Planning is only one ingredient of the cocktail that produces new housing, but planning should bear in mind all the other factors influencing the process. Vancouver and Seattle provide case studies and sharp contrasts in housing outcomes.
"When it comes to condominium development, Cascadia’s two largest cities couldn’t be more different," according to an article by Margaret Morales.
"Last year nearly 60 percent of new housing starts in the city of Vancouver, BC [pdf], were condominiums; meanwhile, Seattle saw no new condominium buildings open. And that’s not changing anytime soon: less than 10 percent of all building slated for downtown Seattle in the next three years will be condos," explains Morales.
The question posed by the article is why the cities are building such drastically different additions to their housing stock.
The short answer is economics. In Vancouver, apartments are saddled with an unfavorable tax code, making condos the more lucrative multi-family housing investment even despite high rental demand. In Seattle’s skyrocketing rental market, one that’s climbed even faster than the condo market in recent years, apartment buildings are much more financially attractive, while condos come with bigger risks and, typically, lower returns.
Morales doesn't stop with the short answer, by any means, going into much more detail to examine the differences between the two cities. Thus the article serves as an in-depth examination of the cocktail of variables that influence the housing that comes out on the other side of regulatory schemes and market dynamics.
FULL STORY: WHY SEATTLE BUILDS APARTMENTS, BUT VANCOUVER, BC, BUILDS CONDOS
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
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.