housing affordability

Texas Townhomes

'Missing Middle' Housing and the Expected Millennial Exodus

The Washington Post examines "missing middle" housing as a solution for retaining millennials in cities and interior suburbs. There is still some question, however, about whether millennials are actually leaving urban areas.

December 12, 2017 - The Washington Post

Mt. Rainier

Census: Seattle Quickly Ascending the Ranks of Most Expensive Cities to Rent

New American Community Survey Data reveals the cities where renters are paying the most.

December 7, 2017 - The Seattle Times

Prospect Hill Park, Waltham, MA

Housing Growth Stagnates in Boston Suburbs

Boston economists are sounding the alarm: while the city itself is adding plenty of housing, there's not a lot happening in the suburbs. That may adversely affect older folks who want to sell and younger people looking to buy.

November 30, 2017 - The Boston Globe

Sacramento

Bay Area Displacement Spreads to Sacramento

A new study finds evidence that the ripple effect from the San Francisco Bay Area's housing affordability crisis has reached all the way to Sacramento.

November 25, 2017 - The Mercury News

Tenderloin District

Rent Control's Mixed Effects in San Francisco

As California debates the future of rent control in its municipalities, a group of Stanford economists have conducted research that connects San Francisco's existing policy with higher housing costs.

November 14, 2017 - The Mercury News

Centennial Olympic Park

Atlanta Unveils Strategy for Equitable Resilience

The new plan tackles housing affordability and food justice alongside water supply and greenhouse gas emissions.

November 9, 2017 - Saporta Report

Inland Empire

'Millennial Livability' Takes Shape in Suburban Inland Empire

The Inland Empire's housing boom and economic growth are attracting plenty of new residents—especially millennials.

November 1, 2017 - The Planning Report

Vancouver

Op-Ed: Vancouver Needs a Land Value Tax

Labor leaders argue that curbing real estate speculation is Vancouver's best chance at lowering housing costs.

October 25, 2017 - The Vancouver Sun

British Rowhouses

A Playbook for Supply-Side Housing Affordability Solutions

The word YIMBY isn't used in the McKinsey Global Institute's new supply-side toolkit for housing affordability, but YIMBYs will like this it anyway.

October 15, 2017 - McKinsey & Company

Puget Sound

Mapping the Differences Between Multi-Family and Single-Family Housing Costs

The city of Seattle provides the geography and market for a housing map that illustrates the differences between single-family and multi-family housing in terms of affordability.

August 31, 2017 - Sightline Institute

Bay Area Rapid Transit

Housing, Transit Crunches Collide in the Bay Area

The New York Times explores the Bay Area housing crisis through one woman’s three-hour commute.

August 25, 2017 - New York Times

Vancouver Skyline

Professor: High-End Housing Worsened Vancouver's Affordability Crunch

UBC's Patrick Condon argues that for Vancouver and cities like it, simply adding supply at any level doesn't get at the root causes of the global affordable housing crisis.

August 25, 2017 - The Planning Report

Project Housing

HUD: 'Worst Case Housing Needs' Only Getting Worse

The 2017 "Worst Case Housing Needs" report paints a dire picture of the nation's low-income housing options, as the Trump Administration proposes drastic cuts to federal housing programs.

August 14, 2017 - The Washington Post

Rent

Report: Wages Falling Short of Rent in Every Corner of the Country

The size of the gap between wages and the cost of rent is growing, and spreading. For renters, every corner of the country's housing market is in crisis.

August 13, 2017 - CityLab

Vancouver

Evidence that Foreign Buyers Aren't to Blame for High Housing Prices

Vancouver's exploding housing prices are caused by income inequality, housing scarcity, and a housing bubble, not by foreign investors and vacant housing units.

July 7, 2017 - Sightline

Homes

What Happened When Arlington Cut Out the 'Missing Middle'

In Arlington, restricting density to preserve neighborhood character isn't new. A rowhouse ban in 1938 may be one factor behind today's steep prices and gentrification.

June 17, 2017 - Greater Greater Washington

Portland Weird

How Not to Solve a Housing Crisis

More trouble in River City, as Portland and Oregon struggle with rising housing costs and come up with a puzzling solution.

June 8, 2017 - Michael Mehaffy

Texas Townhomes

Missing Middle Housing: An Austin Case Study

The "missing middle" of housing is a concept familiar to many planners, but it's still probably unknown to most of the public. A story for Austin's NPR station could be an indication that the missing middle is entering the public consciousness.

May 26, 2017 - KUT

Construction

A Call for Prevailing Wages as a Housing Solution

An op-ed written by city officials from two South Bay Area cities argues that reform of land use regulations won't be enough to solve California's housing crisis.

May 19, 2017 - The Mercury News

California Big Sur

The New California Coastal Commission

The commission spent a significant part of last year in the spotlight. Now, its new director is moving ahead on climate adaptation and resilience efforts as a federal policy change looms.

May 8, 2017 - The Planning Report

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.