Housing

Suburbia

Pushing Back Against the Idea that Cities Can Become Full

The perception that a city has reached its maximum population and nobody else should be allowed in, or nothing should be allowed to change, is limiting the potential of our cities and increasing housing inequality.

October 8, 2015 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Bronx Apartments

The Economics of Rent Control

A simple explanation of why strict rent control reduces housing supply, and why moderate rent control does so to a much lesser extent.

September 21, 2015 - Michael Lewyn

Lafayette BART

Bay Area Town: 44 Single-Family Homes on a Site Once Considered for 315 Apartments

Lafayette provides a case study of the San Francisco Bay Area housing market.

August 15, 2015 - Contra Costa Times

Affordable housing

Explaining the Importance of Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning

A term you need to know.

August 8, 2015 - New York Magazine

New Report Ranks Metros on Transportation, Land Use, and More

To make a strategic assessment of the St. Louis region, the 7th edition of "Where We Stand" ranks the largest 50 metropolitan areas on more than 200 variables.

July 31, 2015 - East-West Gateway Council of Governments

Old houses with large porch and colorful siding

All-White Neighborhoods Are Nearly Extinct; All-Black Neighborhoods Persist

The good news is that middle-class suburbs are becoming increasingly integrated. However, a closer look at the migration patterns of whites and minorities reveals a more complex picture, rife with racism.

July 26, 2015 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Tiny House

Tiny House Movement Pushing the Boundaries of Traditional Zoning

Tiny Houses on trailers are available and buyers are ready to live small, but most zoning regulations don’t allow recreational vehicles as a permanent residence. Can zoning catch up to the tiny living trend?

July 11, 2015 - The Charlotte Observer

How Much Does it Cost the Public to Build Housing in Loudoun County, Virginia?

A wealthy county in Virginia has a reputation for prohibiting the construction of new housing. Development interests, however, are fed up with anti-development arguments.

July 10, 2015 - The Washington Post

How NIMBYism Contributes to San Francisco's Housing Shortage

A pattern of opposition to housing projects that leads to the underdevelopment of land has contributed to a housing shortage in San Francisco, writes planning consultant Jim Chappell.

June 18, 2015 - UrbDeZine

For Rent

Airbnb and Affordable Housing

Does apartment-sharing reduce regional housing supply? Probably not very much.

April 21, 2015 - Michael Lewyn

Greed Revealed in the Manufactured Housing Industry

A company owned by Berkshire Hathaway has been been indulging in some of the same tactics that led to the larger housing crisis about ten years ago.

April 21, 2015 - Rooflines

Seattle Skyline from Kerry Park

Public Policies For Optimal Urban Development

What amount of expansion, population and vehicle densities, housing mix, and transport policies should growing cities aspire to achieve? This column summarizes my recent research that explores these, and related, issues.

April 13, 2015 - Todd Litman

Lombard Street San Francisco

Cars Are Expensive (And Other Things the Census Taught Me)

National tables from the 2013 American Household Survey (AHS) are now public.

March 31, 2015 - Michael Lewyn

Inequality and Informality in New York

For a MoMA exhibition about urban inequality, Brooklyn architects SITU Studios documented informal housing in New York.

January 29, 2015 - Arup Connect

Is Housing 'Baggage' Holding America Back?

Throwing money at our housing problems is clearly not the answer, but are there ideas from markets in Europe that might work for us?

January 18, 2015 - Rooflines

'Inequality Happens?' Hopefully Not

Even local officials who prefer to talk about the fiscal rebound of their cities will not be able to accept escalating inequality as a byproduct of urban growth forever.

January 15, 2015 - Rooflines

Foreclosures Are Making People Sick

Seven years after the housing bust began, millions of Americans are still suffering. And suffering is the operative word—because both foreclosures and economic inequality impact people’s health.

January 9, 2015 - Rooflines

Would Building in Hot Markets Help Housing Affordability?

As people move back into the cities, and rental housing demand goes up, it's been an interesting time for people wrestling with the problems of highly unaffordable areas to live.

January 6, 2015 - Rooflines

Fair Housing and Community Development: Better Together!

Conversations about fair housing and place-based work too often lead to a perceived need to defend turf. Reece and Kriesberg got together instead to talk about common ground, using Rooflines as a hub for debate!

December 15, 2014 - Rooflines

Land Trusts: the Middle Ground of Housing

The Boston Globe recently ran an op-ed in support of community land trusts and inclusionary housing, which was penned by the National Housing Institute/Shelterforce and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

November 25, 2014 - Boston Globe

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HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

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HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.