Affordable Housing

Mandatory Housing Affordability Details Released in Seattle
Seattle has released the long-awaited environmental impact statement for the Mandatory Housing Affordability program—a final step in the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda process launched by former Mayor Ed Murray.

GOP Tax Plan Eliminates Critical Infrastructure-Funding Bond Program
The Tax Cut and Jobs Act would have a deleterious effect on major infrastructure proposed by the private sector. The loss of Private Activity Bonds would hike borrowing rates for road, transit, stadium, and even affordable housing projects.

House Tax Reform Bill Would Devastate Affordable Housing
The House tax reform bill threats to drastically reduce the number of affordable housing units developed.

San Diego Inclusionary Zoning Program Makes Headway
San Diego's Affordable Homes Bonus Program (AHBP), launched in mid-2016, increases incentives for projects that incorporate more affordable units. Developers are taking notice.

U.S. Supreme Court Won't Overturn California's Inclusionary Zoning Laws
The U.S. Supreme Court turned down a case with the potential to eradicate inclusionary zoning and in-lieu housing fees in the state of California.

New York's First Citywide, Multi-Partner Community Land Trust
With support from the city and community development groups, Interboro Community Land Trust will focus on creating affordable homeownership opportunities.

Opinion: Even Wealthy Counties Can Make Space for Affordable Housing
Bergen County, New Jersey offers a case study in overcoming decades of illegal and exclusionary zoning practices.

Study Compares Nearly 900 Inclusionary Housing Programs
The largest survey of inclusionary housing to date contrasts the efficacy of policies across the United States.

Minnesota Investing $346 Million in Affordable Housing
A $988 million bonding bill approved by Minnesota state legislators earlier this year is paying off in funding for affordable housing projects around the state.

San Francisco Mayor Calls for Quicker Approvals for New Housing
San Francisco Mayor, Ed Lee, released his directive saying the city should be approving the building or renovating of 5,000 units a year.
South L.A. Housing Project First to Use New 'Transit Oriented Community' Incentives
The city's new guidelines incentivize the development of affordable housing near transit.

'Housing Insights' Mapping Tool Designed to Preserve Subsidized Housing in D.C.
The Housing Insights team of volunteer civic hackers hopes you'll use their software in other cities, too.

As Rents Increase, Atlanta Ponders a Future Like San Francisco's
Rents are spiking in the city of Atlanta—and the roster of big cities struggling to manage the costs of living grows.

California's New 'By-Right' Housing Law: Will it Make a Difference?
A new law could enable affordable housing projects, if they meet the specified criteria, to bypass the public process that so often blocks their approval.

Two Simple Sentences Could Reshape Suburban America
A seemingly innocuous sentence embedded in almost every subdivision ordinance across the United States has disconnected neighborhoods and made cities unwalkable. Two sentences could change that.

California's 15 Housing Bills Won't Do Enough
At a new affordable housing project in a low-income neighborhood of San Francisco, Gov. Brown signed the package Friday that places a $4 billion housing bond on the ballot next year, adds a $75 real estate transaction fee, and streamlines permitting.

L.A.'s New Transit Oriented Communities Guidelines Are a Boost for Affordable Housing
The city of Los Angeles is taking substantive action to provide incentives for affordable housing development.

Proposed Density Causes 'Chaos' at the Newark City Council Hearing
A suite of zoning changes that would increase building heights and density along the Passaic River in Newark, New Jersey, provoked a chaotic council hearing that devolved into shouting and the removal of residents from the council chambers.

Downtown L.A. Sees Vacancies Rise and Homeless Populations Grow
There's plenty of housing available in Downtown L.A. for the wealthy but, while those apartments sit empty, many looking for housing find costs too high to pay.

Sustainable for Whom? Large-Scale Urban Development Projects and 'Environmental Gentrification'
Large, adaptive-reuse projects are all the rage in urban planning today, but absent a fundamentally new approach—with affordability at the center of the process—they are likely to become engines of what's been termed "environmental gentrification."
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