Affordable Housing

Housing Lottery Attests to D.C. Area's Affordability Crisis

Applicants began lining up before dawn for a chance to land one of 122 affordable apartments being built in Arlington, VA. More than 3,600 people have applied in total, surprising the developers and pointing to the area's increasing unaffordability.

September 10, 2013 - The Washington Post

Does NYC Mayoral Front-Runner's Friendliness to Developers Betray His Message?

As New Yorkers prepare to vote in tomorrow's mayoral primaries, Democrat Bill de Blasio's "tale of two cities" critique of the Bloomberg years has resonated with voters. But when it comes to land use, do his policies promise more of the same?

September 9, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

This image displays six different types of parking typologies

How Parking Rules Raise Rents

Alan Durning details the negative effects that parking requirements have on housing affordability.

September 4, 2013 - Sightline Institute

An image of Transit Oriented Development in Saltillo Lofts, Austin, Texas

Retaining Affordable Housing Near Transit Just Got Easier

Changes to the criteria for evaluating applications for the federal New Starts program could have a significant impact on efforts to preserve and expand affordable housing in close proximity to transit.

August 31, 2013 - Rooflines

'High-End' Berkeley Micro-Apartment Proposal Receives Chilly Reception

A five-story, 60 ft. building proposal in Berkeley, Calif. that would house 70 'high end' micro-apartments ranging from 307 to 344 sq. ft. was presented to the city's Zoning Adjustment Board, but commissioners and neighbors were not impressed.

August 29, 2013 - Berkeleyside

Chicago Program a Model for Preserving Affordable Housing and Cutting Pollution

A Chicago-based community development financial institution (CDFI) and efficiency group help apartment building owners tame high utility costs, preserve affordable housing, and cut global warming emissions.

August 23, 2013 - WBEZ FM Chicago

Program to Encourage Affordable Housing in NYC Only Producing Poor Results

A new report by the office of City Councilman Brad Lander finds that New York's voluntary inclusionary housing program is failing to entice developers in large numbers, producing only 2,700 permanently affordable units over the past 8 years.

August 17, 2013 - The New York Times

CA Redevelopment Bill: Communist Land Grab or Catalyst for Affordable Housing?

Amid political demagoguery, a bill to help spur infill redevelopment and the creation of affordable housing in California, following the dismantling the state's redevelopment agencies, is advancing through the California legislature.

August 16, 2013 - Frying Pan News

San Francisco Density

Do You Make Enough to Live Where You Work?

What if the people who keep a city running -- including urban planners -- can't afford to live there? An updated database highlights the gap between incomes and housing costs in hundreds of U.S. cities.

August 16, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Willow Bend

Striving for Attainable Infill Housing in Arkansas

Willow Bend is a new, nonprofit development planned for an ecologically rich, 7.6-acre infill site in the Walker Park neighborhood of Fayetteville, Arkansas. The project is envisioned as a replicable model of sustainable and attainable housing.

August 9, 2013 - Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built + Natural Environments

Obama Announces Housing Market Reforms, But for Some He Missed the Mark

In a speech yesterday, President Obama announced his long-awaited proposals for reforming America's housing and mortgage markets in the aftermath of the Great Recession. Observers criticized his mixed message on renting and homeownership.

August 7, 2013 - The New York Times

Cottage Living Shows the Enduring Attraction of Simplicity

In a world of seemingly infinite variety and excess, simplicity engenders great affection. Hazel Borys offers this query on the subject of cottage living: How is it that less adds up to so much more?

July 30, 2013 - PlaceShakers

America's Most Effective Urban Revitalization Incentives Under Threat

The low-income housing and new-markets tax credits are two of the most effective tools for stimulating affordable housing creation and the revitalization of low-income neighborhoods. Don't let them fall victim to tax reform, argues Michael Rubinger.

July 16, 2013 - The New York Times

A New Way to Diffuse NIMBYism?

A controversial affordable housing project proposed for Somerville, Mass. diffused community opposition by coordinating with the for-profit developer of an adjacent parcel. Could the partnership provide a template for moderating NIMBYism?

July 10, 2013 - Rooflines

How the Centerpiece of D.C.'s Affordable Housing Efforts Became a Catastrophe

In an in-depth article, Robert Samuels examines the "oversights, missteps and missed opportunities" that have turned the New Communities Initiative - imagined as "the centerpiece of the District’s affordable-housing efforts" - into a train wreck.

July 9, 2013 - The Washington Post

What's Being Done to Keep D.C. Affordable?

Across the D.C. metro area, the supply of market-affordable apartments has dropped dramatically over the past decade as the region's economy has boomed. Nonprofit groups and local governments are working to improve affordability.

July 8, 2013 - The Washington Post

America's Unequal Housing Recovery

Home prices are rising throughout the U.S., signaling a sustained recovery of the housing market. But declining homeownership rates and record levels of burdensome housing costs point to a recovery that's only benefiting some Americans.

June 27, 2013 - Housing Perspectives

UK Infrastructure Modernization Plan to Fund Roads, Schools, Affordable Homes

A multifaceted £100 billion infrastructure modernization plan for the UK was announced this week by Treasury Minister Danny Alexander. The opposition Labour party is objecting to the timeline for the investments, which aren't due to start until 2015.

June 27, 2013 - BBC News

Can Mobile Homes Help Solve America's Affordability Crisis?

Homeownership is slipping out of reach for many Americans, caused largely by the lack of affordable housing inventory. There is a solution to the inventory shortage that many buyers, advocates and policymakers are overlooking: Manufactured Housing.

June 27, 2013 - Rooflines

Sequester Cuts Menace New York's Most Vulnerable Residents

A looming $205 million budget shortfall due to sequester-related federal funding cuts have the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) preparing to make drastic cuts to staff and programs.

June 13, 2013 - Crain's New York Business

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.

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Transportation Planner I

KFH Group Inc.

Director, Strategy and Research

Greater Baltimore Committee

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