Planetizen Newswire
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Missing Middle Housing
Elections have consequences, and a new, younger City Council in Raleigh is ready to implement progressive planning and land use reforms.
News & Observer
The ranks of states considering or taking steps to override local control to allow new density in the residential neighborhoods of cities has swelled once again, this time with a state senator in Nebraska pitching statewide legislation.
1011 Now
Incremental changes to density on single-family parcels could boost the nation’s housing stock without dramatic impacts at the neighborhood level.
Curbed
Almost 90% of Arlington County land zones for residential use is reserved for single-family homes. Would adding missing middle housing in the form of duplexes and triplexes keep the price of housing in a more manageable range?
WAMU
The difference between a proposed RM2 zoning designation with off-street parking requirements, versus with the parking requirements is massive, according to this article.
Sightline Institute
The City Council of Durham, North Carolina has approved changes to the city's master plan, first approved in 2005, to allow new forms of density in residential neighborhoods proximate to the city's downtown urban core.
News & Observer
The city of Ottawa, Canada has produced another goofy animated video. This one explains its efforts to encourage more Missing Middle multi-unit urban housing.
City of Ottawa via Youtube
House Bill 2001 didn't ban single-family houses altogether, just single-family zoning, so change will take time, and money. There are a lot of unknowns for residents to grapple with when it comes to statewide upzoning.
The Oregonian
Factors beyond political chance played into Oregon's recent decision to legalize missing middle housing. One key point: the state was already halfway there.
City Observatory
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.
The Oregonian
A thought experiment compares the carbon impact of three new single family homes with the same block if it contained a duplex, a triplex, and a fourplex.
Sightline Institute
The city of Berkeley, famed for its radical left politics in the 1960s, is now considered a bastion of anti-development obstructionism. Those politics could be changing, however.
The Bay City Beacon
Local planners and elected officials are expressing their opinions about Oregon's House Bill 2001, which would allow fourplexes on single-family residential units around the state.
The Oregonian
They're a good start. But compared to similar policies in cities like Portland and Vancouver, Seattle's new policies around accessory dwelling units may be lackluster.
The Urbanist
Affordable housing developers are increasingly asked to build middle-income units, but can't afford to do so.
Mercury News
The Washington Post examines "missing middle" housing as a solution for retaining millennials in cities and interior suburbs. There is still some question, however, about whether millennials are actually leaving urban areas.
The Washington Post
The city of Portland's new residential infill ordinance would reduce the number of 1:1 demolitions—which often convert older, affordable homes into expensive McMansions.
Portland for Everyone
The "missing middle" of housing is a concept familiar to many planners, but it's still probably unknown to most of the public. A story for Austin's NPR station could be an indication that the missing middle is entering the public consciousness.
KUT
Karen Parolek discusses the 'Missing Middle' that is too often overlooked in discussions about affordable housing.
Modern Cities
The Austin Chamber of Commerce is connecting the dots between land use and transportation—and voicing its support for reform of the city's land use regulations.
Austin Business Journal
