Housing Costs
Parking Requirements and Housing Prices: More Questions Than Answers in Portland
The city of Portland is considering an expansion of parking requirements in Northwest Portland, much to the chagrin of advocates who predict the new requirements will make housing more expensive.
A Dissenting Opinion on the Subject of Compact, Affordable Cities
Writing for New Geography, Fannis Grammenos expresses skepticism that more compact cities are more affordable cities. In fact, Grammenos argues that just the opposite is true.
Gentrification Fears Spreading in Houston
In a state famous for affordability, people are beginning to ask a question more commonly associated with San Francisco or New York: Is Houston becoming home only to the affluent and the elite?
Vancouver Hands Residents the Keys to Granny Flats
Leading other expensive cities in North America, Vancouver, British Columbia is quickly adding accessory dwelling units as a result of permissive regulations approved in 2009.
Watch San Francisco's Houses Transform Into Million Dollar Listings
A new study by Trulia quantifies the number of houses that broached the $1 million listing benchmark in the city of San Francisco between January 2010 and September 2015. A pretty/scary infographic illustrates the findings.
Where Will Gentrification Happen Next?
This map tool hows gentrification-related statistics by Bay Area neighborhood, helping communities guess where the heaviest gentrification will occur.
San Francisco to Vote on Affordable Housing Bond
A ballot decision in November will determine whether San Francisco can sell $310 million in bonds to pay for affordable housing. The proposal coincides with Mayor Ed Lee's campaign for re-election.
Escaping the Cycle of Inflated Housing Costs
In an insightful article, William Fulton unpacks the supply-demand cycle driving costs skyward in certain areas. To address the problem, new construction needs an unprecedented level of diversity.
Report: Rents Rising Faster Than Home Values
A housing report by Zillow finds that rents are growing faster—much faster, in some cases—than home values.
California's High Housing Costs Drives Out-Migration
Same story, different year, though more data provided on which groups are leaving the Golden State: predominantly workers earning less than $50,000 a year. Conversely, those migrating to California from other states had higher incomes and education.
Census Releases Data on County-to-County Migration
A new data set released this week by the U.S. Census is helpful for determining patterns of migration during the recession-troubled years of 2008-2012.
Ballot Measure would Tax House Flipping in San Francisco
Eric Young reports on a "Stop the Flip" ordinance that will appear on the November ballot in San Francisco.
Rising Rents Burden Record Number of Americans
Rising rents, stagnant incomes and the effects of the recession have pushed a record number of Americans to take on hazardous housing cost burdens, says a new report. Low-income renters are especially vulnerable.
Are Developer Fees Responsible for Vancouver's High Housing Costs?
The Vancouver Sun looks at the fees that the city charges developers, such as the community amenity contribution, and finds them much higher than neighboring areas. Even though costs are higher, so are developer profits.
Native-born Californians Reign Again
It's 1900 all over again - more Californians are born here than come from other states or countries. The recession and high housing costs have continued the outflow from the state meaning that growth is dependent largely on offspring of immigrants.
Does Smart Growth Lead to More Expensive Housing?
Wendell Cox believes so. In this article, he quantifies the effect of land use regulation on the cost of new home construction, which he says leads to
HUD's Donovan on Transportation and Housing Costs
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan talks with PBS about the department's new approach of integrating transportation and housing policy.
More Americans Overspent on Housing
Data from the Census shows that 36.7% of U.S. households pay more than 30% of their pretax income on housing, an increase of 1.5 million since 2007.
London's Property Prices Force Commuters Into Campsites
Consistently ranked one of the worlds most expensive cities to live in, many of its workers are now forced to commute from the campsites encircling the city.
What is the New "Normal" in Housing Prices?
Ed Glaeser argues that housing needs to be viewed as a commodity like any other, rather than an investment.
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
