Low Income Housing

Street scene in Washington DC with mixed modern and brick buildings and pedestrians crossing a crosswalk.

Mismanagement Leads to Loss of up to $35M for DC Affordable Housing

The District’s housing agency forfeited what would amount to $35 million in federal housing funds over the next decade.

November 18, 2025 - Washington Citypaper

Berkeley Hills Bay Area

Groundbreaking Affordable Housing and Homeless Shelter Project Underway in Berkeley

A new Berkeley development, the largest affordable housing development in city history, is slated to house 200 low-income and homeless residents by May 2022.

July 13, 2020 - The Mercury News

No Luxury Condos

America Has Nowhere Near Enough Extremely Low-Income Housing

More than a quarter of renter households in the United States earn 30 percent or less of area median income. And no state in the country can house them.

April 23, 2018 - The Washington Post

Los Angeles Skyline with houses

California Spends $6.5 Billion on Homeowner Subsidies, 15 Times Less on Renters

A new report from the California Housing Partnership "revealed a wide gap between state support for homeowners and renters."

March 12, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

San Francisco Bay

White Communities in the Bay Area Don't Plan as Much Low-Income Housing as Their Neighbors Do

Goals for low-income housing were lower in majority white cities and communities than they were in their more diverse neighbors.

September 1, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

Buffalo, New York

Inclusionary Zoning Proposed for Buffalo—Will it Help or Hurt the Housing Market?

Buffalo is considering policies to support affordable rental housing as demand rises. While inclusionary zoning is controversial everywhere, specific questions about the policy's effectiveness arise in cities with little to no population growth.

June 20, 2017 - The Buffalo News

Lawn Sign Liberalism

Seeing "No Matter Where You're From" signs in liberal-leaning towns makes me both smile and cringe. Why? Because I know the tolerant message belies the real feelings many have towards neighbors, not from other countries, but "other" neighborhoods.

April 13, 2017 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

$36 Million Affordable Housing Scam Exposed in Miami

Two prominent developers have plead guilty to federal fraud charges for stealing millions of tax-payer dollars intended for low-income housing developments.

September 11, 2015 - Miami Herald

Anti homeless bench

Cities Criminalizing Homelessness Amid Urban Boom

More cities—many of them "revitalizing" their urban cores at the same time as a national recession and a real estate market beset by diminishing supplies of low-income housing—are criminalizing homelessness.

July 23, 2014 - PBS NewsHour - The Rundown

Section 8 Kids

HUD Data Shows: 'Who Lives in Subsidized Housing?'

The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently released data about households receiving federal housing assistance. Lisa Sturtevant, writing for the National Housing Conference, provides an overview of the data.

July 22, 2014 - National Housing Conference

More Carrot, Less Stick Needed for Affordable Housing

Mixed-income housing - infusing affordable housing with market-rate units - is relying more on incentives and subsidies, than mandates, to stimulate development.

June 21, 2012 - Urban Land

How Long is the Waiting List for Rental Assistance?

For low-income people in the Mankato, Minnesota area, there might be no hope for assistance from government vouchers.

June 10, 2009 - The Free Press

Building Green For the Low-Income

New green building projects aimed at low-income residents are popping up across the country, and federal stimulus money is helping.

February 25, 2009 - Time

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.