The state’s smaller communities are feeling the pressure of sharply rising housing costs, stagnating wages, and an aging population.
![Distant view of Lewiston, Idaho nestled in green hills against cloudy blue sky](/files/styles/featured_small/public/images/AdobeStock_113785774.jpeg.webp?itok=jOecIc6K)
Idaho’s housing woes extend beyond its urban centers, writes Laura Guido in Boise Dev. “While there is certainly a significant issue regarding supply, demand and lack of affordability in these areas, the vast majority of Idaho is rural and those residents are also feeling the pressure,” according to a housing assessment report completed for the Clearwater Economic Development Association in 2022.
Guido points out that similar trends—“lack of housing options, getting squeezed out by people moving in from more expensive areas, aging populations, and wages that have not kept pace with housing prices”—affect all parts of the state, which grew faster than any other between 2019 and 2020.
The large number of retirees looking to downsize their homes is putting them in competition with first-time homebuyers for smaller, more affordable homes, while high housing costs are driving workers far from their jobs. Meanwhile, wages stagnated as housing costs shot up. “The 2022 housing assessment report also found that the region was ‘desperate’ for rentals, both market rate and subsidized.”
FULL STORY: Rural housing issues show housing hardships aren’t unique to Idaho’s cities
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Plan to Potentially Remove Downtown Milwaukee’s Interstate Faces Public Scrutiny
The public is weighing in on a suite of options for repairing, replacing, or removing Interstate 794 in downtown Milwaukee.
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‘Forward Together’ Bus System Redesign Rolling Out in Portland
Portland is redesigning its bus system to respond to the changing patterns of the post-pandemic world—with twin goals of increasing ridership and improving equity.
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Can New York City Go Green Without Renewable Rikers?
New York City’s bold proposal to close the jail on Rikers Island and replace it with green infrastructure is in jeopardy. Will this compromise the city’s ambitious climate goals?
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700-Acre Master-Planned Community Planned in Utah
A massive development plan is taking shape for lakefront property in Vineyard, Utah—on the site of a former U.S. Steel Geneva Works facility.
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More Cities Ponder the End of Drive-Thrus
Drive-thru fast food restaurants might be a staple of American life, but several U.S. cities are actively considering prohibiting the development of new drive-thrus for the benefit of traffic safety, air quality, and congestion.
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Air Pollution World’s Worst Public Health Threat, Report Says
Air pollution is more likely to take years life off the lifespan of the average human than any other external factor, according to a recent report out of the University of Chicago.
Placer County
City of Morganton
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Dongguan Binhaiwan Bay Area Management Committee
City of Waukesha, WI
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
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