Affordable Housing

View of street in Pasadena, California with church at left and city hall in background

‘Yes in God’s Backyard’ Movement Wins in Pasadena

Houses of worship in the California city will be allowed to build housing on their properties in an effort to alleviate the city’s housing shortage.

September 28, 2022 - The Real Deal

Building Heights and Step-Backs

When Taller Buildings Don’t Mean More Density

Some New York City developers are building low-density luxury high-rises that, in some cases, have fewer units than the buildings they replaced.

September 27, 2022 - The New York Times

Housing construction in Austin, Texas

The Uphill Battle to Build Housing in Austin

NIMBYism in one of the country’s fastest-growing cities contributes to a severe housing shortage and soaring housing costs.

September 26, 2022 - Texas Monthly

Floodwaters and damaged road in Yellowstone National Park

How the Yellowstone Floods Laid Bare a Housing Crisis

This year’s historic floods ravaged communities already roiled by spiking housing costs and a shortage of available workforce housing near the nation’s oldest national park.

September 23, 2022 - High Country News

An image of St. Paul, Minnesota and the Mississippi River at nightfall.

St. Paul Revises Rent Stabilization Ordinance

The city is pulling back on some provisions in the rent stabilization ordinance passed by voters last fall.

September 20, 2022 - MinnPost

View of New York City street with yellow cabs and purple and red brick apartment buildings in background

New York Hotels to Housing Program at a Standstill

The much-vaunted pledge to turn vacant hotel rooms into supportive housing units has failed to materialize as hoteliers see tourism rebound and developers find regulations too onerous and expensive.

September 20, 2022 - Politico

Miami

Miami-Dade Moves to Make Zoning Changes to Boost Housing Supply

The county hopes proposals to legalize accessory rental units and encourage transit-oriented development will mitigate the region’s housing crisis.

September 15, 2022 - WLRN

Aerial view of homes with downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin in background

Milwaukee Selects Developers to Rehab Vacant Homes

A record 66 developers applied to refurbish 150 vacant, city-owned homes.

September 14, 2022 - Urban Milwaukee

Encampment of unhoused people with tents and draped fabrics in Austin, Texas

Unhoused Austin Population Spikes Under Reinstated Camping Ban

The Texas capital is struggling to house its unsheltered residents even as the city commits more resources to building and acquiring more affordable housing units.

September 12, 2022 - Next City

Homeless encampment on overpass in downtown Los Angeles with police car in foreground

The ‘Meanest Cities’ in America

A list dubbed the ‘Dirty Dozen’ shames the cities where unhoused people face the most harassment and least support from authorities.

September 12, 2022 - National Coalition for the Homeless

Dense, run-down apartment buildings in New York City

Can We Prevent Slumlords From Buying More Buildings?

Why should owners of buildings in illegally poor repair be able to buy more rentals? As Washington, D.C. found, it can be a difficult thing to prevent.

September 11, 2022 - Shelterforce Magazine

Gray houses under construction

How to Retrofit the Housing Economy

Are policy changes enough to address the housing problems we face?

September 9, 2022 - Shelterforce Magazine

The Ambassador Hotel in San Francisco, California

Evictions on the Rise Among San Francisco Supportive Housing Residents

With COVID-19 assistance programs expiring, tenants of the city’s single-room occupancy hotels face growing eviction rates. Many of them have nowhere to go but back on the street.

September 8, 2022 - San Francisco Chronicle

View of downtown Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte Approves Protections for Housing Voucher Recipients

The city became the first in North Carolina to enact fines for landlords who fail to rent to recipients of federal housing vouchers.

August 25, 2022 - Governing

Single-family house with two-car garage under construction

Opinion: To Boost Economic Development, Build Housing

Rather than providing incentives to lure employers to their cities, local leaders should focus on supporting enough affordable workforce housing to accommodate new and existing residents.

August 23, 2022 - The Philadelphia Citizen

Manhattan, New York City, New York

Breaking NYC’s Housing Speculation Cycle

When wealthy investors treat homes like poker chips, it is the tenants who end up losing. How do we interrupt the vicious cycle of speculation and displacement?

August 23, 2022 - Shelterforce Magazine

Row of manufactured homes on an asphalt street

Protecting America’s Manufactured Housing

Governments at all levels are finally waking up to the benefits of protecting and encouraging the production of factory-built homes, which offer an affordable, efficient form of housing that many Americans depend on.

August 17, 2022 - Governing

View of Saratoga Lake from shore

This Manufactured Home Park Will Soon Be Boat Storage, But One Resident Stays To Fight

Angela Kaufman purchased what she thought would be her longtime home in a mobile home community. Less than a year after she moved, the park was sold and residents were told they had to go.

August 16, 2022 - Shelterforce Magazine

Washington D.C. Row Houses

Three-Quarters of D.C. Housing Vouchers Go Unused

Hindered by bureaucratic delays and a tight housing market, voucher recipients in the District have a hard time finding available units.

August 14, 2022 - The Washington Post

An aerial view of Los Angeles at dawn, with Westlake and MacArthur Park in the foreground and Downtown Los Angeles in the background.

Did L.A.’s Supportive Housing Bond Fail?

Six years after Prop HHH was passed, the fund appears to be delivering on its housing construction goals in the 10-year timeline. But the measure is being routinely criticized on all sides.

August 11, 2022 - Shelterforce Magazine

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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