Kirk Johnson chronicles the nonprofit housing builder's move into larger-scale housing development in Oregon, as it takes advantage of the depressed real estate market, and the kindness of donors.
Although "Across most of the nation, one-at-a-time houses,
financed by church suppers and staffed by volunteer hammer-swingers, are
still the norm for Habitat," as the first phase of the group's largest project in Oregon
history opens this spring on
Portland's east side, Johnson explores the tactical shifts taking place in branches across the country.
"Other Habitat branches have also pivoted in the recession, trying
different angles in a dark time. In Nevada and Florida, for example,
some Habitat groups stopped new construction entirely and shifted to
renovation, buying abandoned properties in cities racked by high
foreclosure rates."
"Business leaders and housing experts said that Portland - partly
through Habitat's timing in betting big in a down market, partly through
a donor network led by Mr. Gray that stepped up to help even as
corporate support mostly collapsed - is creating something that will
resonate long after the recession: Habitat neighborhoods."
FULL STORY: Habitat for Humanity Tries Big-Scale Approach to Housing in Oregon

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands
For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?
Social distancing requirements and changes in travel patterns prompted cities to pilot new uses for street and sidewalk space. Then it got complicated.

Platform Pilsner: Vancouver Transit Agency Releases... a Beer?
TransLink will receive a portion of every sale of the four-pack.

Toronto Weighs Cheaper Transit, Parking Hikes for Major Events
Special event rates would take effect during large festivals, sports games and concerts to ‘discourage driving, manage congestion and free up space for transit.”

Berlin to Consider Car-Free Zone Larger Than Manhattan
The area bound by the 22-mile Ringbahn would still allow 12 uses of a private automobile per year per person, and several other exemptions.
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Planning for Universal Design
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Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)