo conversions.
"More than a quarter of a century later, with Mayor Daley approaching a re-election campaign, affordable housing is a political issue again. The sustained real estate boom of the previous 10 years has pushed purchase prices - including those for converted apartments - beyond the reach of many in the middle-to-low income brackets."
Read the full story: Daley seeks to slow condo conversions
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
California city breaks ground on transit connector
The project includes three mobility hubs and a pedestrian bridge.
After public outcry, Massachusetts city releases housing development tracker
Cambridge’s tracker currently shows 250 housing projects in various stages of development.
40 years after approval, Chicago breaks ground on new park
The park honors Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the city’s first permanent non-native settler.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority