Housing and Urban Issues
Stresses on urban communities continue to affect housing, food security, child services, homelessness, business development and crime. Coverage includes stories about new solutions to how cities are run, how they develop as urban centers and about the people who live there.
More than half of California renters spend at least 30 percent of their income on housing, making it the fifth-highest rate in the country. But a measure that would have lifted restrictions on local rent control failed this month by 22 points.
The pandemic prompted many downtowns to rethink their futures. Omaha’s evolution beyond a traditional business district was already underway.
The meat industry’s multimillion-dollar lobbying fight succeeded in stopping the city’s slaughterhouse ban, which will result in the continued operation of one of the nation’s largest lamb processing facilities.
After years under progressive measures aimed to reduce incarceration, California, Arizona and Colorado voters will all decide measures aimed at cracking down on crime.
Many of the environmentally-friendly upgrades that turn a home into an energy efficient one are cost-prohibitive for builders outside of luxury homes. As popularity for efficient housing grows, can Maryland find a way to bring down costs?
The unanimous vote supports the removal of a rule that allows renters to be evicted when landlords remodel their buildings.
Five states and Washington, D.C., recently enacted bills dealing with fully autonomous vehicles on public roads. About half of states already have statutes in place for when self-driving cars are actually on the road.
“Valet trash,” boiler management, pest control and service fees are some of the many “junk fees” that landlords are adding to rents in Denver, which can significantly inflate costs. Rental advocates want more transparency.
Future in Context
Drawing from his experience in San Jose, Seattle Chief Technology Officer Rob Lloyd seeks to address pressing issues like homelessness and public safety in a post-pandemic landscape in the Emerald City.
A study has found that Black drivers in Chicago receive approximately 54 percent of automated camera citations, but they make up 70 percent of police stops.
A ballot measure would replace an existing tax with a larger one, raising more than $1 billion annually to fund a wider variety of services. It faces an uncertain future at the ballot box.
Whether it’s backyard housing or in-law suites, attitudes are changing on accessory dwelling units as a cheaper, quicker route to housing affordability and availability.
In a new book, an architect and zoning scholar shows how zoning can create vibrant economies and "delightful experiences" for urban dwellers.
People spend years waiting for federal housing vouchers. That’s because of policy choices made decades ago.
Proposition 33 would allow cities to limit rent increases. Some economists doubt that’s a good idea.
As cities step up their enforcement efforts in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling, they should consider both the financial costs and the public safety ramifications of treating homelessness as a crime.
Baltimore has approximately 13,000 vacant homes across the city. State and local officials are aiming to transition at least 5,000 of those properties into updated homeownership or other positive developments in five years.
By one estimate, only 10 percent of homeless citizens end up casting votes. There are many steps states can take to lower barriers to participation.
With strong mayoral leadership, Atlanta is not only leveraging creative financing to provide housing but also getting tough on landlords of blighted properties. It’s a recognition that homelessness is a moral issue rooted in poor public policy.
Last week, Mayor Brandon Johnson vetoed the Aldermen’s unanimous vote to keep the gunshot detection technology, saying the system doesn’t work well enough to justify its costs. Some residents are worried that without it, police response time will lag.
A new public opinion survey commissioned by the National Alliance to End Homelessness shows most Americans believe investments in housing and social service can reduce homelessness. A smaller fraction supports law enforcement as a primary solution.
Falling borrowing costs could trigger a flood of additional buyers and send home prices higher but, for now, the number of homes for sale is increasing modestly, rates are falling and home price growth is slowing.
Millions of Americans, particularly people of color buying lower-cost homes, have turned to land contracts and other alternative financing that lack the protections of traditional mortgages. Lawmakers could make these processes a lot safer.
HUD’s Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program had over 85,000 participants nationwide as of June. Since the program began in 2008, homelessness among veterans in Illinois has decreased by half.
Nine towns are suing New Jersey over a law implementing aspects of the state’s affordable housing requirements. The rules have pushed states to produce more multifamily and low-income housing.
An economist is making the case for such a correlation, and it carries a ring of plausibility.
Vice President Kamala Harris proposed a $40 billion “housing innovation fund” to help local governments build more affordable housing. It could be a potential break from most federal housing assistance programs, which are tightly defined.
They’re a constant in urban history, typically launching with excitement but achieving modest results. That doesn’t stop the enthusiasts from dreaming.
California is notorious for its lack of affordable housing. Still, it's seen a dramatic expansion of one type of housing over the past five years, known as ADUs, offering lessons for other states.
The U.S. is currently building dense housing at the highest rate since the mid-1980s. Former President Barack Obama noted in his convention speech that “we need to build more units and clear away some of the outdated laws and regulations.”
This nonprofit model for increasing affordable housing supply is seeing success in convincing socially motivated investors to accept lower rates of return on rental units.
