Housing supply is offering up something that looks very different than what today's households want to buy.
"Attainable" housing is replacing "affordable" housing in city planning conversations. And attainable lifestyle—including transportation costs—is in the spotlight. Ben Brown culls insights from the weekend's Seaside Prize:
"The Seaside Prize goes to 'individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions to the quality and character of communities.' Obvious candidates are from the fields of design and planning. But receiving the award this year was a team of residential real estate analysts, Todd Zimmerman and Laurie Volk."
"Since the late 1980s, ZVA, as their firm is called, has helped developers overcome the tendency of supply-demand market research to predict the future by looking at the past. Zimmerman and Volk project potential market opportunities by more closely examining behavioral characteristics of demographic slices, especially the biggest slices of all — Baby Boomers and Millennials."
"At Seaside over the weekend, Zimmerman and Volk led a slightly deeper dive into Boomer/Millennial trends post-Great Recession and encouraged a broader conversation about 'Neighborhood Challenges for a Re-Urbanizing Nation.' Mainly the dilemma linked to rising inequality and community un-affordability."
FULL STORY: Here’s to Zimmerman/Volk and to ‘Attainable Housing’
Filling in the 'Missing Middle': No New Wheels, Please
A new crop of developers are delivering fine-grained urbanism. Ben Brown checks into their boot camp and provides an update on the movement.
Lessons from the Pandemic: Housing, Retail, Broadband
Second in a series of conversations about what comes next in local government policies and processes, this time between Geoff Koski and Ben Brown on housing, retail, and broadband
After the Plague: Go Big or Go Backwards?
Among unwelcome lessons of COVID-19 is growing evidence of what was already broken in politics and business. Ben Brown looks at making bold changes in order to improve the lives of the left out and left behind.
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.
Massachusetts Gov. Makes Case for Road Funding Reforms
A package of proposed bills would change the state’s road funding formula to ensure more money flows to rural areas with limited resources.
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.
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