Following the Ikea model, home builder John Sawyer is bringing a new -- and cheaper -- process to affordable housing in New Orleans.
"Three years after hurricanes Katrina and Rita battered the Gulf Coast, housing remains a major problem in the region. There's a shortage of skilled labor to build new homes, insurance rates have skyrocketed, and most federal aid for temporary housing expired this year."
"Mr. Sawyer's response: the Everhouse, a single-family home built from concrete wall panels that are wind-, fire-, mold-, and pest-resistant. About $68 per square foot, the Everhouse is about half the cost of affordable housing in some Gulf Coast cities."
"Sawyer is a Boston-based builder who's used to working on golf-course communities and retirement homes. But when he and his partner, Harold McKenna, visited the Gulf Coast area after the storms, they started brainstorming a housing solution that could improve on the recent 'Katrina cottages.'"
Read the full story: Everhouse: A new plan for post-Katrina homes
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.
Housing is the top priority of Seattle’s sole new councilmember
Jenks campaigned on building 1,000 new units of affordable housing.
New tax cuts may slash $1.5 billion in funding for Miami transit, public parks
Amendment 3 will save Miami-Dade homeowners $2,700 in 2028.
Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania hope to finally advance climate goals post-midterms
The three states have spent years under Republican or divided control.
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
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority