Housing

Despite Congratulations, Completed Affordable Housing Falls Short Of Need

As public officials in New York tout their own work to build affordable housing, housing advocates are filing lawsuits against them arguing that they have fallen way short of the amount of units their cities need.

November 6, 2007 - The New York Times

Pricing Blue Collar Workers Back Into The Housing Market

As part of a new effort to increase access to housing, advocates are working in three target areas to try to find the best ways to create affordable workforce housing in areas that are typically too expensive for many blue-collar workers.

October 31, 2007 - The Washington Post

What L.A. Can Learn About Homelessness From Other U.S. Cities

Strategies used by cities such as Miami, Philadelphia, New York, St. Louis, Seattle, & Denver for reducing homelessness are working.

October 31, 2007 - The Los Angeles Times

The 'Horror' of Gentrification

The recurring theme in horror movies of newly-arrived tenants being haunted by former tenants and vengeful spirits may be seen as a metaphor for gentrification, writes Sam Miller.

October 31, 2007 - AlterNet

Cottages, Not Trailers, Set For Louisiana's Jackson Barracks

Already lagging behind Mississippi, Louisiana has finally approved the construction of 75 "Louisiana Cottages" (AKA Katrina Cottages) as an alternative to FEMA's temporary trailers, long thought to be a sub-standard and undignified form of housing.

October 31, 2007 - New Orleans Times-Picayune

The Other Firestorm

While catastrophic, the California fires will not have nearly the destructive impact as the other firestorm still in progress: the subprime meltdown.

October 30, 2007 - The Huffington Post

Use It Or Lose It

Housing activists are pushing city officials to adopt a type of eminent domain to take over neglected buildings and turn them into affordable housing. That idea is easier said than afforded by city coffers.

October 30, 2007 - The Toronto Star

Border Towns Share More Than Boundary

The border towns of El Paso, Texas, and Juárez, Mexico, are increasingly becoming more and more alike -- from demographics, to land development types, to housing prices.

October 30, 2007 - The New York Times

Energy Efficiency Grants Under Scrutiny

Government programs that subsidize energy-efficiency improvements in houses are being reconsidered as some claim the effort isn't worth the benefit.

October 27, 2007 - The Globe and Mail

Condos Keep Vancouver's Market Hot

Now Canada'a most expensive housing market, downtown Vancouver is attracting more and more big-spending buyers and watching its property values skyrocket.

October 26, 2007 - The New York Times

Growth Pushes People Into Fireplace

Increased development in wooded and fire-prone areas is one of the major causes of California's recent "megafires".

October 25, 2007 - The Christian Science Monitor

If The Youth Can't Rent, They Probably Won't Stay

Low vacancy rates are threatening to push younger populations out of Vancouver.

October 24, 2007 - The Globe and Mail

Instant Shelter For Disaster Areas

This slideshow from Wired shows some examples of temporary, quick-build housing that can be used in post-disaster situations.

October 23, 2007 - Wired

The Limitations Of Infill Development In The Bay Area

A home builder points to the "no-growth, anti-housing environmental alliance" that restricts greenfield development as the primary reason the Bay Area is unable to house its growing population.

October 22, 2007 - The San Francisco Chronicle

San Diego Lures Second Home Buyers

Homebuyers increasingly look to developing downtown San Diego, California, as the site for their second homes.

October 22, 2007 - The New York Times

From The Projects To Section 8

Traditional public housing complexes are on the way out in Atlanta as the city looks to move all of its low-income residents to a system of renting with Section 8 housing vouchers.

October 20, 2007 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Condo Project Upsets Affluent Houstonians

In Houston, the only major U.S. city with no zoning laws, plans to construct a high-rise condo complex in an affluent neighborhood have residents outraged.

October 19, 2007 - The Wall Street Journal

Is Los Angeles Ready To Adopt Inclusionary Zoning?

Two years after a prior proposal failed to pass, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has once again challenged the city's developers to help solve L.A.'s affordable housing crisis by including lower-cost units in new projects.

October 19, 2007 - The Los Angeles Times

Berlin Seeks UNESCO Status For 1920s Social Housing

Six social housing projects built in 1920s Berlin by such architects as Walter Gropius and Bruno Taut are being considered for preservation as UNESCO sites.

October 19, 2007 - Der Spiegel

Boise Reconsiders Landlord Status

City officials in Boise, Idaho, are considering a liquidation of properties the city owns and operates as affordable housing. The costs of keeping the housing available is becoming unaffordable for the city.

October 18, 2007 - The Boise Weekly

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