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.
An upsurge of corporate purchases of single-family homes has sparked legislation in at least half a dozen states this year. Legislators hope to preserve homeownership as a path to building wealth for middle-class families and limit the number of properties owned by large corporations.
The House and Senate are pursuing separate approaches that would offer greater relief either to homeowners or commercial properties.
The consequences of sanctuary policies extend far beyond the ideological debate surrounding immigration enforcement. These policies enable criminal networks to make communities more dangerous.
Reported plans to cut staff in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, along with proposed budget cuts and the Trump administration’s funding freeze, have worried administrators of state and local housing programs.
If there's going to be a “Black mecca” for this rapidly growing sport, there's a good chance it will be Atlanta. But cities everywhere can benefit from this one small way to bring us together.
In the wake of recent wildfires, L.A. officials are exploring a self-certification program for building permits to accelerate the reconstruction of homes, aiming to streamline bureaucracy and cut down on approval wait times.
They just might be. They’re doing a lot of things that don’t have much to do with books but do have a lot to do with community. And you don’t hear “Shhh” much anymore.
Tools are available to not only count people experiencing homelessness more accurately but also to provide them with individualized services. More municipalities should use them.
Homelessness in Miami-Dade County has fallen to an 11-year low thanks to new shelters, a state law banning public sleeping, and other measures.
New Mexico stands out as an exception, leading to skyrocketing rents and home prices.
The city was already in the grip of an affordability crisis — last month’s massive fires just made everything worse. What can L.A. learn from other disaster recovery efforts?
Fremont is set to pass an anti-encampment ordinance. Its broad language could penalize nonprofit groups that provide services to homeless populations.
The Eaton Fire consumed a home and community I had loved for decades. I went from writing about homelessness to living it.
Cities across the country are committed to making it easier to build housing and are taking a variety of promising approaches, note the leaders of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. But they must be bolstered by federal investment and flexibility.
A 10-mile park running underneath a rail transit line in Miami-Dade County is expected to be complete next year. The county’s former transportation chief just signed on to lead a nonprofit supporting the project.
Homelessness rose last year by 18 percent, but much of the increase took place in a handful of states that had received lots of immigrants. Some experts say their increase during a HUD census inflated the actual numbers.
John Nolen’s blueprint for Venice, Fla., is legendary among urban planners. But what's interesting about Venice as a place, as opposed to a plan, is how it’s evolved in real life.
The reason is simple: A boom in apartment construction. Developers are pulling permits at a rate nearly triple that of San Antonio on a per capita basis.
The programs depend on temporary sources of funding from Washington and the state that may be drying up. Finding sustainable funds has been a challenge.
During a confirmation hearing, Eric Scott Turner said his priority as secretary would be increasing the supply of affordable housing and homes in general.
Lawmakers will devote considerable time this year to perennial concerns such as crime and education.
Between brazen minor offenses like organized shoplifting and a few heavily publicized acts of random violence, it’s little wonder that people are on edge.
Forty million Americans live in food deserts. Can government-owned grocery stores fix this?
The Yes In My Backyard movement is barely a decade old. But it has set the terms of the debate over state and local housing policy.
Human services officials say more treatment options are needed to place children, but lawmakers are concerned lighter regulations will create more problems.
The city’s planning office won’t approve conversion of single-family properties into multiple units in six neighborhoods. The desire to protect Latino neighborhoods from gentrification runs counter to the city’s housing goals.
State officials face challenges from shrinking revenue and major changes from Washington in shared programs such as education and Medicaid.
Black drivers, in particular, are stopped at disproportionate rates, a study of 5 million traffic stops found. Police officers say the analysis was flawed.
Both suspects appear to have military backgrounds and both used the same app to rent vehicles.
Every few decades, we have an opportunity to change what our cities can be. This is one of those moments.
New Haven was sliced and diced by highway and urban renewal projects. A series of smaller initiatives are gradually knitting the city back together.
