Keli_NHI

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.

With the high cost of land and housing in most major cities, why don't we just make the hundreds of "walkable" small towns in the United States more desirable places to live for average earners?

Here are some observations that may shed light on the mystery of why—despite creating every incentive that planners can conceive—we are failing to produce affordable housing at the level we need.

For low-income residents in high-cost areas, there's no substitute for the public sector to provide below-market rate housing. But for middle-income households, the market should be able to produce housing without subsidy. So why doesn't this happen?

Urbanist Jane Jacobs' support for mixed use development has long been seen as the best urban design strategy, but this vision assumed that the retail space under housing could be rented. What if that is no longer the case?