America's foreclosure crisis is taking a heavy toll on communities by diminishing tax bases, lowering school enrollments, and contributing to rising crime.
"Foreclosures are not only affecting the people who are losing their homes. They are changing entire communities. With fewer homeowners, local businesses and schools are seeing fewer customers and students. City governments are not receiving revenue, and abandoned houses are becoming sites for criminal activities.
Local governments are finding themselves in a vicious cycle: the more they lose revenue due to foreclosures, the more crime increases, which requires cities to provide more services, which they can't because of the dent in revenues from foreclosures.
[D]ozens of complaints [come] every week from residents in West Phoenix about abandoned houses. For Sale signs and overgrown lawns have made vacant homes more attractive to copper thieves and even human smugglers, who use these properties as stash houses."
FULL STORY: Communities Foreclosed
Quantifying the Impact of Pandemic Housing Assistance
The massive federal injection of funding into housing programs has had major impacts on many Americans’ ability to stay housed and out of debt, but fears loom as the end of some funding sources nears.
New Jersey Bill Would Ease the Path to Homeownership for Low-Income Families
A bill passed by the New Jersey state legislature would discourage investors from buying and flipping homes while giving households that have experienced foreclosure first bidding rights on auction properties.
Map of Pandemic Real Estate Risk Focuses on New Jersey, Illinois, California
A new study evaluates county-level foreclosure risk, underwater home values, and more real estate market data after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
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