Housing Crisis

Pasadena Being Held to its Regional Housing Needs Assessment
The city of Pasadena, known for innovative planning approaches to parking and transit-oriented development, is in a pitched battle with regional authorities over how much housing to build in the coming decade.

A Housing and Eviction Crisis Still Hangs Over the U.S., Just Like the Pandemic
Checking in with the numerous risks in the housing market as the economic fallout of the pandemic as approaches it approaches its second year.

The Inclusionary Zoning Debate
New York City's groundbreaking Mandatory Inclusionary Housing Program will turn five years old in March. While some call for the program to be eliminated, others defend it.

First Wave of Affordable Housing Bonds Ratified in Atlanta
A down payment on a $100 million investment in affordable housing is moving forward in Atlanta.

Coping With Rent Burden
The rent eats first, they say. But how do people survive when the rent also eats almost everything?

'State of the Nation's Housing 2020' Report Traces Impact of COVID-19
The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies releases its "The State of the Nation’s Housing 2020" report last month.

Citywide Zoning Reform Approved in Everett
Few cities are accomplishing such a swift and sweeping overhaul of its land use regulations as Everett, Washington, which just wrapped up its second major planning initiative in as many years on its way to launching a third.

How 2020 Changed the Rental Market
A new report by RentCafé reveals the extent of the pandemic's influence on the rental market—so far.

Statewide Zoning Changes Adopted in Oregon to Limit Parking, Add Missing Middle
The state of Oregon made planning history in 2019 by adopting House Bill 2001, paving the way for the state to preempt local exclusionary zoning laws. Now, over a year later, the state land use board has decided how to implement that goal.

New Market-Rate Housing Lowers Rents for Everyone, According to New Research
A study published by a German researcher adds ammunition to the cause of improving housing affordability by legalizing and building new supply.

Sweeping Zoning Reforms Adopted in Olympia
The Olympia, Washington City Council adopted a new Housing Options Code Amendments ordinance, effectively eliminating single-family zoning in the city.

Nine Months Later: How the Pandemic Is Changing Communities
Planetizen shares the latest in a series of compendia tackling the effects of the pandemic, now and in the future, for cities and communities.

Atlanta to Tackle Affordability by Zoning Reform
A new initiative designed to implement the goals of the One Atlanta Housing Affordability Action Plan was announced last week in Atlanta.

Evictions Caused 433,700 Excess Covid Infections, 10,700 Deaths, Study Says
A new study connects evictions to the spread of the coronavirus. Evictions continued in huge numbers during the pandemic despite a patchwork of eviction protections at multiple layers of government.

On Rent Control and a Green New Deal, Portland, Maine Voters Go Where Others Don't Dare
Rent control was dealt another high-profile setback in California, and the Green New Deal is a hot button issue stuck in limbo in Congress. Both efforts got the go-ahead from voters in Portland, Maine in November.

Vancouver Again Raises its Empty Homes Tax
The Vancouver Empty Homes Tax will soon be three times as high as it was when adopted in 2017.

Searching for a Path to Legalized Rooming Houses
Toronto could legalize rooming houses, also known as multi-tenant or lodging houses, in an effort to bring the city's many unpermitted examples of this low-income affordable housing type up to humane standards of health and safety.

National Rent Debt Projected to Reach $7.2 Billion by the End of 2020
The weight of the pandemic is hanging around millions of renters' necks.

Massachusetts Showed States How to Create an Eviction Ban. Now It’s Backpedaling
The Massachusetts eviction moratorium—one of the strongest in the nation—expired, just in time for winter. How did this happen?

Lessons From Rent Control's Latest Election Rejection
California voters, with a reputation for liberal politics, have repeatedly refused to approve statewide rent control laws at the ballot box.
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