Housing
An inheritance tax benefit, along with Proposition 13, has resulted in lower tax rates passing down through generations and billions of dollars in lost tax revenue.
Los Angeles Times
Steven Vance argues that the city is missing an opportunity to zone for and create housing in and around the new Damen Green Line stop.
Streetsblog Chicago
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) has introduced legislation that would tie federal funding to pro-development policies at the local level.
The American Prospect
Trump’s tariffs on steel and other building materials are driving up building costs slowing development and pushing up rents.
The Boston Globe
San Diego was identified for its failure to enact a Section 8 housing discrimination ordinance in a recent American Bar Association article. Poverty law attorney Parisa Ijadi-Maghsoodi explains the situation.
UrbDeZine
A new service targeted at seniors buys homes, but lets the previous owner stay.
Slate
Contract-for-deed mortgages, which don't give home buyers ownership of a home until they pay off the entire loan, are legal, but a lawsuit alleges the ones made by Harbour Portfolio Advisors violated the Fair Housing Act.
The Atlantic
Coach houses could provide affordable housing and revenue for home owners if they were more widely permitted in the city.
Chicago Cityscape
The Balboa Reservoir is the perfect spot for housing in San Francisco, Nicole Lindler argues, and the notion that it should remain a surface parking lot shows badly disordered priorities.
San Francisco Chronicle
Kate Wagner argues that moral arguments about what kind of architecture is fitting, can stand in the way of good planning.
Common Edge
Though a handful of recent articles predicted "peak Silicon Valley," new numbers show the region is still producing lots of good jobs and attracting plenty of venture capital.
Bloomberg View
We asked more than a dozen urban experts: How will cities gain or lose from the competition to host Amazon's second North American headquarters?
Penn IUR Urban Link
Fort Lawton, an affordable housing proposal including over 200 units, got a warm reception at a meeting in Seattle.
The Stranger
The median home value in Marin County is well over a million dollars, thanks in part to the county and its residents keeping low income housing and development out.
Los Angeles Times
Blog post
One common argument against new housing (especially in Manhattan) is that the city is "overcrowded."
Amazon isn't the only tech giant building a second headquarters. Google's new offices could change the way companies interact with cities for the better, if they want to.
CityLab
Blog post
Rejecting the common argument that cities can never be affordable because of high construction costs.
The Inland Empire's housing boom and economic growth are attracting plenty of new residents—especially millennials.
The Planning Report
Vincent Reina, Penn IUR Faculty Fellow, writes about the current state of U.S. housing policy.
Penn IUR Urban Link
Transit can be a vital resource for the homeless. In Los Angeles, where that population is growing, this is doubly true.
Curbed Los Angeles
