Public housing models in the U.S. are becoming more community-oriented and taking varying demographics into account during the design process. Engagement with the street, the neighborhood, and social services are creating new design typologies.
Community Solutions, a New York nonprofit focused on affordable housing, is developing a 2.5-acre former industrial site in Hartford, Conn. with housing, a library, community garden and community center where residents can take cooking and nutrition classes, and rent a commercial kitchen for their food-based businesses.
This project exemplifies a trend across the U.S. in integrating community facilities with public housing, writes Ben Adler.
Based on interviews with New York City architects, Adler concludes that designing with demographic idiosyncrasies in mind is becoming increasingly popular, and necessary.
While seamlessly integrating public housing projects into the urban fabric and enlivening shared spaces through community facilities - whether on the ground floor of apartment buildings or on the street level in struggling neighborhoods - architects are tailoring even interior spaces to single-parent households, multigenerational families or single occupants.
FULL STORY: Social housing u.s.a.
L.A. Councilmember Proposes Social Housing Model
Inspired by the success of Vienna, Austria, Los Angeles leaders are considering public housing as a faster, more effective way to curb the city’s homelessness crisis.
Assessing California's Homekey Program
The innovative housing program launched during the pandemic has made a significant difference for unhoused individuals, but long-term support remains underfunded.
How Paris Improved Sustainability and Livability In Its Public Housing
Over the last decade, the city has made massive investments in retrofitting 'social housing' with minimal disruptions and displacement of residents.
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