The city of Cambridge has until April to decide on a proposed policy that would greatly expand the number of affordable units required in new development projects.
"Next week, the Cambridge City Council will hold a public hearing on a plan to nearly double the amount of affordable units included in new housing projects," according to an editorial by the Boston Globe. "The proposal would require developers to set aside 20 percent of units at affordable rents — $1,766 a month for a family of three that earns about $70,000 a year, for example. The current requirement is 11.5 percent of units."
Setting the stage for the political fight the new policy is expected to bring, the editorial also summarizes the arguments made on each side of the issue.
For more coverage on the process that brought Cambridge to this point, see also an article by Tim Logan from April 2016. Tim Logan also reported in December 2015, when the nearby city of Boston raised its affordable housing fees.
Read the full story: A move to bring more affordable housing turns into a fight
Philadelphia's New Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance Hangs Up in Committee
Philadelphia's controversial "Mixed-Income Housing Program" legislation has run into stiff resistance from developers and builders.
How Cambridge Restored its Public Housing
In Cambridge, Massachusetts, residents speak positively of the renovations to their public housing stock. The housing authority attributes its success to an innovative mix of RAD with other funding sources.
Pittsburgh Lawsuit Threatens Affordable Housing Requirement
A suit brought by a developers’ group calls the cost burden of the city’s inclusionary zoning law ‘unconstitutional.’
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.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
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