Affordable Housing

Homes

How Housing Fared in 2019

Next City's Jared Brey reviews a year of developments in housing politics and policy, teasing out several big trends.

January 8, 2020 - Next City

City Apartments

Philadelphia Mayor Vetoes Several Development-Related Bills

Among a package of bills that died in the pocket of Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney at the beginning of the New Yer was a bill intended to ensure that developers contribute to communities.

January 7, 2020 - PlanPhilly

Paris Aerial

What California Can Learn from France About Tackling a Housing Crisis

As California continues to grapple with staggering housing issues, France's experience offers lessons about the kinds of housing policies and strategies that work.

January 6, 2020 - San Francisco Chronicle

Seattle

Lowering the Barrier to Make Public Land Available for Affordable Housing

Municipalities can help fill in a crucial piece of the affordable housing puzzle by making public land accessible for development.

December 30, 2019 - Housing Matters

Arizona Suburb

The Flip Side of Single-Family Housing

Much of the debate about housing shortages and rising housing costs focuses on single-family housing as the main culprit. But could it also be part of the solution?

December 30, 2019 - Curbed

Arizona Sprawl

Phoenix, No Longer an Affordable Housing Haven

Fast-rising rents in Phoenix mean housing costs are out of reach for more residents, and the city is no longer considered a place where affordable housing is easy to find.

December 29, 2019 - The Mercury News

Victorian Townhomes

Cost to Repair Philadelphia Homes Is $2.7 Billion, Study Finds

Many homes in Philadelphia are in need of repairs, and low-income renters are most affected by substandard housing.

December 28, 2019 - WHYY

Columbia University Athletics

Judge Tosses Manhattan Rezoning; Developer Tosses Affordable Housing Project

A court decision to toss a signature rezoning plan of the de Blasio administration in New York City had immediate repercussions for a development proposal that would have added hundreds of new affordable housing units.

December 24, 2019 - Crain's New York Business

Los Angeles

Affordable Housing Required for Development on L.A. City Properties

The Los Angeles City Council has approved a rule that residential buildings on city property will have to be 100 percent affordable.

December 19, 2019 - Curbed Los Angeles

Ontario, Canada

Plan for 40,000 New Affordable Homes Approved in Toronto

An ambitious plan to build 40,000 new affordable housing units in the next ten years will require the support of local politicians as well as elected officials at the provincial and federal levels.

December 19, 2019 - The Star

Downtown Oakland

S.F. Bay Area Cooperative Offers New Affordable Housing Model

A California cooperative brings together investors to make homeownership more accessible and finance housing projects that help to slow gentrification.

December 18, 2019 - Next City

Eminent Domain Sparks Protest in Atlanta

Atlanta's worsening housing affordability set the stage for a controversy over the city's use of eminent domain to build a new park and stormwater retention facility.

December 17, 2019 - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Homeless Cars

The Homeless Working Poor

The Salinas Valley in California is an agricultural powerhouse, but homelessness and hunger abound. Finding affordable housing is becoming increasingly difficult, even for people with jobs.

December 16, 2019 - The California Sunday Magazine

Berkeley Hills Bay Area

Navigating California's Housing Insanity

One person’s return to the San Francisco Bay Area meant facing the dystopian realities of the rental market.

December 16, 2019 - Harper's Magazine

North Carolina State Capital

New Mayor in Raleigh Calls for an Affordable Housing 'Moon Shot'

There's a necessity for Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin's affordable housing ambition: average rents are rising faster than the national average in the North Carolina city.

December 15, 2019 - The Raleigh News & Observer

Duluth

Duluth to Provide Free Land for Creative Housing Proposals

To address its housing shortage, the city of Duluth is giving away free parcels of land to developers with viable proposals for low-cost housing.

December 13, 2019 - Next City

Los Angeles Architects

L.A. Architects Demonstrate Livable, Affordable, Scalable Density

Architects Angela Brooks and Lawrence Scarpa discuss their new exhibit and the challenges to planning and building affordable, livable density in Southern California today.

December 12, 2019 - The Planning Report

Hartford, Connecticut

Low-Income Housing Tax Credits: 'Erecting Pockets of Poverty'

The state of Connecticut deploys almost all of its federal housing funding in impoverished communities, according to this bombshell investigatory report.

December 11, 2019 - ProPublica

Housing Construction

'HousingTO' Action Plan Calls for 40,000 Affordable Units in Ten Years

Questions about how Toronto will fund Mayor John Tory's ambitious affordable housing plan will be answered by the provincial and national governments.

December 11, 2019 - The Star

Chicago, Illinois

Introducing the National Public Housing Museum

The planned National Public Housing Museum, expected to open in 2021, will draw attention to a highly contested subject and connect to the relevance provided by contemporary anxieties about housing.

December 5, 2019 - CityLab

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.