America's foreclosure crisis is taking a heavy toll on communities by diminishing tax bases, lowering school enrollments, and contributing to rising crime.
"Foreclosures are not only affecting the people who are losing their homes. They are changing entire communities. With fewer homeowners, local businesses and schools are seeing fewer customers and students. City governments are not receiving revenue, and abandoned houses are becoming sites for criminal activities.
Local governments are finding themselves in a vicious cycle: the more they lose revenue due to foreclosures, the more crime increases, which requires cities to provide more services, which they can't because of the dent in revenues from foreclosures.
[D]ozens of complaints [come] every week from residents in West Phoenix about abandoned houses. For Sale signs and overgrown lawns have made vacant homes more attractive to copper thieves and even human smugglers, who use these properties as stash houses."
FULL STORY: Communities Foreclosed
Quantifying the Impact of Pandemic Housing Assistance
The massive federal injection of funding into housing programs has had major impacts on many Americans’ ability to stay housed and out of debt, but fears loom as the end of some funding sources nears.
New Jersey Bill Would Ease the Path to Homeownership for Low-Income Families
A bill passed by the New Jersey state legislature would discourage investors from buying and flipping homes while giving households that have experienced foreclosure first bidding rights on auction properties.
Map of Pandemic Real Estate Risk Focuses on New Jersey, Illinois, California
A new study evaluates county-level foreclosure risk, underwater home values, and more real estate market data after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States.
Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.
‘Displaced By Design:’ Report Spotlights Gentrification in Black Neighborhoods
A new report finds that roughly 15 percent of U.S. neighborhoods have been impacted by housing cost increases and displacement.
Nevada and Utah Groups Oppose Public Land Sell-Off Plan
A set of last-minute amendments to the budget reconciliation bill open up over half a million acres of federally managed land to sales.
More Than a Park: A Safe Haven for Generations in LA’s Chinatown
Alpine Recreation Center serves as a vital cultural and community hub in Los Angeles' Chinatown, offering a safe, welcoming space for generations of Chinese American residents to gather, connect, and thrive amidst rapid urban change.
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.
City of Clovis
City of Moorpark
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions