Home sales in the Miami metropolitan area surged 16% during the first six months of this year. Not only does the figure represent the highest jump since 2007, two-third of the transactions were paid in cash.
And to think, the region was considered the glaring symbol of excess rife with defaults and foreclosures at the height of the housing crisis in 2008.
David Streifeld reports, "Only a few years after it seemed there were so many unwanted high-rise condominiums that the only solution was to tear some of them down, there are plans to build even more."
"Many of the sales are to investors, rich people or foreign citizens benefiting from a weak dollar. [...] For the traditional buyer who wants to put down no more than 20 percent, loans are somewhere between tough and impossible," he adds.
FULL STORY: Affluent Buyers Reviving Market for Miami Homes

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.

Montreal’s Gorilla Park Repurposes Defunct Railway Track
The park is part of a global movement to build public spaces that connect neighbors and work with local elements to serve as key parts of a city’s green infrastructure.

Art in Action: USC Event Calls for an Urgent Green Energy Transition
The El Respiro / Respire event at USC uses a large-scale human geochoreography to demand an urgent and equitable transition to green energy, blending art, activism, and community engagement to amplify the message of climate justice.

Safe Parking Programs Help People Access Housing
The safety and stability offered by Safe Parking sites have helped 40 percent of unhoused San Diego residents who accessed these programs get into permanent housing.

Study: Single-Staircase Buildings Pose No Additional Risks
Zoning codes have long prohibited single-stair residential buildings due to safety concerns, but changing that could lower the cost of construction and allow for more flexible housing designs.
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.
North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA)
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
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