Housing
-
Unused parking adds over $2M to typical multifamily projects: study
New Jersey should adopt new parking ratio standards that better align with usage, a Rutgers University white paper proposes.
By Mary Salmonsen • Sept. 27, 2023 -
Boston launches pilot to help small housing owners go electric
Two- to four-unit buildings are the city’s most common building type. Boston hopes the new grant program will yield lessons on scaling up building decarbonization.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Sept. 22, 2023 -
Explore the Trendline➔
jamesteohart via Getty ImagesTrendlineTop 5 Stories from Smart Cities Dive
Flying taxis and expanding high-speed rail promise to transform the urban transportation landscape, as cities increasingly harness the natural and built environments to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts.
By Smart Cities Dive staff -
Retrieved from YouTube on September 13, 2023
Airbnb’s marketing touts short-term rental benefits as local restrictions tighten
Restrictions such as New York’s Local Law 18 may have a greater impact on the city’s residents and tourism economy than on the company.
By Aaron Baar • Sept. 20, 2023 -
Highsmith, Carol M. (2011). "Robert C. Weaver Federal Building, headquarters of HUD, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, D.C" [Photograph]. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.
To improve multifamily housing energy efficiency and resiliency, HUD offers $4.8B for retrofits
The first round of the $4.8 billion GRRP covers upgrades for 28 rent-assisted properties.
By Mary Salmonsen • Sept. 18, 2023 -
Reforms could add 300K housing units to New York City over 10 years: report
With the city’s housing costs surging to unprecedented levels, RAND Corp. researchers examined the most promising policy reforms.
By Danielle McLean • Sept. 11, 2023 -
Apartment owners don’t feel impacts from Hollywood writers’ strike — yet
Despite few effects so far, a prolonged work stoppage could exacerbate occupancy issues in Los Angeles.
By Leslie Shaver • Aug. 21, 2023 -
Boston grants aim to lower carbon footprint of affordable housing
Building owners can get up to $10,000 each for comprehensive energy assessments.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 16, 2023 -
As rents continue to rise, legislators eye new regulations
Ongoing affordability challenges have led lawmakers to consider rent control and fee notifications, data provider Yardi said in its most recent report.
By Mary Salmonsen • Aug. 15, 2023 -
Tiny houses for the homeless: What 2 nonprofits have learned to date
Nonprofit leaders from Syracuse, New York, and Kansas City, Missouri, discuss the benefits and challenges of using tiny houses to provide shelter for the unhoused.
By Amanda Loudin • Aug. 15, 2023 -
Millions in back rent due in Los Angeles
This collective debt has raised concerns about a potential wave of evictions, despite the city’s efforts to keep residents housed while also supporting landlords.
By Mary Salmonsen • Aug. 14, 2023 -
How ‘snob zoning’ blocks opportunity
Exclusionary zoning policies’ problems — and possible solutions – are on the mind of Richard Kahlenberg, author of the new book “Excluded.”
By Joan Mooney • Aug. 10, 2023 -
Office-to-residential, other adaptive reuse construction reaches record high
Los Angeles has the largest development pipeline in the country, followed by New York City and Chicago.
By Mary Salmonsen • Aug. 9, 2023 -
Boston mayor bans fossil fuels in new city-owned buildings
The executive order, which also prohibits fossil fuel use in renovations of existing city-owned structures, is part of a larger push for carbon neutrality by 2050.
By Nish Amarnath • Aug. 8, 2023 -
New housing crisis measures announced by Biden administration
Communities that remove housing production barriers, such as through zoning reform, and encourage commercial-to-residential conversions could qualify for new federal grants.
By Danielle McLean • Aug. 4, 2023 -
Deep Dive
Commercial-to-residential conversions could accelerate under HUD initiative
Building industry experts say the Housing and Urban Development Department grant will give much-needed guidance on projects stalled by zoning hurdles and outdated permitting processes.
By Nish Amarnath • Aug. 4, 2023 -
Q&A
How to safely store e-bikes, e-scooters in apartments
The uptick in micromobility battery fires shows electrification is "moving faster than we’re able to necessarily adapt to," a fire protection expert at an engineering consulting firm said.
By Mary Salmonsen • Aug. 3, 2023 -
Emergency financial assistance reduces risk of homelessness
Households were 81% less likely to become homeless within six months when they received money through one California county’s program, a new study finds.
By Danielle McLean • July 31, 2023 -
Regulations, building layouts impede office conversion projects
Even as Congress faces pressure to overhaul outdated permitting processes, builders, architects and property owners cite complex zoning laws as barriers to converting existing office space to residential and other uses.
By Nish Amarnath • July 24, 2023 -
California clears path for safe conversion of underused commercial buildings
The California Building Standards Commission’s vote to amend existing building code allows multiple compliance paths for adaptive reuse.
By Nish Amarnath • July 24, 2023 -
Cost concerns spur North Carolina’s move to delay vote on building code update
The state’s Building Code Council has shelved a vote on a proposed overhaul of building energy efficiency rules as it waits for reports detailing the costs and benefits of implementing the changes.
By Nish Amarnath • July 24, 2023 -
Seattle downtown revitalization plan reimagines area post-pandemic
The plan aims to make downtown safer and more welcoming, but critics say it comes at a cost for people living on the streets.
By Joan Mooney • July 24, 2023 -
Rising insurance costs could force apartment sales, threaten new development
When insurance increases kill affordable deals, they knock much-needed moderately priced housing out of the market.
By Leslie Shaver • July 19, 2023 -
House bill would slash funds for transit, Amtrak, equity programs
The proposed fiscal 2024 federal transportation budget would cut two major grant programs and impose restrictions on how certain funds could be used.
By Dan Zukowski • July 19, 2023 -
Residential conversions continue to rise as office values decline
Work-from-home trends and market conditions have made conversion projects more feasible.
By Mary Salmonsen • July 18, 2023 -
The top 10 states residents want to move into (and out of)
Florida stands out for its high amount of churn, as both the No. 2 state Americans want to move to and the top state current residents want to leave.
By Mary Salmonsen • July 17, 2023