When it comes to housing construction, the best intentions of regulators aren't always enough to sway the market.
"Few developers are taking advantage of new Ontario rules that allow for taller wood-frame buildings," reports Luke Simcoe. "The reason? They can’t find the right wood."
A new development called Heartwood the Beach in Toronto will be the first project to take advantage of regulations implemented in January 2015 that "allow for six-storey wood buildings instead of the previous four storeys." The rules were intended to introduce new forms to the city's skyline and lower the cost of building mid-rise residential stock.
The specialty lumber required to build at these new heights, however, has made it difficult for developers to realize those cost savings.
FULL STORY: Wood construction still lagging in Toronto, despite rule change
Toronto's New Building Code Adds Height for Wood-Framed Buildings
The beginning of 2015 saw changes to Toronto's building code that will allow wood construction up to six stories. Supporters of the code change see multiple potential benefits from the code change.
Nation's Tallest Wood Building Coming Soon to Portland
Portland, Oregon lives up to its reputation as a testing ground for urbanism innovation by approving what will become the nation's tallest wood framed building.
Building Material of the Future: Wood
A proposed development in in the North Loop section of Minneapolis would be the first of its kind. According to the architect behind the design, the "T3" project, as its known, could be a harbinger of buildings to come.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association