Christopher Leinberger argues that the fundamental cause of the mortgage meltdown was a "structural shift in market demand" from low-density suburbs to walkable urban housing.
As the federal government prepares to release a series of recommendations to restrucuture Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Leinberger believes many people still do not understand the fundamental cause of the meltdown.
"If you do not know the cause of the meltdown, how can you know what to fix to avoid it from happening again?"
Leinberger also discusses the need for reform of the mortgage market to include attention to what he calls "location effiecient mortgages," which take both housing and transportation costs into consideration when underwriting.
FULL STORY: Federal Restructuring of Fannie and Freddie Ignores Underlying Cause of Crisis
Malign Neglect? Urban Policy in the Trump Era
How much do we have to fear from the president-elect's policy plans for urban America? We can hope that he will follow his party's playbook and largely ignore the cities, but potential changes to housing policy are more serious.
What Property Professors Are Writing About
A recent property professors' conference discussed a variety of issues of possible interest to planners including tightened home lending standards, municipal policies affecting the homeless, the Fair Housing Act, and inclusionary zoning.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.
Seattle's Plan for Adopting Driverless Cars
Equity, safety, accessibility and affordability are front of mind as the city prepares for robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles.
As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.
With Protected Lanes, 460% More People Commute by Bike
For those needing more ammo, more data proving what we already knew is here.
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.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)