At a building industry trade show held last week, the new trend was for houses constructed with extra space for renters or extended family. In other words, depreciation comes standard.

Laura Kusisto provides a dispatch from the International Builders' Show held last week in Las Vegas. In a bit of trendspotting, Kusisto identifies an unexpected design concept that emerged during the show: roommates.
Kusisto focuses on the example of the concept for the New American Home, "that included nontraditional living arrangements to help ease families’ financial burdens." The New American Home is a staple of the show—this one was built by Las Vegas-based developer Element Design Build.
The 5,200-square foot home, perched on a hill overlooking the Vegas skyline, includes a second-floor unit that can house aging parents or recent college grads with shaky employment prospects. If necessary, the home, constructed by local developer Element Design Build, could even accommodate two families pooling their resources.
Another way of looking at the attention paid to configurations that would allow households to double up or even rent extra space: the industry is exhibiting concern for the affordability of houses on the market. Kusisto cites a lot of data about rising prices and additional data and case studies provided by other developers and home builders about the demand for such units in the market.
FULL STORY: New U.S. Homes Make Room for Airbnb Crowd

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

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

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

Savannah Reduces Speed Limits on Almost 100 City Streets
The historic Georgia city is lowering speed limits in an effort to reduce road fatalities.

A Park Reborn: Resilience and Renewal in Fire-Stricken Altadena
Rebuilt in just two months after the devastating Eaton Fire, Loma Alta Park now stands as a symbol of community resilience and renewal, even as some residents hope recovery efforts will continue to support housing stability and long-term equity.

Spain Moves to Ban 66,000 Airbnbs
The national government is requiring the short-term rental operator to remove thousands of illegal listings from its site as part of an effort to stem a growing housing crisis.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
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.
City of Clovis
City of Moorpark
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions