Townhouses have been growing like kudzu in Houston over the past few years as the uber-sprawling city has finally started to fill in and become more dense. Locals hate them, but there's beauty to be found in efficient land use.
"Central Houston can grow only by adding density. Houston has a few new high-rises and plenty of California-style mid-rises, but the townhouse has become the dominant new typology. While some developers are building large developments with tens or scores of townhouses, the most popular style seems to be the duplex that replaces one single-family home with two adjoining units."
"However dulled my aesthetic senses may be, my economic sensibilities are on high alert in Houston. Los Angeles, amid one of the country’s worst housing crises, has a habit of tearing down single-family homes in order to build…. single-family homes. The only difference between the new homes and the teardowns is that the new ones are usually bigger, more imposing, more expensive and about a million times more ugly than whatever they replaced. They make the city uglier and do nothing to ease our housing crisis."
FULL STORY: The Houston Townhouse: An Appreciation
Houston Mayor Promises Dedicated Austin Street Bike Lane After Public Backlash
Although the one-way bike lane won’t be protected by physical barriers, the proposal is an improvement over the mayor’s initial plan to only include sharrows on the Austin Street project.
Preserving Houston’s ‘Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing’
Unsubsidized, low-cost rental housing is a significant source of affordable housing for Houston households, but the supply is declining as units fall into disrepair or are redeveloped into more expensive units.
Houston Metro Plan Centers Safety, Accessibility
A new plan from the city’s transit agency focuses on improving the rider experience and boosting safety, but remains uncommitted to previous plans to build new BRT lines.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Waymo Gets Permission to Map SF’s Market Street
If allowed to operate on the traffic-restricted street, Waymo’s autonomous taxis would have a leg up over ride-hailing competitors — and counter the city’s efforts to grow bike and pedestrian on the thoroughfare.
Parklet Symposium Highlights the Success of Shared Spaces
Parklets got a boost during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the concept was translated to outdoor dining programs that offered restaurants a lifeline during the shutdown.
Federal Homelessness Agency Places Entire Staff on Leave
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness is the only federal agency dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness.
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.
Caltrans
Smith Gee Studio
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service