Apartments

Single-Stair Reform Gains Strength
The movement to legalize single-stair multi-story buildings is gathering momentum, with the typology offering a more efficient, flexible, and healthy way to build housing.

The Apartment Through History
The humble apartment, as a typology, has been with us for millennia.

Commentary: Residential Vacancies Don’t Outweigh Need for New Housing
The myth that there are plenty of vacant housing units in U.S. cities comes from misconceptions about leasing timelines and developer incentives.

San Diegans at Odds Over ‘Granny Towers’
A provision in the city’s ADU ordinance allows developers to build an essentially unlimited number of units on single-family lots.

Rent Costs Rising Faster in Suburbs Than Urban Cores
In a majority of U.S. metro areas, suburban rent hikes are outpacing urban rent increases.

Business Group Fights Apartments in Fort Worth Stockyards
The city’s zoning commission voted to require city council approval for new apartments east of Packers Street and Niles City Boulevard after a local business group coplained about added traffic.

Vancouver’s Controversial Broadway Plan Approved With Amendments
A plan to add new significant amounts of housing, shifting development south into a “second downtown” around the future SkyTrain Millennium Line Broadway Extension, has been approved in Vancouver.

Vancouver Set To Finalize Broadway Rezoning Plan
A plan to increase density along the city's 'Second Downtown' promises to bring badly needed housing to the corridor as the Broadway subway line nears completion.

L.A. Tenants Hit With Sudden Rent Hikes Under 'Discounted Rent' Loophole
A legal loophole has allowed some Los Angeles landlords to sharply raise rents on apartments that would otherwise fall under the city's rent stabilization ordinance and pandemic-related rent freeze.

Downtown Neighborhoods Lead In New Apartment Construction
Neighborhoods in urban cores are seeing the highest rates of new apartment construction in the last five years, signaling a continued interest in downtown living despite fears of an 'urban exodus' brought on by the pandemic.

Houston Council Will Consider Stricter Apartment Inspection Process
The proposal would reform the inspection process to improve coordination between departments and institute a fine for landlords who don't make requested repairs.

U.S. Rents Spiking As More Renters Enter the Market
All of the nation's largest metro areas are experiencing sharp growth in costs and demand for rental housing, posing even more challenges for low-income renters.

How the Iconic Dingbat Took Over Los Angeles
The low-slung, car-oriented apartment buildings represent a mid-century solution to a housing shortage and offer valuable lessons for new development.

New Developments Lower Rents in Surrounding Neighborhoods, Study Says
A study that made the rounds as a working paper at the beginning of 2019 has now been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Vancouver Considers Easing Rezoning for Social Housing
The proposal would let non-profits build housing developments of up to six stories without a public rezoning process in mid-rise neighborhoods.

Proposed Mass Timber High-Rise In Seattle Adds Six Stories
A proposal for the development of a mass timber high-rise in First Hill is under community review in Seattle. The project, which adjusted plans to add an additional 6 floors, proposes the tallest mass timber building in Seattle.

Residential Development Proposed for Chicago’s Goose Island
A plan for the riverfront property would bring thousands of housing units to the historically industrial area.

Jersey City Building More Apartment Than Manhattan
And other perhaps surprising data from the multi-family housing development industry.

A Euclid Dissent
In Euclid v. Ambler Realty, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of zoning. Although three justices dissented, they did not write a formal dissent. This article is what a dissent might look like if the justices knew what we now know.
Effort to Rid Apartments of Lead Poisoning Risk Pushes Forward in Philadelphia
It’s been a tough slog for a bill designed to force landlords to remove lead from all buildings before they can charge tenants for rent.
Pagination
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