Workforce Housing

San Francisco

Maps: Where Teachers Can Afford Housing in California

Teachers can't afford to live in the neighborhoods where they teach in California—the biggest gap between teachers' wages and the cost of housing is found in the Bay Area.

April 19, 2019 - EdSource

Free Street

Inclusionary Zoning to Fund Workforce Housing, But for Hotel Developments

A new law in Portland, Maine could be the first to charge an affordable housing fee from new hotel developments.

February 5, 2019 - Portland Press Herald

Suburbia

Thoughts on California's Housing Strategy

Balance between state and local control and between private and public solutions are necessary for meaningful improvement in housing affordability, according to planning activist and affordable housing developer Murtaza Baxamusa.

December 9, 2018 - UrbDeZine

Georgia

Inclusionary Zoning Could Spread to Atlanta's Suburbs

Brookhaven, Georgia is rewriting its citywide zoning code, including density bonuses and mandatory inclusionary zoning in one of the new code's overlays.

September 5, 2018 - Reporter Newspapers

Amazon Fulfillment Center

The Amazon Opportunity to Revitalize Urban Communities

If corporations continue to be able to take public subsidy as the price of locating in an area, maybe the debate isn't whether to offer subsidies but simply how and for what to offer them. Here’s one incentive that might actually benefit communities.

April 17, 2018 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Platte River

Nebraska Lawmakers Hoping to Solve the State's Rural Housing Shortage

Communities across Nebraska report plenty of jobs to go around, but not enough housing for the workers to fulfill the demand.

March 30, 2017 - Omaha World-Herald

Montgomery County Planners Target 4,2000 New Housing Units

The Montgomery County Planning Department is making the case for more housing to meet the growing number of jobs in the county.

November 21, 2016 - Greater Greater Washington

Aspen, Colorado

Aspen's Workforce Housing Buckling Under Weight of Aging Population

As residents of Aspen, Colorado's limited supply of workforce housing begin to retire, they're staying put, creating a new affordable housing crunch for younger workers.

September 22, 2016 - Marketplace

Back Bay Boston

Market Not Cooperating With Boston's Housing Goals

Just because the public sector has set a goal to deliver thousands of new workforce housing units, doesn’t mean the market, or the private sector for that matter, will cooperate.

July 25, 2016 - The Boston Globe

16 Case Studies of Workforce Housing Protection

A new report from the Urban Land Institute responds to what it argues is a housing crisis among lower- and middle-income workers.

December 22, 2015 - Urban Land

Seattle Waterfront Condos

Seattle's Struggle to Build Affordable Housing

The Emerald City's affordable housing difficulties mirror those of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and others: too much demand and too few resources.

October 3, 2015 - Crosscut

New Programs to House Rural Residents Closer to Jobs

Greg Aamot explores case studies from Minnesota of a conundrum that troubles many rural communities: how to house daytime workforces near their jobs, with the benefits in sales and property tax revenue that results.

April 4, 2015 - MinnPost

New Approach Needed for Building Affordable Housing

The rising interest in urban living has meant a growing shortage of affordable housing in cities across the country. Roger Lewis proposes a new approach to help solve the crisis: building workforce housing funded by the public sector.

May 6, 2013 - The Washington Post

Socially Conscious Developers Build a Bastion of Affordability in Philly

Inga Saffron reports on the redevelopment of a 19th-century brick mill into workforce housing in Philadelphia's South Kensington neighborhood; a project that proves virtue need not come at the expense of profit for one Philadelphia-based developer.

April 16, 2013 - philly.com

Will Increasing Density Allow Houston to Better House its Middle Class?

In order to facilitate the construction of more workforce housing, Houston is considering changing its development rules for the first time in 14 years. Will increasing density limits in the "doughnut" beyond Loop 610 help bring down prices?

April 15, 2013 - Houston Chronicle

Housing Crunch Threatens D.C.’s Thriving Economy

In the next 20 years, the D.C. area is expected to have nearly 3 million job openings. With the resulting demand for new, diverse and more affordable housing outpacing supply, some fear that the city’s housing deficit will derail its robust economy.

October 19, 2012 - Greater Greater Washington

New Report Taps TOD to Provide L.A.'s Workforce Housing

UCLA's Paul Habibi believes that L.A.'s lack of affordable workforce housing, the "donut hole" between subsidized housing and high-end housing preferred by developers, is harming the city's competitiveness. In a new report he outlines a solution.

October 5, 2012 - KPCC

Innovation when Good Planning Policy Has Become the Norm

Scott Doyon argues for a stripped-down, back-to-basics 'punk rock' approach to urban growth and development to replace the 'rock and roll' excesses of planning during the housing boom; and he profiles the new innovators who are doing just that.

February 5, 2012 - PlaceShakers

'Unfathomable' Budget Cuts Deepen the Housing Crisis

The continuing recession and housing crisis are being further decimated by federal cuts to housing aid, according to The Nation.

January 1, 2012 - The Nation

Does Gentrification Need to be a Bad Word?

Gentrification has come to signify wealthier residents pushing lower-income residents out of a community, but gentrification also has some "undeniable upsides". Ward 8 in Washington D.C. offers a glimpse into how gentrification can aid a community.

December 28, 2011 - Salon.com

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

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Top Schools

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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.