Homelessness

Single Room Occupancy Hotel,

The Evolution of SROs and Supportive Housing for San Francisco's Homeless

The San Francisco Chronicle released a series of reports in a special "Beyond Homelessness" edition on San Francisco's attempts to address chronic homelessness. The city spends $112 million annually to operate 75 aging single-room-occupancy hotels.

December 13, 2016 - San Francisco Chronicle

Lost Our Home

Surveying the World's Laws for Begging

Beggars can be found in cities around the world, but the laws and philosophies that cities use to deal with these people are different.

December 7, 2016 - The Guardian

Seattle Transit

King County Expands Fare-Free Transit for Riders in Need

The victory for homeless and very low-income transit riders is a reminder of the importance of grassroots organizing.

December 6, 2016 - Seattle Transit Blog

Skid Row

L.A. Homelessness Plan Hitting Speed Bumps

City councilmembers express concern about progress of homelessness plan after receiving a first update report.

November 21, 2016 - Los Angeles Times

Homeless

Building Tiny Homes for Detroit's Homeless

Detroit plans to build 300 tiny homes on empty lots to help shelter the city's homeless.

November 1, 2016 - Christian Science Monitor

Front Porch

Vancouver May Fast-Track Modular Laneway Homes

The city of Vancouver has emerged as a leader in "laneway" housing: secondary units built onto existing lots, often facing an alleyway. To boost supply, the city may expedite permitting for modular units.

October 27, 2016 - Vancouver Sun

Homeless

Los Angeles Hires New 'Homelessness Coordinator'

The new position will keep the city on track in its comprehensive strategy to aid the nearly 40,000 homeless people in Los Angeles.

October 24, 2016 - LA Downtown News

Reno, Throwing Away Benches to be 'Business Friendly'

Reno's blight initiative drew criticism when it removed 68 benches from a park it was renovating.

October 18, 2016 - NBC News - Reno Nevada

Los Angeles Homeless

Los Angeles Leader Steps Up On Homelessness Crisis

Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, a veteran leader at the city, county, and state-level, addresses the funding gaps to address this urgent issue and shares some innovative models being deployed by the county.

October 1, 2016 - The Planning Report

Seattle Homeless

Seattle's 'Pathway Home' Initiative Seeks Housing First Strategy for Homeless

'Housing first' has become a policy buzzword of sorts to describe an approach to homeless services. A pair of new reports on the homelessness situation in Seattle finds consensus on the need for a housing first policy.

September 11, 2016 - Capitol Hill Seattle Blog

Portland

Portland Extends its 'Housing Emergency' Until 2017

A year ago, Portland declared an official housing emergency to ease homelessness and rising housing costs. A year later, the emergency continues.

September 9, 2016 - The Oregonian

Sacramento

Sacramento Rising: Mayor-Elect Darrell Steinberg's Vision for Sustainable Communities

Mayor-Elect Steinberg enters City Hall as a leader with a unique opportunity to enact sustainable infill policies he championed in the California Legislature.

August 26, 2016 - The Planning Report

Helping the homeless

Homelessness Is Falling Despite Worsening Conditions. Why?

In 2015, compared to 2009, the nation had more people and lower incomes, but higher rents. All things being equal, the number of people who are homeless should have gone up. But it did not. It went down. What changed, and what's next?

August 21, 2016 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Could an Anti-Homelessness Program Stabilize Affordable Housing?

Periodically in the affordable housing world, a few of us acknowledge that the vast majority of low-income people live in unsubsidized rentals in one- to four-unit buildings, and we wonder how to preserve and improve those units. Here is a way.

August 17, 2016 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

McCoppin Hub

San Francisco Debates an Anti-Homeless Fence

The deployment of so-called defensive architecture is in the news again. This time the controversy is in the public realm, as San Francisco considers a fence to keep homeless out of McCoppin Hub.

July 29, 2016 - Curbed SF

Tiny House Prefab

Clearing the Path for Tiny Houses

Clocking in at less than 500 square feet, tiny houses are in greater and greater demand. They've been touted as a means to address affordability, inequality, homelessness, and environmental concerns. But regulatory issues are holding them back.

July 14, 2016 - Pew Charitable Trusts

Homeless

'Housing First' Program Reduces Homelessness by 70 Percent in Milwaukee County

The "housing first" approach to homelessness is building a track record of success in Milwaukee.

July 13, 2016 - Urban Milwaukee

Los Angeles Homeless

Los Angeles Voters to Consider $1.2 Billion Property Tax Bond for Homeless Housing

Los Angeles voters will be asked to approve a new property tax on residential and commercial properties to pay for a $1.2 billion to improve the city's worsening homelessness problem.

July 4, 2016 - Los Angeles Daily News

Homeless Encampment

Voters to Decide Future of San Francisco Homeless Tent Encampments

Unable to pass the measure themselves, four San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a ballot measure for November that would let voters decide on the removal of tent encampments in the city providing that housing is offered.

June 23, 2016 - San Francisco Chronicle

Did Amazon Really Just Create a Pop-up Homeless Shelter?

As cities around the U.S. scramble to figure out how to address the housing affordability crisis, one of them has now leaned on the benevolence of what some consider the least benevolent of them all.

June 10, 2016 - 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.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

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

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

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