San Francisco's new experiment in low-income housing is a beautiful one; a new building combines eye-popping design and amenities you wish you had.
Many people think of how-income housing as single room occupancy (SRO) hotels. The Richardson apartments in San Francisco turn this model upside down with beautiful (albeit small) living spaces.
"The 120-unit, five-story building is the kind of place that most city-dwellers would love to live in: It features sustainably harvested wood (including redwood and elm), a landscaped courtyard, a green roof, sunshades outside the apartment windows, solar hot water heating, solar panels, intelligent lighting controls, and low-VOC paints," writes Fast Company's Morgan Clendaniel.
"The apartments also have amenities tailored to the population, including abuse-resistant drywall and cabinets, grab bars everywhere, and wheelchair-accessible showers. The building doesn't have car parking, but it does have parking for bikes--not that tenants would be likely to have a vehicle or even need one in this transit-rich neighborhood."
The building has proved to be extremely popular. Supporters hope the building is just one of many future low-income housing developments in the expensive city.
Read the full story: Low-Income Housing That Anyone Would Love To Live In
San Francisco Bans Living in RVs, Offers Chatbot for Assistance
The city is testing an AI tool to support its understaffed outreach services department, but advocates worry it won’t be accessible to many vehicle dwellers.
San Francisco Mayor Backtracks on Homelessness Goal
Mayor Dan Lurie ran on a promise to build 1,500 additional shelter beds in the city, complete with supportive services. Now, his office says they are “shifting strategy” to focus on prevention and mental health treatment.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
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.
Housing is the top priority of Seattle’s sole new councilmember
Jenks campaigned on building 1,000 new units of affordable housing.
New tax cuts may slash $1.5 billion in funding for Miami transit, public parks
Amendment 3 will save Miami-Dade homeowners $2,700 in 2028.
Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania hope to finally advance climate goals post-midterms
The three states have spent years under Republican or divided control.
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