Affordable Housing

Apartment Building

Minneapolis Mayor Pushing to Fund a Slew of Programs to Make Housing More Affordable

Mayor Jacob Frey wants $40 million of the city’s budget to fund programs related to housing affordability.

September 11, 2018 - MinnPost

Construction

Year One of L.A.'s 'Transit Oriented Communities Affordable Housing Incentives Program'

After one year in action, the Transit Oriented Communities Affordable Housing Incentives Program has enabled a rare feat in Los Angeles: new development.

September 10, 2018 - Urbanize LA

Resilient Home

Post-Hurricane Affordable Housing in the Florida Keys

A land trust is providing much-needed affordable housing relief after last year’s Hurricane Irma.

September 9, 2018 - Next City

Pearl District

Parsing a Portland Rent Check to See Where the Money Goes

A deep dive into what a Portland rent check pays for sheds light on strategies to help lower rising rents.

September 9, 2018 - Sightline Institute

Transit Oriented Development

Transit-Area Tax Increment Financing Bill on Gov. Jerry Brown's Desk

Transit, affordable housing, TODs, active transportation and local governments should all come out ahead should Brown sign SB 961. The bill follows in the path of earlier legislation that created enhanced infrastructure finance districts.

September 7, 2018 - Move LA

Scaffolding

In the Midst of a Housing Crisis, Soaring Costs Leave San Francisco Projects at a Standstill

San Francisco desperately needs more housing, but many projects sit unfinished as developers face cost challenges.

September 6, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

Georgia

Inclusionary Zoning Could Spread to Atlanta's Suburbs

Brookhaven, Georgia is rewriting its citywide zoning code, including density bonuses and mandatory inclusionary zoning in one of the new code's overlays.

September 5, 2018 - Reporter Newspapers

Single-Family Housing Construction

Will Innovative Financing Solve California's Housing Shortage?

Are housing and housing finance two separate problems? California Assemblymember David Chiu and others in housing discuss how available finance tools could be employed to expand the capital pool for affordable housing projects.

August 31, 2018 - The Planning Report

Rural Studio’s 20K Homes and the Complexities of Affordable Housing

A research program at Auburn University in Alabama seeks to go national, but experience from the program’s evolution means a cautious move forward.

August 28, 2018 - Dwell

Mural

Working to Include Equity Along the Atlanta BeltLine

The tax allocation district set up to capture development value created by the Atlanta BeltLine has fallen short of its intended goals for creating and preserving affordable housing.

August 23, 2018 - NextCity

Columbia University Athletics

Rezoning Enhances the Changes Already Coming to Manhattan's Northern End

The New York City Council this month approved a rezoning plan for the neighborhood of Inwood, located at the northern tip of Manhattan.

August 23, 2018 - Crain's New York Business

A Program to Convert Vacant Properties Into Affordable Housing

Rochester, New York is launching the new Neighbors for Neighbors program.

August 22, 2018 - WHEC

Downtown Honolulu as seen from the top of Diamond Head

Affordable Micro-Housing on the Rise in Honolulu

In a first for the island state, a partnership effort has initiated the construction of affordable units in Honolulu averaging 300 square feet apiece.

August 21, 2018 - Hawaii News Now

Philadelphia Ben Franklin Bridge

In Limbo: Philadelphia's Construction Tax for Affordable Housing

It's been radio silence from Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney since the City Council approved a dedicated stream of funding for affordable housing.

August 14, 2018 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Peninsula

New Linkage Fee Approved in South San Francisco

The city of South San Francisco recently approved a linkage fee for commercial developments, following the lead of a few other cities that have decided on linkage fees as a similar mechanism to fund affordable housing.

August 14, 2018 - The Daily Journal

Commons Park, Denver

Denver to Raise Sales Tax on Marijuana to Double Funds for Affordable Housing

As Denver continues to grow, the cost of housing in the city remains high for many. In response, the city plans to build 6,000 affordable units over the next five years.

August 13, 2018 - Colorado Springs Gazette

One World Trade Center

Lack of Affordable Housing Could Stunt New York's Economic Growth

Concern about the city's supply of affordable housing is one of the key messages from the recent "geography of Jobs" report published by the New York Department of City Planning.

August 9, 2018 - The Real Deal

MBTA Green Line

Massachusetts Could Be Next to Tax Short-Term Rentals

Legislation on the verge of approval in Massachusetts would enact a linkage fee, in effect, that would generate revenue for funding affordable housing.

August 8, 2018 - Governing

Skyline

NYC Planning Director Marissa Lago Touts Regional Planning

Marisa Lago pens in an opinion piece supporting a regional approach to planning, timed for the release of a new "Geography of Jobs" report.

August 6, 2018 - Medium

Maryland

Montgomery County, Maryland Updates Inclusionary Housing Requirements

New rules will require more affordable housing in affluent areas, but also allow more exceptions.

August 2, 2018 - Bethesda 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.

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.