A real estate report found that there are only four cities in the U.S. where it makes more sense for residents to rent rather than buy. The foreclosure crisis has made it more practical to buy rather than rent in 72% of America's 50 largest cities.
The report was prepared by the website Trulia. The four expensive cities to purchase a home, in order, are NYC, Seattle and Kansas City, MO and San Francisco tied for third place.
"Trulia's study - which only took into consideration two-bedroom apartments, condominiums and townhouses - used a price-to-rent ratio to calculate its rankings.
Cities with a ratio of 21 or higher were deemed cheaper to rent than to buy.
The study found that San Francisco, with an estimated median home price of $763,000 and an annual rent cost of about $36,000, came in with a price-to-rent ratio of 21, as did Kansas City, Mo. Not surprisingly, New York had the most-expensive real estate and a price-to-rent ratio of 31."
FULL STORY: It’s still rent over buy in San Francisco

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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.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research