Depopulation and empty houses are creating modern day ghost towns throughout America. This piece introduces the latest class of emptying areas.
Citing population decrease, the existing housing stock and the vacancy rate, this post identifies modern American ghost counties. The list is made up of places with populations of at least 10,000 and vacancy rates of 55% and higher.
"Data from states and large metropolitan areas do not tell the story of how much the real estate disaster has turned certain areas in the country into ghost towns. Some of the affected regions are tourist destinations, but much of that traffic has disappeared as the recession has caused people to sell or desert vacation homes and delay trips for leisure. This makes these areas particularly desolate when tourists are not around.
The future of these areas is grim. Our research showed that many have sharply declining tax bases which have caused budget cuts. Forecasts are calling for the fiscal noose to tighten on them even tighter."
Read the full story: American Ghost Towns Of The 21st Century
Nearly Half of Vacant Units in Rural Counties are Second Homes
The relationship between housing costs and second home ownership rates is complicated.
Running Rampant: How Short-Term Rentals Impact Communities With Loose Restrictions
Brendan O’Brien, author of “Homesick,” talks with us about his new book and what he's learned about the effects of short-term rentals in communities like Flagstaff, Arizona; Bozeman, Montana; and St. George, Utah.
Texas Cities’ Office Vacancy Rates Close to Double New York, San Francisco
A glut of office buildings in the pro-development state is leading to some of the highest vacancy rates in the country, even as population growth spikes.
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.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
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