Homelessness
Homeless New Yorkers Lead a Push for Better Rental Vouchers
Until recently, New York City's local housing vouchers only covered about $1,250 in rent; the median rent on a NYC apartment is $2,600. Activism from current and formerly homeless New Yorkers helped change that.
FEMA Offers Full Reimbursement for Pandemic Shelter Costs—But Cities Are Still Jittery
Cities and counties have been slow to take advantage of the promise of full and retroactive FEMA reimbursement to expand emergency housing programs, frustrating housing advocates. What’s getting in the way?
Homelessness During the Pandemic
A comic strip illustrates the humans behind remarkable resilience in the face of incredible risks.
Austin Casts a Controversial Vote on Public Camping as the City Faces Growing Pains
Voters in Austin voted to reinstate a ban on public camping, taking steps to criminalize homelessness before the State Legislature could.
Texas Legislature Would Preempt Local Law to Ban Homeless Encampments
The state of Texas and the city of Austin are moving in opposite directions on how best to respond to the needs of people experiencing homelessness.
Unpermitted RV Park Faces Code Enforcement Pressure in Oakland
A controversy over the unpermitted use of RVs for shelter on an otherwise empty lot in West Oakland reveals a confluence of Bay Area housing crises.
Judge Presses Pause on Controversial Skid Row Housing Order
A 60-day grace period and some additional contingencies have been added to a court order for the city and county of Los Angeles to provide shelter or housing to the thousands of people experiencing homelessness on Skid Row in Downtown Los Angeles.
Housing Vouchers Prove an Effective Tool Against Homelessness
The Biden administration plans to expand the federal housing voucher program, which currently provides rental assistance to 2.3 million U.S. households.
Judge's Ruling Will Force L.A. to Reckon With Skid Row
A federal judge has ruled that the city and county of Los Angeles, home to the nation's largest population of people experiencing homelessness, must overcome the development delays that have prevented the creation of new supportive housing.
Tiny Homes Village Plans Big Expansion in Austin
The Community First Village, which offers homes and supportive services for people experiencing homelessness, is adding 127 acres to a 27-acre site.
Abilene, Texas, Declares Victory Against Veteran and Chronic Homelessness
How a small central Texan city reached "functional zero" for veteran and chronic homelessness.
The Homelessness Crisis Deepened, Even Before the Pandemic
New numbers from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development show "devastating" growth in the number of unhoused people in the United States in January 2020.
As the Pandemic Continues, Officials Look to Long-Term Housing Options with Hotels
Advocates point to a bevy of successes in slowing the spread of the virus, but authorities struggle with cost burden.
HUD Won't Help With Back Rent Until Eviction Moratoriums Are Gone
Eviction prevention was an eligible use for CARES Act money...until HUD decided that it's not worth preventing evictions until they are under 14 days away.
Private Sector Coalition Urges California to Invest in Affordable Housing
A new plan calls for increased funding for housing and supportive services to relieve the state's housing crisis and end homelessness.
Austin Reallocates Police Funding to Homeless Housing and Services
The city is using the redistributed money to purchase hotels for permanent housing and provide supportive services.
Homeless Counts Fall Short in Gathering Accurate Statistics
Assessing the scale of homelessness in the United States is surprisingly difficult, with statistics failing to capture the diversity of unhoused people and their situations.
How Democrats Can Fix the Affordable Housing Crisis
With Democrats taking back the Senate, can the Biden administration go beyond immediate-term rent relief to win more ambitious housing solutions?
HUD's New 'Find Shelter' Website Offers Support for Struggling Americans
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development launched the Find Shelter tool earlier in January.
Fifth Ward Residents Oppose Houston's Interstate Expansion
The downtown freeway expansion will displace thousands of housed and unhoused residents and hundreds of small businesses.
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
