Housing

  • A masked federal agent stands holding a pepper ball gun in a cloud of tear gas as protesters look on.
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    As ICE raids rage on, Chicago is faced with a question: Should evictions be paused?

    Tenant advocates are asking the city for relief reminiscent of the pandemic era as “Operation Midway Blitz” upends daily life for many.

    By • Nov. 7, 2025
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    Baltimore, eyeing a ‘renaissance,’ passes a slew of housing reforms

    The city is reducing red tape for development by eliminating parking minimums and allowing single staircases in certain buildings.

    By • Nov. 6, 2025
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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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    How 8 housing-related proposals fared in November’s elections

    Ballot measures in Colorado, Montana, New York and Washington saw mixed results on Nov. 4.

    By Julie Strupp • Nov. 6, 2025
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    San Jose, California, will clear homeless encampments on state land within the city

    As many as 22 cities have formed agreements with the California Department of Transportation to clear homeless encampments on state rights-of-way.

    By • Nov. 5, 2025
  • Aerial view from skyline with skyscrapers in Brooklyn downtown New York on the Hudson river
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    4 housing measures on the ballot in New York City

    Voters weigh in tomorrow on measures aimed at fast-tracking affordable housing development.

    By • Nov. 3, 2025
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    NYC’s co-ops worry they can’t afford to decarbonize. A new road map offers a path from fear to funding.

    Flexible incentives, zoning reform and collaboration could help co-op boards overcome Local Law 97’s financial and regulatory hurdles, the report states.

    By • Oct. 31, 2025
  • townhouses, Houston, Texas, fourth ward, brick, apartments
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    Keeping people in their homes as evictions surge: 2024 Crown Communities Award winner

    A Harris County, Texas, court is educating tenants about the eviction process and connecting them with legal aid.

    By • Oct. 31, 2025
  • Aerial shot of Charlottesville, Virginia on a cloudy afternoon in early Fall.
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    How Charlottesville, Virginia, is getting its zoning back

    The city is settling a lawsuit that left it without a zoning ordinance since this summer.

    By • Oct. 29, 2025
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    Apartment conversion projects surge

    A record-breaking 180,585 apartments are being developed from office spaces, hotels and other buildings as major cities actively transform underperforming properties, per a RentCafe report.

    By Julie Strupp • Oct. 28, 2025
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    Building a granny flat or tiny house in Charlotte, North Carolina? The city might spot you up to $80K.

    Housing-strapped Charlotte is loaning homeowners money to build smaller rental accessory dwelling units on their properties.

    By • Oct. 27, 2025
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    Baltimore is betting big on vacant and at-risk home revitalization

    A $6.2 billion public-private revitalization plan aims to address nearly 40,000 properties in the city.

    By • Oct. 22, 2025
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    Chicago Housing Authority files lawsuit over HUD’s anti-DEI funding stipulations

    The country’s third-largest public housing authority says at least 13% of its budget is at stake.

    By • Oct. 21, 2025
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    New York City is having an office-to-housing conversion boom. Could Chicago be next?

    Chicago has a higher downtown office vacancy rate than the Big Apple. Housing advocates say those buildings could help address the affordable housing shortage.

    By • Oct. 20, 2025
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    Florida county turns to AI to trim zoning review process

    Swiftbuild says its AI tool trimmed the zoning review process in Hernando County, Florida, from 30 days to two.

    By • Oct. 17, 2025
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    Stairway to housing? This California city legalized single-staircase apartments

    Culver City, California, joins a growing number of cities rethinking two-staircase building code requirements, a move advocates say could boost affordable housing development.

    By • Oct. 16, 2025
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    Interactive map tracks housing shortages across Florida

    The Sunshine State needs more than 120,000 housing units. The tracker’s developers say its data could help local leaders make informed decisions.

    By • Oct. 10, 2025
  • A rendering of a single family 3D-printed home
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    Courtesy of Lumen Villas

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    This small Texas town has a housing affordability problem. Can it print its way out?

    A company that builds homes using 3D printing technology is building a nine-home community in Marfa, Texas, and an 80-home development in Houston. It says the technology could address the “affordability crisis across Texas and the U.S.”

    By • Oct. 9, 2025
  • Scaffolds covering a building in New York City.
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    Zoning reforms, tax incentives help drive NYC’s office-to-housing boom

    Office conversions have nearly tripled as the city takes action to address a housing shortage and historically high office vacancy rates.

    By Joe Burns • Oct. 9, 2025
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    How the government shutdown is (and isn’t) impacting housing funds for cities

    Previously approved federal housing funding streams remain available, but staff reductions could threaten core functions.

    By • Oct. 8, 2025
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    Court upholds New Jersey affordable housing mandate, dismisses suit from cities

    The 27 cities vow to continue their legal challenges to the state law.

    By • Oct. 6, 2025
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    Modern multifamily buildings see ‘far better fire safety outcomes’ than other housing types, Pew report finds

    Fire deaths in modern multifamily homes occur at one-fourth the rate of those in modern single-family homes, the report found.

    By • Oct. 1, 2025
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    Top smart city conferences in 2026

    Technology, housing, climate action, transportation, public safety and more take center stage at events for local government leaders in 2026.

    By Smart Cities Dive Staff • Oct. 1, 2025
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    HUD cuts multifamily mortgage insurance premiums

    The agency also eliminated three mortgage insurance premium categories for green and affordable housing that it said were not aligned with Trump’s policy agenda.

    By Julie Strupp • Sept. 30, 2025
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    NYC launches effort to rescue at-risk affordable co-ops

    The two-year pilot program offers loans and technical support to help co-ops pay off debts, settle government arrears and renovate vacant units.

    By Danielle McLean • Sept. 30, 2025
  • A small blue house sits next to a larger yellow house in a yard.
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    Massachusetts opened the door for ADUs this year. It has approved 550 so far.

    Under the Affordable Homes Act, which legalized accessory dwelling units in the state, up to 10,000 could be built over the next five years, a state agency estimates.

    By • Sept. 29, 2025