Affordable Housing

Historic, Green, Affordable, and at (Some) Scale?

Iberville Offsites received the 2014 National Trust/HUD Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation for restoration of homes as low-income affordable housing

November 25, 2014 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Land Trusts: the Middle Ground of Housing

The Boston Globe recently ran an op-ed in support of community land trusts and inclusionary housing, which was penned by the National Housing Institute/Shelterforce and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

November 25, 2014 - Boston Globe

Who's Right in the Informal Housing Debate?

When Los Angeles County Planner Jonathan P. Bell wrote about informal housing in the region, several commenters responded. So Bell decided to answer questions and critics.

November 18, 2014 - UrbDeZine

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Can a Net Zero Cottage Work in the Suburbs?

In its first year alone, Zero Cottage has produced 22 percent more energy than it consumes. But can such an urban project be replicated in a suburban setting?

November 17, 2014 - Build a Better Burb

San Francisco Parking

An Unintended Consequence of Unbundling Parking from Housing

Transportation and affordable housing advocates advocate unbundling parking from housing to provide an incentive to own fewer vehicles while reducing housing costs and increasing supply. But should parcel taxes be applied to parking spaces?

November 17, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco Voters Increase Height Limits for Waterfront Development

Voters gave Forest City Enterprises' Pier 70 development the go-ahead on Tuesday by increasing height limits from 40 to 90 feet. The 65-acre property will be developed into mixed use, with 2,000 housing units, 30 percent affordable, and open space.

November 9, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Los Angeles Residential

How Affordable Housing Can Compete

With the backing of powerful nonprofit and for-profit investors, the Housing Partnership Equity Trust is making waves with its triple bottom line approach to affordable housing. More importantly, it’s making money.

November 4, 2014 - Next City

Gentrification

The False Choice in the Gentrification Debate

The income of original residents is more important to the gentrification debate than any opposition to luxury development or price controls. We need to begin to embed income inequality within the gentrification debate.

October 28, 2014 - Reuben Duarte

Recalling Our Basic Pride of Place

In the fifth of his "place-decoding" series from France, Chuck Wolfe recalls how we carry with us the ability to mine pride from place, even in places that are, perhaps, least expected to shine.

October 25, 2014 - The Huffington Post

Underground

Beijing's One Million Underground Urban Dwellers

The October issue of Land Lines reveals the remarkable story of how an estimated one million people came to live in subterranean apartments in Beijing.

October 13, 2014 - Land Lines

Star Apartments Offer Starchitect Treatment for L.A.'s Skid Row Homeless

The new 100-unit, $40-million Star Apartments opened in Skid Row earlier this week is part of Los Angeles County’s Housing for Health initiative to house 10,000 of the most vulnerable homeless people.

October 11, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

Luxury Condos Saturating New York City's Housing Market

The housing market in NYC has seen a 98.5 percent increase in luxury condo construction since last year. Market experts are concerned there is not enough demand to meet supply, causing developers to build upper to middle-income housing instead.

October 4, 2014 - New York Times

Report Reveals Imbalanced Investments for Atlanta's BeltLine

While the neighborhoods on northern segments of the Atlanta's BeltLine has received 94 percent of funding invested towards parks and trails, segments to the south have received 86 percent of affordable housing investments.

September 25, 2014 - SaportaReport

Atlanta Atlantic Station

Learning From My Condo

Even if new housing is expensive, it can reduce overall housing prices by causing existing units to become more affordable.

September 17, 2014 - Michael Lewyn

Empty Parking Lot

How '9x18' Parking Spaces Could Solve Affordable Housing

The "9x18" proposal by the Institute for Public Architecture provides a lesson in the relationship between parking requirements and the cost of housing.

September 15, 2014 - New York Times

Housing America's Older Population—New Report Details the Challenge

A new study from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University and the AARP Foundation has produced a pile of data on the country's aging population and its implications for housing and planning policy.

September 3, 2014 - Harvard University Gazette

New York Skyline Fisheye

New York Times Editorial Board Goes YIMBY

The New York Times editorial board has published on op-ed in support of Mayor Bill de Blasio's ambitious targets for affordable housing in New York City over the next ten years.

August 31, 2014 - New York Times

Developers Fail to Meet Affordable Housing Quota in Portland's Pearl District

Despite a contractual obligation, Hoyt Street Properties under-built 258 affordable housing units in Portland's Pearl District. The city has to react.

August 24, 2014 - The Oregonian

Los Angeles is the Least Affordable Rental Market in the Country

A new study confirmed that the average Los Angeles renter allocates 47 percent of their paycheck towards rent.

August 22, 2014 - KPCC

Activists Advocate for Community Land Trusts

“We were drawn to CLTs not just as a technical model, but because they provide the opportunity for residents—including renters—to actually have control over their homes and communities,” says Tony Romano, the Right to the City's organizing director.

August 14, 2014 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

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The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

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A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.