Affordable Housing

Austin Texas

Austin Won't Commit to Parking Reductions for Affordable Housing Project

The developer of a proposed affordable housing argues that minimum parking requirements will reduce the number of units or pass costs to tenants, Austin regulators expressed are worried about local parking supplies and access to public transit.

July 18, 2021 - Austin Monitor

Affordable housing

What Will Cambridge's New Affordable Housing Overlay Do?

The policy is aimed at reducing the cost of building affordable housing and helping affordable housing developers to better compete on property acquisitions.

July 18, 2021 - Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University

New York City Air Conditioners

New York Lags Behind California in Converting Hotels to Affordable Housing

While the Golden State has awarded $800 million in funds for 'Project Roomkey,' a bill passed by the New York State Senate languishes in the governor's office.

July 16, 2021 - Bloomberg CityLab

Homeless encampments on the Venice Beach Ocean Front Walk.

Locals Vehemently Oppose Venice Beach Homeless Housing

The controversies about homelessness in what was once a beach community full of hippies and surfers has boiled over in response to a large proposed development of supportive housing on a surface parking lot owned by the city.

July 14, 2021 - Curbed

Empty Parking Garage

Converting Unused Parking Garages to Affordable Housing

As garage operators find their businesses increasingly unsustainable, some are looking to affordable housing as the logical next incarnation of their buildings.

July 14, 2021 - Smart Cities Dive

Underground Parking

Denver Reduces Parking Requirements for Affordable Housing

The zoning change will significantly reduce the cost of building affordable housing developments.

July 13, 2021 - 5280

Suburban Home

The Link Between COVID-19 Deaths and Overcrowded Housing

Overcrowding and housing insecurity among Black and Brown communities led to disproportionately high COVID-19 fatalities, research shows.

July 8, 2021 - Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research

Apartment renter

Innovative Project Aims for Affordable Home Ownership

The Brackett Knoll subdivision is wrapping up construction in Hartford, Connecticut, offering duplexes for sale at reduced rates with built in rental income included.

July 7, 2021 - Hartford Courant

Robert Weaver Building

HUD Secretary: Administration Must Restore Depleted Staff

To take on President Biden's ambitious housing goals, the agency needs to restore the staff lost during the Trump era.

July 2, 2021 - New York Times

Richmond Bridge

Water, Affordable Housing on a Collision Course in California

Marin County, the wealthy county in the North Bay Area with a history of exclusionary land use and transportation practices, is using the shortage of water to justify blocking the development of an affordable housing project.

June 30, 2021 - Bloomberg Law

Central Los Angeles

Op-Ed: Los Angeles Needs a Countywide Affordable Housing Agency

A bill in the California state legislature would create an agency dedicated to coordinating the production and preservation of affordable housing across the county's 88 cities.

June 29, 2021 - Los Angeles Times

Germany

Five of Europe's Most Interesting Urbanism Trends

Cities around the continent are taking steps to reimagine transportation, housing, and energy use with intriguing projects that could provide useful lessons for American cities.

June 25, 2021 - Volts

Metrorail Station Area

Amazon Financing Affordable Transit-Oriented Housing Near its New Headquarters

The company announced a $125 million investment in housing near Metro stations in northern Virginia, where the promise of jobs at its new Arlington headquarters sparked rising demand for housing.

June 23, 2021 - Greater Greater Washington

The Gulch development

Now Nashville Plans to Tackle its Housing Affordability Challenges

A new report by the Metro Nashville Affordable Housing Task Force marshals local resources and advocates for coordination with the state and federal government to address the loss of affordable housing in Nashville.

June 17, 2021 - Tennessean

Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Redding, California at night

Leveraging Church Properties to Build Affordable Housing

As owners of valuable urban real estate, some churches are taking up the mandate to serve their community by using their vacant properties to provide housing for people being priced out of their homes.

June 16, 2021 - Reasons to Be Cheerful

House

Are We in a Housing Bubble?

As the pandemic shifts housing priorities and costs continue to soar, experts assess the potential for a crash similar to 2008's Great Recession.

June 16, 2021 - Vox

Motel 6 hotel room in Braintree, Massachusetts in 2015

Oregon's Version of Project Roomkey Offers Housing to Those Who Lost Homes to Wildfires

The program funds the purchase of hotels for housing people experiencing homelessness as housing costs in the state continue to rise.

June 15, 2021 - High Country News

Venice Beach, Los Angeles

Supportive Housing Bridging Venice Canals Granted Planning Commission Approval in L.A.

The mixed-use Reese Davidson Community will include 140 housing units, commercial space, and a performance space.

June 11, 2021 - The Architect's Newspaper

Central Los Angeles

L.A. Planners Working to Shift Affordable Housing Distribution for More Equitable Results

Almost all the affordable housing development in L.A. in the past decade has occurred in majority-minority neighborhoods. The L.A. Department of City Planning is looking for ways to make sure high-income areas do more of their fair share.

June 9, 2021 - Urbanize LA

Vancouver Skyline

How the 'Financialization of Housing' is Physically Changing Cities

The increasing investment value of real estate has led to tangible changes in the way buildings are designed and function, one author argues.

June 7, 2021 - Fast Company

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.