Housing Crisis

Climate Crisis, Housing Crisis on a Collision Course
Sprawl might relieve the housing crisis, but it would also exacerbate the climate crisis. Tough choices will be necessary in regions like San Diego, where the question of where to accommodate growth is very much in question.

History Made: Oregon Legislature Ends Single-Family Zoning
A bill that seemed like it could be a casualty of a bitter partisan feud managed to squeak under the wire. With Governor Kate Brown's signature, single-family zoning will be prohibited throughout the state of Oregon.

Rent Freezes Spread Across Southern California
Culver City is the latest jurisdiction to freeze rents temporarily in the face of skyrocketing housing costs.

Urban Planning and the Democratic Debate Field
The Democratic Party will hold a two-day debate event, starting tonight. It's time to brush up on the positions of the leading candidates on policies and politics relate to housing, climate change, and infrastructure.

State of the Nation's Housing: Housing Production, Supply Still Coming Up Short
The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University released its annual "The State of the Nation's Housing" report this morning. There are some signs of post-recession normalcy in the housing market for high-income earners.

Investment Money Cornering the Real Estate Market
With so many institutional investors buying homes, it's hard for first-time homebuyers to find space in the housing market.

The Complete Lack of Rental Housing Affordable to People Making Minimum Wage
Rents in 99 percent of counties in the U.S. are not affordable for residents making minimum wage, according to a recent report.

Breaking News: Google to Spend $1 Billion on Housing in the Bay Area
The tech industry giant answers a call to do more to help alleviate housing prices in the region it calls home by promising to build tens of thousands of units on its own land.

New York Times Editorial Takes Pro-Development Stance
The Editorial Board of the New York Times offers perhaps the highest profile support to date for overthrowing the status quo of slow growth and development opposition.

Advocating for Upzoning in Two of New York's Wealthiest Neighborhoods
The New York City Department of City Planning is expected, very soon, to release a rezoning proposal for the neighborhoods of SoHo and NoHo in New York City.

Beyond YIMBY: Racism and Finance in the Housing Crisis
Upzoning without addressing speculation and finance could exacerbate the housing crisis for the nation’s most vulnerable communities, a professor of urban planning warns.

Cities on the Verge of a Housing Crisis
This analysis of the largest metropolitan areas in the country reveals high housing prices spilling over into many parts of the country not located on the coasts.

Poll: On Housing, Californians Want What the Legislature Won't Give
"This particular solution, which has been very controversial in the Legislature, is not very controversial when it comes to the general public."

Seven Ideas for Tackling the Housing Crisis
One expert's take on the housing crisis and which policy solutions might best counter it.

How the Middle Class Is Faring on Housing
While the middle class does not face the same kind of nationwide affordability crisis as low-income populations, geography and demographics are placing new stress on middle-income households.

Research: Financial Practices Partly Responsible for the Rental Affordability Crisis
Zoning and the economy aren't the only factors in neighborhood change—financial regulations and policies, sometimes seemingly unrelated, also have an effect.

Rent Control for New York City Could Spillover Effect to the Rest of the State
The housing crisis isn't the same in every corner of New York State, but new rent control measures in the state legislature could apply solutions intended for the New York City rental market to the entire state.

Shared-Equity Homeownership: A Primer
Alternative models of homeownership involving shared equity may be able to offset the urban housing crunch. They include the subjects of this discussion: community land trusts and housing co-ops.

Breaking News: California's Transit Oriented Upzoning Bill Stuck in Limbo
Senate Bill 50, the closely watched upzoning bill proposed by State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), made it a lot further through the Legislature than the prior attempt, SB 827. Still, SB 50 will short of the finish line in 2019.

Watch: Exclusionary Zoning's Affordability Effect, Explained
According to the Sightline Institute, exclusionary zoning is responsible for the nation's ongoing housing affordability crisis.
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