The Chicago Tribune examines what became of an ambitious city project, led by Mayor Daley, to revolutionize public housing. Private developers received public funding to tear down old projects and replace them with mixed-use neighborhoods.
"Conceived amid a rising housing market, the city's Plan for Transformation used hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars and virtual giveaways of public land to reverse decades of neglect that confined the city's poorest residents to racially segregated ghettos.
Demolition of Chicago's reviled high-rises became a national symbol of change and hope, but little attention has been focused on what happened next as rhetoric collided with realities.
A Tribune investigation found that almost nine years into what was billed as a 10-year program, the city has completed only 30 percent of the plan's most ambitious element-tearing down entire housing projects and replacing them with new neighborhoods where poor, working-class and wealthier families would live side by side.
In fact, of those public housing units that have been built, nearly half went up before the plan officially started in 2000.
The consequences of these failures go far beyond Chicago. The federal government also prodded dozens of cities across the country to adopt similar blueprints for fixing their public housing sites. Since then, many of those projects have stalled as well."
FULL STORY: Public housing limbo
Candyman's Real Horror: American Public Housing Policy
The new film, set in one of America's most notorious public housing projects, highlights the failure of affordable housing policy and its impact on Black communities.
Land Trusts: the Middle Ground of Housing
The Boston Globe recently ran an op-ed in support of community land trusts and inclusionary housing, which was penned by the National Housing Institute/Shelterforce and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
New Approach Needed for Building Affordable Housing
The rising interest in urban living has meant a growing shortage of affordable housing in cities across the country. Roger Lewis proposes a new approach to help solve the crisis: building workforce housing funded by the public sector.
Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.
HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands
The agency will identify federally owned parcels appropriate for housing development and streamline the regulatory process to lease or transfer land to housing authorities and nonprofit developers.
Conservatives’ Decongestion Pricing Flip-Flop
When it comes to solving traffic problems, the current federal administration is on track for failure, waste, and hypocrisy.
Can Geothermal Energy Fuel Hawaiʻi’s Future?
Gavin Murphy, a New Zealand-based consultant with experience in indigenous-led geothermal projects, argues that Hawaiʻi is poised to achieve energy independence and economic growth by respectfully developing its untapped geothermal resources.
Climate Gardening: Cultivating Resilient Landscapes in Los Angeles
TreePeople’s 4th Annual Urban Soil Symposium explored how climate gardening, soil health, and collaborative land management strategies can enhance urban resilience in the face of climate change.
Electric Surge: EV Chargers Outnumber Gas Nozzles in California
California now has 48% more electric vehicle chargers than gasoline nozzles, reflecting its rapid shift toward clean transportation and aggressive zero-emission goals despite federal pushback.
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.
Florida Atlantic University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
City of Piedmont, CA
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland