Housing

  • Three worn tents on a city sidewalk
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    HUD sued over federal housing grant requirements

    The National Alliance to End Homelessness and Women’s Development Corp. say the Trump administration’s new funding criteria “unlawfully condition access” to housing assistance grants.

    By • Sept. 12, 2025
  • A highway with cars on it in front of a city skyline. Two large cranes line the highway next to new construction.
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    JasonDoiy via Getty Images
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    San Francisco’s permitting reform seeks an end to building project ‘death by a thousand cuts’

    San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s latest permitting reform package loosens restrictions on historic buildings, reduces fees and clears the path for accessory dwelling units in the city.

    By • Sept. 11, 2025
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    jamesteohart via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Top 5 stories from Smart Cities Dive

    From worsening climate change to a shifting transportation landscape and the housing affordability crisis, cities have their work cut out for them.

    By Smart Cities Dive staff
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    Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    With an executive order, Maryland aims to build more houses faster

    Gov. Wes Moore wants to shrink permitting timelines, set housing production targets and use state land for transit-oriented development.

    By • Sept. 10, 2025
  • A blue tent on a city street with a view of skyscrapers in the background
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    Apu Gomes/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    California forms task force to clear homeless encampments

    The task force will target encampments on state rights-of-way in the state’s 10 largest cities, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

    By • Sept. 9, 2025
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    Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Chicago eases parking mandates to spur affordable housing development

    Developments near public transit can reduce the amount of off-street parking by up to 100% without administrative approval.

    By • Sept. 5, 2025
  • Aerial view of a modern houses in a new housing development.
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    Bim via Getty Images
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    A Virginia city eliminated single-family-only zoning. Then the lawsuits came.

    Roanoke, Virginia, is reassessing zoning reforms it passed last year after resident lawsuits cost the city tens of thousands in litigation.

    By • Sept. 3, 2025
  • Aerial view of Oakland, California.
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    trekandshoot/iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images
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    To address homelessness, Oakland, California, has a new plan and new resources

    Some funding for the Office of Homelessness Solutions will come from a half-cent county sales tax that took effect in April.

    By • Sept. 2, 2025
  • Oregon's state capitol building in Salem, Oregon.
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    KingWu via Getty Images
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    Oregon moves toward state-level zoning in push for ‘missing middle’ housing

    “We have to cut red tape and get out of our own way,” Gov. Tina Kotek said in signing two bipartisan measures into law.

    By • Aug. 28, 2025
  • The sun rises behind distant houses in the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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    Brandon Bell/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Housing affordability was a problem in New Orleans before Katrina. That hasn’t changed.

    Uneven investment has worsened the city’s housing affordability crisis in the two decades since the storm, housing advocates say.

    By • Aug. 27, 2025
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    RoschetzkyIstockPhoto via Getty Images
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    In Colorado, most residential zoning codes block affordable housing

    Restrictive zoning laws prohibit multifamily dwellings throughout much of the state, a recent study found. 

    By • Aug. 22, 2025
  • A wooden sign that says "Canopy Court" in front of new homes.
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    Permission granted by Thrive Collaborative
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    Ann Arbor’s all-electric community offers a new model for net-zero living

    Veridian at County Farm stands out for its rooftop solar, heat pumps and potential community battery network. Will the local utility’s hesitation and loss of federal tax credits prevent other developers from following its lead?

    By Brian Martucci • Aug. 21, 2025
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    Courtesy of State Farm
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    State Farm homeowners insurance rates to surge 27% in Illinois

    The move is part of a nationwide trend of premium hikes that’s making housing even less affordable. 

    By • Aug. 15, 2025
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    Bo Shen via Getty Images
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    Justice Department, Greystar reach proposed settlement on algorithmic pricing for rental housing

    Under the terms of the agreement, the nation’s largest apartment provider would be barred from using nonpublic competitor data in rent-setting software.

    By Mary Salmonsen • Aug. 13, 2025
  • Officers wearing shirts that read "police" handcuff a person.
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    wademcmillan via Getty Images
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    Federal legislation aims to counteract surge of local laws criminalizing homelessness

    The Housing Not Handcuffs Act would prevent federal agencies from arresting or ticketing unhoused people for living on public land.

    By • Aug. 12, 2025
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    Permission granted by Cityview
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    Q&A

    CEQA reform opens new era for urban development in California, developer says

    Sweeping overhaul of environmental reviews eliminates “the major impediment to getting new housing built in the state,” says Sean Burton, CEO of LA-based apartment developer Cityview.

    By Leslie Shaver • Aug. 11, 2025
  • Workers in orange vests and caps standing on either side of an unhoused person in front of tents and tarps
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    LA County sees second year of homelessness declines, ends longtime partnership with city of LA

    A 4% drop in homelessness signals momentum, but Los Angeles city leaders warn the county’s plan to launch its own homeless services department could threaten progress across the region.

    By • Aug. 7, 2025
  • Aerial view of rooftops in a suburban neighborhood. A street curves through the houses.
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    Haizhan Zheng via Getty Images
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    5 takeaways from Harvard’s 2025 state of housing report

    Record unaffordability and looming federal funding cuts are driving housing uncertainty, a Joint Center for Housing Studies report warns. Here’s what local government leaders should know.

    By • Aug. 6, 2025
  • Aerial view from skyline with skyscrapers in Brooklyn downtown New York on the Hudson river
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    photovs via Getty Images
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    Housing shortages hit low-income renters the hardest, Pew report finds

    While rent is stabilizing in high-growth cities, displacement and homelessness are surging in housing-constrained metros.

    By • Aug. 5, 2025
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    Permission granted by Tyler Chartier Photography/MBH Architects
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    Q&A

    New Oakland, Calif., development to add 235 affordable units after nearly 10 years on hiatus

    Modular construction is a powerful strategy for maximizing efficiency in building new housing, MBH Architects director Timothy Haley says.

    By Mary Salmonsen • Aug. 5, 2025
  • a row of houses on a suburban lot
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    Lawrence Sawyer via Getty Images
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    Single-family rent growth slows as new supply surges — but affordability pressures remain

    Overall prices remain high following five years of rapid growth, with some markets requiring $200,000 in annual income to comfortably rent a three-bedroom home.

    By Mary Salmonsen • Aug. 4, 2025
  • Aerial view of buildings with street running through the middle and hills in the background.
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    halbergman via Getty Images
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    No zoning code? That’s a problem, one Virginia city discovered.

    Procedural missteps can derail even well-supported measures to eliminate single-family zoning — a problem Charlottesville, Virginia, is now addressing.

    By Danielle McLean • July 31, 2025
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    tigerstrawberry via Getty Images
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    Senate tackles housing affordability crisis with bipartisan bill

    Mayors applauded the Senate’s ROAD to Housing Act proposal to speed housing development, cut red tape and fund local innovation. 

    By • July 30, 2025
  • A brick commerical building entrance facade with a "Capitol One Bank" logo displayed above the doors.
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    Alamy
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    Capital One delivers few details on $265B community plan

    Local officials are still waiting for clarity on how the community investment proposal, part of the card issuer’s effort to acquire Discover Financial, will play out in their neighborhoods.

    By Tatiana Walk-Morris • July 30, 2025
  • A person secures one of two tents set up in front of a tall gate with empty lot and buildings in the background.
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    Apu Gomes via Getty Images
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    Criminalizing homelessness doesn’t work, study finds

    As federal policy shifts toward punishment, a new study calls on cities to reconsider enforcement-based approaches in favor of housing and care.

    By Lori Tobias • July 28, 2025
  • Aerial view of homes in a dense neighborhood.
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    KenWiedemann via Getty Images
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    Maine clears the way for more multifamily housing, ADUs

    New laws in Maine ban parking minimums and relax zoning rules as it joins a growing list of states adopting top-down strategies to drive housing growth.

    By Danielle McLean • July 23, 2025