The foreclosure crisis and the Great Recession have paved the way for a steady decline in homeownership. Many cities will never be the same.
Patrick Clark reports: "Fifty-two of the 100 largest U.S. cities were majority-renter in 2015, according to U.S. Census Bureau data compiled for Bloomberg by real estate brokerage Redfin."
The data show the culmination of a decade of declining homeownership rates," as the foreclosure crisis turned millions of owners into renters and tight housing markets made it hard for renters to buy homes."
According to Clark, 20 of the cities now populated by a renter majority switched from a homeowner majority since 2009.
Homeownership did pick up in the second half of 2016, according to Census data, but Clark cites a 2015 report from the Urban Institute that predicts rentership will continue to rise until 2030 [pdf].
Clark concludes the article by noting the unique challenges that will face cities with majority renter populations.
Read the full story: Renters Now Rule Half of U.S. Cities
When Wall Street Controls the Housing Market
A debate about the effect of the increasing footprint of large, institutional investors in the housing market is further fragmenting the politics of development in the United States.
How California Plans to Slow the Corporate Takeover of the Residential Market
The state of California is trying to prevent a repeat of one of the most significant consequences of the Great Recession: large Wall Street interests buying for-sale housing in bulk for conversion to apartments.
Landlords Offering New Concessions to Renters
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
Record-breaking wildlife overpass in Colorado brings 91% reduction in animal collisions
Prior to the overpass, vehicles were hitting one deer per day on Colorado’s Interstate 25.
Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment
Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.
‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan
Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.
Trump wants to cancel nearly 98% of funding for HUD housing support program
Multiple housing groups are suing the administration in an effort to preserve the funding.
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 Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello