New research looks into how commuting times in the Houston area effect on housing prices.
Most people would like to live close to the place they work, but, in a growing city like Houston, that can be an expensive proposition. For many Houstonians it's necessary to "drive 'til you qualify"—i.e., searching through suburban communities for homes in your price range. According to Paul Takahashi of the Houston Business Journal, "the average commute for Houstonians who own a $265,000 home is 30.5 miles."
This data comes from work done by Scott Davis of Meyers Research, whose investigation found "About 67 percent of these Houston homeowners have a commute that’s between 15 to 47 miles." In his work, Davis’s goal was to quantify the value of those miles in terms of the price of homes. We will see whether planners and developers are influenced by these findings.
FULL STORY: This is how far Houstonians are willing to commute for an affordable home
Infrastructure vs. Housing
Do shortages of infrastructure justify restrictive zoning?
Houston and San Francisco: Urban Development Patterns Gone Awry
With the media rightfully pointing to Houston's sprawling urban development patterns that exacerbated the epic flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey, Paul Krugman also finds fault with cities where urban development is too tightly regulated.
City of the Future: Houston?
Thanks to Planetizen, I found “Opportunity Urbanism,” a report that posits Houston as “an emerging paradigm for the 21st century.” (There's a related op-ed here.) The report, regrettably, is a manifesto as empty as the title -- which Kotkin clearly hopes will become a catchphrase. So why is it important?
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.
Why Should We Subsidize Public Transportation?
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Wind Energy on the Rise Despite Federal Policy Reversal
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Passengers Flock to Caltrain After Electrification
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Texas Churches Rally Behind ‘Yes in God’s Back Yard’ Legislation
Religious leaders want the state to reduce zoning regulations to streamline leasing church-owned land to housing developers.
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)
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Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service