housing affordability

Masks and Home Sales

Checking in With the Wild Pandemic-Era Housing Market

Bidding wars, TikToks, and disparate impacts—every day there's more evidence that the pandemic has only worsened the nation's housing affordability crisis.

April 27, 2021 - Slate

Public Housing

New York Residents Support Affordable Housing, Survey Says

Contrary to the dominant narrative about the negative perceptions of affordable housing projects among the public, a recent survey reveals widespread support for affordable housing in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut metropolitan region.

April 23, 2021 - Regional Plan Association

Fresno Portal

The Nation's Fastest-Rising Rents Are in California's Central Valley

Fresno's skyrocketing housing costs and inadequate supply are putting strain on the city's low-income households.

April 13, 2021 - Los Angeles Times

Stockton Foreclosure

When Wall Street Controls the Housing Market

A debate about the effect of the increasing footprint of large, institutional investors in the housing market is further fragmenting the politics of development in the United States.

April 7, 2021 - James Brasuell

Queen Anne Hill Seattle

Seattle Has a Housing Crisis, Not a Land Crisis

Like many attractive, economically successful cities Seattle has a housing crisis, but not a land crisis. There is plenty of land if the city will just grow up.

April 4, 2021 - The Urbanist

Apartment construction

A Critical Review of "Sick City: Disease, Race, Inequality and Urban Land"

Patrick Condon's new book, "Sick City: Disease, Race, Inequality and Urban Land" recommends tax reforms and housing subsidies to create more affordable and inclusive communities. It is attractive propaganda that deserves critical analysis.

March 25, 2021 - Todd Litman

Urban Living

Inclusionary Zoning Expanded in D.C.

The Washington, D.C. Planning Commission voted to expand the District's inclusionary zoning program, acting a year after the D.C. Office of Planning set out to expand the program.

March 19, 2021 - Urban Turf

Toronto Waterfront

After Sidewalk Labs, a New Plan Emerges for Toronto's Waterfront

Just shy of a year after Sidewalk Labs pulled the plug on its "smart city" experiment for Quayside, Waterfront Toronto has a released a request for qualifications to move forward with a new, "people-centered" vision for the waterfront.

March 15, 2021 - The Guardian

San Francisco Apartments

What Is Inclusionary Zoning?

Inclusionary zoning refers to a range of policies and practices that mandate or provide incentives for the inclusion of affordable housing units in new developments to encourage mixed-income neighborhoods and increase the supply of affordable housing.

March 12, 2021 - Diana Ionescu

African American

Local Solutions for Housing Affordability

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy recently published a report to identify local government actions to ensure stable and affordable places to live for everyone.

March 11, 2021 - Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Highway 101 California

Zoning Reform Skepticism

Ending single-family zoning, as more cities around the United States have begun to do, is too extreme a response to contemporary planning challenges, according to a recent opinion piece published by the East Bay Times.

March 4, 2021 - East Bay Times

Downtown Boise

Boise Using Adaptive Reuse to Convert Offices to Affordable Housing

Under the city's Grow Our Housing program, vacant offices could see a new life as below-market rentals.

February 19, 2021 - NextCity

Oahu

Legislation Says 'Aloha' to Affordable Homes in Hawai`i

SB 1 is one of four bills proposed in the Hawai`i Legislature this year that would make it easier to develop, buy, and sell affordable homes in the state.

February 16, 2021 - Maui Now

Aerial of Wallingford, Seattle circa 1969

Historic Preservation as a Tool of Exclusion

The push for historic preservation districts often amounts to exclusionary zoning that exacerbates the housing affordability crisis.

February 14, 2021 - The Urbanist

Denver

Double-Digit Housing Price Increases Tied to Supply Imbalance in Denver

Expensive homes dominated the metro Denver real estate market in 2020.

February 7, 2021 - The Denver Post

Suburban Neighborhood

What Is Exclusionary Zoning?

Criticized as a key factor in perpetuating housing inequality in the United States, exclusionary zoning refers to a range of policies that, explicitly or implicitly, seek to prevent people of certain races, ethnicities, or income levels from buying homes in specific neighborhoods.

January 31, 2021 - James Brasuell

Vancouver 2012

Vancouver Might Allow Non-Profit Housing to Skip Rezoning Application

Vancouver is considering eliminating a rezoning application, which could save non-profit developers up to two years in the city's approvals process.

January 28, 2021 - Daily Hive

Granny Flat

Proposed Law Would Legalize Accessory Dwelling Units in New York State

Advocates have been calling for the New York State Legislature to legalize accessory dwelling units for years. A new law would take the first step.

January 28, 2021 - New York ADU Legislation

Atlanta

How Atlanta Plans to Overhaul Zoning for Housing Affordability

The "Atlanta City Design: Housing" initiative is one of the most ambitious planning reform efforts of any large U.S. city, but it's just getting started.

January 20, 2021 - City Monitor

Seattle, Washington

Amazon and Other Tech Giants Make Billion-Dollar Commitments to Affordable Housing

Some of the world's biggest companies are investing in affordable housing, hoping to stymie the growing crisis their growth has contributed to.

January 19, 2021 - Smart Cities Dive

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