The same minority groups hit hardest by the housing bust are benefiting least during recovery.
African American and Hispanic households make up a smaller share of new home purchase loans than they did before the recession, write Laurie Goodman, Jun Zhu, and Taz George. This is despite steady growth in both groups between 2001 and 2005.
What happened? Many non-white households signed on to the predatory mortgages that helped lead to the housing collapse. They thus defaulted in higher numbers, and are now being kept out of the housing market by stringent lending practices. “Today’s credit inaccessibility is locking out African American and Hispanic borrowers disproportionately—at exactly the point in the economic cycle that favors new homeownership,” write Goodman, Zhu, and George.
Minorities Have Dominated Millennial Urban Growth
Despite the impression that young white people have reshaped cities' demographics, research shows that non-white Millennials account for the greater part of that growth.
Housing Recovery Gains Momentum, But Are We in for a Bumpy Ride?
While the housing market showed signs of improvement last year, economists are now confident that a recovery is underway. Housing currently adds 13 percent to the nation's economic growth, but is this a good thing?
Election 2012: The Demographic Time Bomb Explodes
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Amtrak Ramping Up Infrastructure Projects
Thanks to federal funding from the 2021 infrastructure act, the agency plans to triple its investment in infrastructure improvements and new routes in the next two years.
Ending Downtown San Francisco’s ‘Doom Loop’
A new public space project offers an ambitious vision—so why is the city implementing it at such a small scale?
Proposal Would Transform L.A.’s ‘Freeway to Nowhere’ Into Park, Housing
A never-completed freeway segment could see new life as a mixed-use development with housing, commercial space, and one of the county’s largest parks.
Seattle Passes Downtown Zoning Reforms
The changes, part of the mayor’s Downtown Activation Plan, make way for more residential development in the city’s downtown core.
Report: U.S. Biking Boom Slows
The pandemic bike boom is petering out, but more Americans are biking than ever before, signaling a need for cities to keep improving bike infrastructure and make roads safer for cyclists.
Tempe Historic Preservation Proposal Could Make it Harder to Build New Homes
Proposed changes to the city’s preservation ordinance would make two-thirds of the city’s housing stock eligible for preservation.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Washington University
Mpact: Mobility, Community, Possibility
Lassen County Planning and Building Services
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National Capital Planning Commission
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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.
