Data from the Census shows that 36.7% of U.S. households pay more than 30% of their pretax income on housing, an increase of 1.5 million since 2007.
The economists at the Wall St. Journal puzzle over how this could be, given that mortgage rates have been at record lows. Without coming to any conclusions on the reasons, they note that renters are even worse off:
"While the glut of houses in places such as California and Florida allowed many defaulters to rent luxurious homes for a fraction of their previous mortgage payments, the shift of people from homeowners to renters helped keep rents rising across the country. As a result, in 2009 some 47.7% of renters faced excessive housing costs, up from 45.6% in 2007."
FULL STORY: Number of the Week: 41.7 Million Spend Too Much on Housing
Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae to Back $1 Million Mortgages
Expensive housing markets are about to cross a symbolic threshold.
To upzone or not to upzone? Two views on the housing crisis
Allowing more density can increase the housing supply, but does the attendant rise in land prices cancel out the benefits?
Alexandria eviction diversion program will let tenants pay back rent in installments
Eligible tenants will be allowed to make a 10% down payment on the back rent they owe and pay off the rest in installments while remaining in their home.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association