Housing

Baltimore

The Blight-Busting Tactic That Pays Huge Dividends for Real Estate Values

Neighborhoods achieve significantly more improvements by rehabilitating vacant rowhouses than by introducing new construction.

October 8, 2016 - Shelterforce Magazine

Apartments for rent signage

Some Big Cities See Shrinking Rents

Even as rents continue to rise nationally, some of the most expensive cities like San Jose, San Francisco, and New York have seen rents fall this year.

October 6, 2016 - The Wall Street Jounal

Brisbane

A Call for Housing in Bay Area Suburb

Bay area town Brisbane looks to provide commercial development to cater to San Francisco residents, but resists building housing.

October 1, 2016 - San Francisco Chronicle

Vancouver Waterfront

Vancouver Start-Up Wants You to Bid On Your Rent

The founders of Vancouver-based Biddwell are hoping to change the way landlords and potential tenants find each other, but a renters' advocacy body sees the new company as bad news for tenants in an increasingly tight housing market.

August 22, 2016 - The Globe and Mail

Glenwood Green Acres, Philadelphia

An Urban Lesson From the DNC's Host City

While Democrats consider the future of the country, the host city of the DNC offers a great urban lesson from the past: the elegant efficiency of rowhouses.

July 28, 2016 - California Planning & Development Report

Rental Apartments

Housing Crisis Leads to Renewed Support For Rent Control

As rents in the Bay Area have skyrocketed, cities are updating and introducing rent control ordinances. They are stoking age-old debates over the macroeconomic value of rent control.

June 1, 2016 - California Planning & Development Report

Moving Truck

Does New Housing Create New Demand for Housing?

One argument against new housing is that it creates demand for housing, thus increasing housing prices.

May 24, 2016 - Michael Lewyn

How Bay Area Cities Are Dealing with the Housing Crunch

A booming-once-again tech sector and a rapidly increasing population in the Bay Area are aggravating a historically tight housing market. Preservation architect Jerri Holan looks at how Bay Area cities are dealing with the housing crunch.

April 22, 2016 - UrbDeZine

How Process Stops Change in San Francisco

San Francisco loves process and fears change. It's costing residents in more ways than housing, laments David Prowler, former Special Assistant to Mayor Willie Brown.

March 14, 2016 - UrbDeZine

Planners Feeling Tension Between Disruption And Convention

Cultural changes and 'disruptions' created by the 'sharing' economy are challenging planners just as they're challenging their own competitors. Bill Fulton assesses the brave new world that might liberate planners—or befuddle them.

December 2, 2015 - California Planning & Development Report

Hackney Empire

What's the Value of a Music Venue in a Neighborhood? Let's Find Out

With market pressures pushing landowners in London to build pricey new flats, local music venues are getting the boot; but does this make sense economically?

October 14, 2015 - Citymetric

Suburbia

Pushing Back Against the Idea that Cities Can Become Full

The perception that a city has reached its maximum population and nobody else should be allowed in, or nothing should be allowed to change, is limiting the potential of our cities and increasing housing inequality.

October 8, 2015 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Bronx Apartments

The Economics of Rent Control

A simple explanation of why strict rent control reduces housing supply, and why moderate rent control does so to a much lesser extent.

September 21, 2015 - Michael Lewyn

Lafayette BART

Bay Area Town: 44 Single-Family Homes on a Site Once Considered for 315 Apartments

Lafayette provides a case study of the San Francisco Bay Area housing market.

August 15, 2015 - Contra Costa Times

Affordable housing

Explaining the Importance of Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning

A term you need to know.

August 8, 2015 - New York Magazine

New Report Ranks Metros on Transportation, Land Use, and More

To make a strategic assessment of the St. Louis region, the 7th edition of "Where We Stand" ranks the largest 50 metropolitan areas on more than 200 variables.

July 31, 2015 - East-West Gateway Council of Governments

Old houses with large porch and colorful siding

All-White Neighborhoods Are Nearly Extinct; All-Black Neighborhoods Persist

The good news is that middle-class suburbs are becoming increasingly integrated. However, a closer look at the migration patterns of whites and minorities reveals a more complex picture, rife with racism.

July 26, 2015 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Tiny House

Tiny House Movement Pushing the Boundaries of Traditional Zoning

Tiny Houses on trailers are available and buyers are ready to live small, but most zoning regulations don’t allow recreational vehicles as a permanent residence. Can zoning catch up to the tiny living trend?

July 11, 2015 - The Charlotte Observer

How Much Does it Cost the Public to Build Housing in Loudoun County, Virginia?

A wealthy county in Virginia has a reputation for prohibiting the construction of new housing. Development interests, however, are fed up with anti-development arguments.

July 10, 2015 - The Washington Post

How NIMBYism Contributes to San Francisco's Housing Shortage

A pattern of opposition to housing projects that leads to the underdevelopment of land has contributed to a housing shortage in San Francisco, writes planning consultant Jim Chappell.

June 18, 2015 - UrbDeZine

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.