Housing Costs

What the ‘Walk Score’ Misses
A popular walkability assessment omits key factors that impact different demographics and can direct development resources to already wealthy neighborhoods.

The Natalist Case For Sprawl (And Why It Fails)
Some commentators defend anti-urban government policies such as exclusionary zoning on the basis that homeowning suburbanites have high birth rates. But this doesn't seem to be true in recent decades.

Montana Bill Promotes Parking Reform
A bill before the Montana state senate would bar cities from requiring more than one parking spot per new housing unit.

Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25,% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.

Idaho Data: Unexpected Vehicle Repairs Exacerbate Housing Instability, Eviction Risk
Over 21 percent of clients struggle with transportation barriers.

Six Reasons Why Housing Is a Human Right
Is housing a human right? A law professor shares six reasons why it should be, from its role in protecting other rights to global recognition and U.S. legal traditions. As public support grows, could housing be the next right written into law?

San Antonio Remains Affordable as City Grows
The city’s active efforts to keep housing costs down through housing reforms and coordinated efforts among city agencies and developers have kept it one of the most affordable in the nation despite its rapid population growth.

Minneapolis Bans Rent-Setting Software
Four cities have enacted restrictions on algorithmic software that can inflate rent costs.

Stuck, Part II: Why Do People Move (Or Not Move)?
Yes, Americans are moving a lot less, but why? In this part of my post, I drill down to try to unearth some of the reasons. It turns out they're complicated.

Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?

Preserving Houston’s ‘Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing’
Unsubsidized, low-cost rental housing is a significant source of affordable housing for Houston households, but the supply is declining as units fall into disrepair or are redeveloped into more expensive units.

Community-Led Efforts to Combat Gentrification in Philadelphia’s University City
How residents came together to fight for housing equity.

Louisville Launches ‘Anti-Displacement Tool’
After a years-long, tenant-led effort, Louisville will use a new tool to analyze whether a proposed housing development can meet a neighborhood’s housing needs and income levels. If it doesn’t, the city won’t subsidize it.

Low-Income Columbus Households Struggle to Find Housing
The Ohio city has a more severe affordable housing crisis than more traditionally expensive cities like New York and San Francisco.

Washington State May Cap Rent Increases at 7 Percent
House Bill 1217 was passed by the House and will move next to the state Senate.

How Single-Family Conversions Benefit Both Homeowners and Cities
Converting single-family homes to triplexes can ease the housing crisis and offer affordable, flexible options for more households. Why is it largely illegal?

DC Residents Want Affordability Over ‘Character’
A poll finds that most residents want to see changes in zoning and land use laws that unlock more housing construction in the District and improve affordability.

Barcelona Buys Building to Prevent Tenant Evictions
One apartment building — and its tenants who faced eviction — became a potent symbol of the city’s growing housing crisis.

Rents Rose Between December and January
After dropping to a three-year low, U.S. rent costs grew in many major cities.

How Houston Can Be a Model for Housing Reform
The city builds more new housing than almost any other and has dramatically reduced homelessness, yet low-income families struggle to find affordable housing.
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