The real estate industry has been slow to realize the development world is changing, according to Scott Polikov who writes that "the fundamentals of the 'bedroom community' economy have collapsed."
"America's 60-year development pattern has broken down, like an exhausted 1950 Chevy rusting at roadside. But the building and real estate industry is only slowly awakening to the new reality."
"We all knew the pattern, popularized after World War II and mostly triumphant since. A smart builder discovers and buys an inexpensive piece of cornfield or pasture. Up go single-family houses, or, more recently, many townhomes. Proximity to stores, offices, other conveniences (except perhaps schools) is irrelevant: everyone will be driving anyway. The successful sales prove it."
"No longer. Almost overnight, the ground rules for development have been eviscerated. Sure, real estate calculations of cash flow and value are still being made. And yes, local planning and zoning commissions are continuing to hold meetings until midnight to decide whether to approve zoning for the proverbial townhouse project down the street from a single-family enclave."
"But, have you recently heard of a developer securing a construction loan for virtually any kind of standard real estate residential development?"
Read the full story: $$/Sustainability Matched: New Economics of Place
The Historical Effect of Pandemics on the Economy and the Housing Market
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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Nation sees first electric plane-boat hybrid take off in public demo
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One of nation’s poorest counties to receive $6 billion data center
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FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
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City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello