The New York Times, in a front page article, was startled to conclude that the housing market continued to suffer, because "buyers now demand something smaller, cheaper and, thanks to $4 a gallon gas, as close to their jobs as possible."
Christopher Leinberger, writing for The New Republic, says the Times is a little late to discover this fact:
"Ironically, the Times dateline was Chicago. That's the home of Scott Bernstein and the Center for Neighborhood Technology which has been doing some of the best national research on the location within metro areas of the housing bust. CNT's conclusion from way back in 2008? The mortgage collapse took place on the auto-dominated suburban fringe while walkable urban housing, whether in the city or the suburbs, pretty much held its value."
The original story in the NYT includes a closeup on a developer so desperate to sell his traditional suburban houses that he's throwing in a car with every purchase.
Thanks to Emily Robinson
Read the full story: Walk, Don't Drive, to the Real Estate Recovery
AVs and Real Estate - A Guide to Potential Impacts
AVs are more than a transportation issue and will have significant impacts on real estate. Expect AVs to affect parking, sprawl, housing prices, and transit.
The Natalist Case For Sprawl (And Why It Fails)
Some commentators defend anti-urban government policies such as exclusionary zoning on the basis that homeowning suburbanites have high birth rates. But this doesn't seem to be true in recent decades.
Planning for Congestion Relief
The third and final installment of Planetizen's examination of the role of the planning profession in both perpetuating and solving traffic congestion.
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.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment
The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.
Bill to overhaul energy permitting clears Senate
The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 still needs to pass the House of Representatives.
MTA sends Dem leaders a wish list to mend Trump’s damages
Requests include exempting new train and bus components from tariffs and increasing transit security funding.
Mass. votes against statewide minimum lot size for single-family homes
Over 2 million residents voted on Question 7; it was decided by just over 30,000 votes.
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
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello