Developers often have to jump through hoops to get their projects approved by a city. When a Costco branch in California was faced with lengthy waiting periods and public debate, it decided to take a different approach: adding 400,000 square feet of housing to its plans so it qualified for a faster regulatory process.
Read MoreThe Messy City is a podcast that discusses urban planning and design issues. Its host, Kevin Klinkenberg, recently invited Strong Towns President Chuck Marohn to appear on an episode. Up for discussion: Chuck’s new book, sports stadiums, and Disney World.
Read MoreThe Strong Towns approach to housing has some obvious differences with NIMBYs, but what about the YIMBY movement?
Read MoreWhat percentage of property in any given jurisdiction in the U.S. is locally owned—and are the implications of those numbers? Here to talk with us about it is Alex Alsup of Regrid, which has made the only complete national parcel map.
Read MoreIt's not that cities can’t or shouldn’t learn from each other. But there simply aren’t the kind of drag-and-drop solutions that some pundits (who are either naïve or dishonest) would like to claim.
Read MoreThere is nothing inspirational in calling the place you live as accessory to something else. It’s time we returned a sense of dignity to the smaller structures that people have called “home” for generations.
Read MoreRodney Harrell, AARP Vice President of Family, Home and Community, chats with us about housing, transportation, and how making life easier for older Americans benefits citizens of all ages.
Read MoreThese statistics help tell the story of the past and present of North America’s housing crisis, why we’re facing these challenges, and how we can correct course to address them.
Read MoreAnd why a lot of people will remain unimpressed by it.
Read MoreThe city of Edmonton, AB, has passed substantial zoning reforms that officials and housing advocates hope will generate more infill construction and help the fast-growing city add housing to keep pace.
Read MoreThe Housing Accelerator Fund is a grant program that will inject $4 billion into Canada’s cities and towns by 2026–2027. There are a lot of ways to use this money well…but also a lot of ways to use it poorly.
Read MoreThe momentum for ADUs gets a big boost from the federal government with a new policy to encourage homes with rental units.
Read MoreThere was a major housing development scandal in Canada this summer…but it’s not the one you think.
Read MoreThe single least expensive way to produce a lot of new housing is to follow a template that was once used in virtually every city. Unfortunately, most North American cities effectively prohibit it today. Does yours?
Read MoreHousing affordability in places like Austin, TX, has reached an unacceptable zenith. This local teacher—who works two jobs just to afford her family’s rent—makes the case for zoning reform.
Read MoreWhat if, rather than having to move because of life changes, your house itself could change? We present to you THE architectural solution to this common problem: The Incredible Expanding and Shrinking House.
Read MoreTrumansburg, NY, may not be a major city, but it’s feeling the squeeze of North America’s housing crisis just as much as larger municipalities. Here’s how they’re tackling the challenge of housing affordability.
Read MoreMany agree that encouraging residential construction in underutilized urban areas is a good idea, but here’s why turning an office building into an apartment isn’t always so easy, in practice.
Read MorePublic policy has winners and losers, and parking reform is, unfortunately, no exception. So how should that knowledge impact the way we approach parking reform?
Read MoreAmericans need housing relief imminently. Despite what you may have heard, upzoning isn’t likely to be the thing that delivers that—but here's why it’s still worth pursuing.
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