As rents in the Bay Area have skyrocketed, cities are updating and introducing rent control ordinances. They are stoking age-old debates over the macroeconomic value of rent control.

"No fewer than eight Bay Area cities — from urban giants like Oakland and San Jose to small suburbs like Lafayette and Pacifica — have considered brand-new or significantly strengthened rent control policies in the past year. Debates over whether to adopt these policies and what form they should take have divided city councils, pit tenants against landlords, and raised perennial questions about the long-term value of an intervention that is considered extreme by many property rights advocates and counterproductive according to many economists."
By one estimate, the Bay Area added over 440,000 private sector jobs between 2010 and 2014 but fewer than 54,000 housing units. Meanwhile, evictions seem to be on the rise. In July, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the number of monthly evictions in the City of San Francisco, which has rent control, had risen 32 percent over the previous three years' average."
Many ordinances and proposals also restrict evictions to only those that are for “just cause,” so that landlords cannot evict long-term tenants simply to raise the rent on new tenants. In some cases, rent control is governed by an elected rent control board. Cities have struggled, often with nearly violent disputes, to find the right mix of protections for tenants without raising the ire of property owners."
FULL STORY: Rent Control Gains Traction Amid Housing Crisis in Bay Area

The Right to Mobility
As we consider how to decarbonize transportation, preserving mobility, especially for lower- and middle-income people, must be a priority.

America’s Best New Bike Lanes
PeopleForBikes highlights some of the most exciting new bike infrastructure projects completed in 2022.

Early Sharrow Booster: ‘I Was Wrong’
The lane marking was meant to raise awareness and instill shared respect among drivers and cyclists. But their inefficiency has led supporters to denounce sharrows, pushing instead for more robust bike infrastructure that truly protects riders.

L.A. County Towns Clash Over Homelessness Policies
Local governments often come to different conclusions about how to address homelessness within their respective borders, but varying approaches only exacerbate the problem.

A Mixed-Use Vision for Houston Landfill Site
A local nonprofit is urging the city to consider adding mixed-use development to the site, which city officials plan to turn into a stormwater detention facility.

Milwaukee County Makes Substantial Progress on Homelessness
In 2022, the county’s point-in-time count of unhoused people reflected just 18 individuals, the lowest in the country.
Town of Palm Beach
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
York County Government
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Harvard GSD Executive Education
City of Fitchburg, WI
City of Culver City
Sonoma County Transportation Authority
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.