Affordable Housing

Glendale, California

How the Iconic Dingbat Took Over Los Angeles

The low-slung, car-oriented apartment buildings represent a mid-century solution to a housing shortage and offer valuable lessons for new development.

September 28, 2021 - Bloomberg CityLab

Harvey Floods Houston

NPR: HUD Sells Flood-Prone Homes Without Disclosing Risks

The troubling trend is particularly pronounced in lower-income communities, where experts worry households are being inadvertently set up for big financial losses.

September 28, 2021 - NPR

HOLC map from 1937

New Research Reexamines HOLC's Role in Redlining

New Deal agencies did engage in discriminatory lending practices–but not quite in the way we think.

September 28, 2021 - Governing

San Francisco Housing

Poll: Housing and Homelessness Most Pressing Concerns for Urban Residents

Results show rising housing costs and housing insecurity have become top issues for residents of major cities across the country.

September 23, 2021 - Vox

Cabrini-Green facade

Candyman's Real Horror: American Public Housing Policy

The new film, set in one of America's most notorious public housing projects, highlights the failure of affordable housing policy and its impact on Black communities.

September 19, 2021 - Bloomberg CityLab

San Francisco Apartments

California Won't Extend Eviction Moratorium

State lawmakers did not extend the state's eviction ban, which ends on September 30, putting the future of hundreds of thousands of households in jeopardy.

September 16, 2021 - CALmatters

Banc of California Stadium

Sports Stadiums as a Battleground for Affordable Housing

Thanks to new enforcement powers, California's Department of Housing and Community Development can now cite cities for failing to meet affordable housing requirements in stadium redevelopment projects.

September 13, 2021 - CALmatters

Rendering of 8850 Sunset Blvd

Splashy New Project Proposed for Iconic Sunset Strip Location

The development on West Hollywood's Sunset Strip would incorporate a new version of the iconic Viper Room music venue, along with a hotel, condos, and retail.

September 13, 2021 - Urbanize Los Angeles

Coachella Valley

A Stark Picture of the Climate Gap in the Coachella Valley

In the low desert of Southern California, dwindling water supplies and a lack of infrastructure funding pose major challenges for working-class communities struggling to survive.

September 12, 2021 - ProPublica

A Black LIves Matter Protest, with a protestor holding up a sign that reads "Open Your Eyes: Systemic Racism Is Real"

Plan Would Add Thousands of New Black, Latino Homeowners in Milwaukee

A new plan to add 18,000 affordable housing units in Milwaukee is the latest in a string of efforts by the city to ensure housing affordability to all income levels and address the racial homeownership gap in the city.

September 10, 2021 - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

St. Paul Minnesota

St. Paul Voters Could Pass the Nation's Strictest Rent Stabilization Ordinance

The extremely strict proposal would eliminate sharp rent increases, but could stifle housing construction and worsen the city's housing crisis.

September 10, 2021 - Minneapolis Post

For Rent

The Pandemic Effect: Landlord Edition

A new survey highlights the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on small landlords, who provide much of the nation's low-cost rental housing.

September 9, 2021 - Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University

Trailer Parks

Mobile Home Parks Becoming Unaffordable as Investors Buy Up Properties

Longtime residents of mobile home parks are seeing their land rents go up as corporate investors seek to increase profits, aided in part by federally-backed loans.

September 8, 2021 - NPR

The historic Pearl District in San Antonio is pictured on a beautiful dat.

$250 Million Affordable Housing Ballot Headed to the Ballot in San Antonio

For the first time in the city's history, a housing bond will appear on a citywide ballot in San Antonio.

September 8, 2021 - San Antonio Heron

New Orleans

Post-Katrina Programs a Blueprint for Housing the Working Class

The housing initiatives developed after Hurricane Katrina teach valuable lessons for post-pandemic affordable housing production.

September 7, 2021 - NOLA.com

Saint Paul Minnesota

How to Abolish Parking Minimums: Lessons from the Twin Cities

Cities around the country are eliminating parking minimums in an effort to reduce the costs of housing construction and encourage car-free living.

September 7, 2021 - Streetsblog USA

Road Diet

To Build More Affordable Housing, Start With Narrower Streets

New research shows that reducing wasteful use of street space and eliminating overly wide streets would increase opportunities for housing development and higher density.

September 1, 2021 - Route Fifty

Homes

The Limits of Citywide Upzoning

A study shows zoning reform isn't a silver bullet for the housing crisis. In some low-income and BIPOC neighborhoods, it could 'cause more harm than good.'

September 1, 2021 - Next City

Washington D.C. - The White House

White House Announces Plans for 100,000 Affordable Homes

The Biden administration has proposed a suite of policy and funding programs designed to create and protect 100,000 affordable housing units. If successful, the program will still fall well short of the need.

September 1, 2021 - James Brasuell

New York City Public Housing Project

What is Public Housing?

Born out of the progressive ideals of the New Deal and a desire to improve the standard of living in poor urban neighborhoods, American public housing has taken several forms as political opinion about subsidized housing shifts.

August 30, 2021 - Diana Ionescu

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.