Andy Kroll wanders through the rubble of California's subprime crisis and finds homeowners waiting 10-12 hours in lines for mortgage relief, plummeting property values, and what may be the seeds of more foreclosures to come.
Kroll visits a crowded mortgage relief center outside San Francisco and neighborhoods in Stockton riddled with abandoned homes and wonders how anyone can see this and call it an economic recovery. He writes:
"A passerby, stealing a quick glance, might have taken the crowd for avid concertgoers staked out for tickets. There was, however, no concert here -- just weary, huddled souls, slouched in vinyl folding chairs, covered by blankets, windbreakers, and knit hats against a late autumn chill. This was, in fact, the latest stop on the "Save the Dream" tour, a massive homeowner-relief event organized by a consumer advocate group, the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA).
No one -- not a single person -- I interviewed at "Save the Dream" agreed with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner or Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke that their country was on the economic rebound."
Read the full story: Housing Meltdown, Ground Zero
The Historical Effect of Pandemics on the Economy and the Housing Market
Research into previous pandemics, like SARS in 2003, the Spanish Flu in 1918, and the early months of COVID-19 in China, offers insight into what to expect for the economy and the housing market during and after the current pandemic.
The Architecture Billings Index Was Strong on the Eve of the Pandemic
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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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Trump wants to cancel nearly 98% of funding for HUD housing support program
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FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
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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 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