The 'time-honored tradition' of opposing affordable multifamily housing in US cities

Shawnee, Kansas, city councilors recently passed a rule banning co-living groups. Similar policies and other opposition to local zoning reform are perpetuating the country's housing crisis, housing experts say. 

By Danielle McLean • May 31, 2022

Biden administration addresses the affordable housing crisis with new plan

The plan proposes using federal grants to encourage cities to relax their zoning and land-use policies while providing new financing options for manufactured homes, accessory dwelling units and small-scale developments.

By Danielle McLean • May 16, 2022

White House vows to speed up environmental review for federal infrastructure projects

The new action plan will help streamline permitting and accelerate projects, Biden administration officials said earlier this week.

By Julie Strupp • May 13, 2022

Washington, DC, is ‘ideally poised for electrification,’ Sierra Club finds. The city’s gas utility disagrees.

Renewable natural gas and green hydrogen could help the nation's capital avoid costly electric grid upgrades, according to Washington Gas.

By Robert Walton • May 13, 2022

Governments clear a path for tiny homes to address housing crisis in cities

Accessory dwelling units and tiny homes that are constructed in factories off-site and installed in backyards are often subject to restrictive zoning rules, building codes and pushback from neighbors. That is starting to change. 

By Danielle McLean • May 9, 2022

Lessons from California: Tips to keep transit projects on time, on budget

Local agencies tend to poorly plan infrastructure work and don’t have enough capacity to manage megaprojects, and common procurement methods create a management bottleneck, a new study from UC Berkeley found. 

By Julie Strupp • April 28, 2022

Converting strip malls into mixed-use development could address California’s housing crisis

The transformation could alleviate the housing shortage while aiding storefronts amid the shift to online shopping. But it would require cities to change land-use policies, said housing experts during an Urban Land Institute meeting.

By Danielle McLean • April 27, 2022

Housing economist: The industry has hit peak rent growth

Although inflation could partially mute rent gains, the chief economist at an Atlanta-based real estate company says the supply-demand picture still looks good for multifamily housing.

By Leslie Shaver • April 25, 2022

San Diego housing density bonus is spurring affordable units: report

Amid a crucial housing shortage in Southern California, developers have leveraged a city incentive program to build thousands of units since 2016.

By Danielle McLean • April 21, 2022

Denver is changing how residents will pay for trash collection

The city council voted Monday to expand recycling pickups and provide weekly compost collection at no added cost, while charging for trash service based on how much households throw out. Changes take effect in 2023.

By Maria Rachal • Updated June 28, 2022

For the Building Performance Standards Coalition to be effective, the White House must think bigger

The former head of the U.S. Green Building Council weighs in on how federal, state and local government partners can go beyond just reducing building emissions as they pursue decarbonization.  

By Mahesh Ramanujam • April 8, 2022

Latest UN climate change report shines new light on well-documented urban mitigation strategies

Cities must push harder to decarbonize buildings and transform transportation norms, the report suggests, as the next three years are critical if the world is to change the course of global warming.

By Maria Rachal • April 5, 2022

Baltimore company turns empty offices into apartments

A real estate firm CEO explains the key challenges of converting old office buildings to apartments beyond the design limitations.  

By Leslie Shaver • April 4, 2022

Transit-oriented development catches on as cities need to boost ridership and housing supply

Cities are opting to build mixed-use developments near public transportation, but experts in Seattle, Atlanta and elsewhere say getting it right is a big challenge.

By Adina Solomon • April 1, 2022

IDC names 17 winners for its 2022 North America Smart City Awards

From Schenectady, New York, to Santa Ana, California, the group recognized smart city accomplishments across 14 categories for its fifth annual awards.

By Cailin Crowe • March 30, 2022

Affordable housing funding would expand in Biden’s FY23 budget

With no path forward for housing provisions of last year's Build Back Better plan, the administration calls for $50 billion to increase the U.S. affordable housing supply and expand the federal Housing Choice Voucher program.

By Danielle McLean • March 29, 2022

Nearly $45B for climate and clean energy included in Biden’s proposed budget

It calls for investments in zero-emission vehicles and related infrastructure so federal agencies can provide "immediate, clear, and stable" demand. There are also carveouts for electrifying low-income homes.

By Ethan Howland • March 29, 2022

The country's least affordable cities for rent

U.S. median rent jumped 17.1% in February, marking the seventh month in a row of double-digit increases.

By Leslie Shaver • March 28, 2022

Urban heat project to assess impact of scaling up cool pavements

Following some cities' cool pavements pilots, a new research initiative in one LA neighborhood will aim to measure extreme heat's impacts and implement cooling tech in a 10-square-block area to see how benefits amplify.

By Maria Rachal • March 25, 2022

Bidding wars break out in NYC while San Francisco properties struggle

The major coastal metros, which were the poster children for urban pandemic flight in 2020, are following different paths to recovery.

By Leslie Shaver • March 23, 2022

Habitat for Humanity receives $436M donation to address global housing crisis

But housing experts say the large donation from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott and new advancements in home construction technology will not alone make housing affordable to families in U.S. cities.

By Danielle McLean • March 23, 2022

How 'spongy' is your city? Report calls on cities to better assess how they absorb water

With digital mapping tools, cities can determine their baseline ability to manage rainfall, and in turn work to reduce their reliance on less climate-resilient infrastructure, according to engineering and consulting firm Arup.

By Maria Rachal • March 22, 2022

Could Zoom towns go bust?

Money is flowing into cities like Boise, Idaho, but some analysts wonder about the sustainability of their growth.

By Leslie Shaver • March 22, 2022

Toyota's Woven Planet, NYU create open-source dataset to improve VPR tech for accessibility, autonomy

To test how visual place recognition technology can help visually impaired pedestrians, autonomous vehicles and delivery robots better navigate cities, the project captured over 200,000 images of part of an NYC neighborhood.

By Cailin Crowe • March 21, 2022

6 cities set to add the highest percentage of new apartments in 2022

Nashville, Phoenix and Austin, Texas, will build 6% new inventory this year, as apartment construction is projected to hit a 30-year high.

By Leslie Shaver • March 8, 2022