San Francisco invites proposals to convert downtown office spaces into housing, other new uses

The city’s initiative to repurpose underused downtown commercial space solidifies legislation passed last week to simplify commercial building conversion processes.

By Nish Amarnath • June 29, 2023

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 • June 22, 2023

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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 in 2024.

By Smart Cities Dive staff

Which zoning changes best alleviate the housing crisis? Seattle-area cities have a new way to find out.

An interactive online tool from the Urban Institute estimates the impact on housing development of four different zoning changes around transit construction in the Puget Sound area.

By Kalena Thomhave • June 22, 2023

When wildfires hit, homes built under fire-resistant codes are surviving. Communities are noticing.

Building code changes resulted in more saved homes in the 2018 Camp Fire in California. With more frequent, intense wildfires likely, Western communities are taking a look but hearing concerns about costs and property rights.

By Amanda Loudin • June 16, 2023

Police are shaping and enforcing homelessness policies. It’s making the problem worse, researchers say.

Programs that police or criminalize homelessness go against evidence-based housing-policies and may actually promote cycles of homelessness, said researchers from Boston University and Cornell University.

By Danielle McLean • June 15, 2023

The 8 metros with negative rent growth

Despite the deceleration, rent growth in May continued in many cities, particularly in the Midwest and Northeast.

By Jennifer Goodman • June 8, 2023

Affordable housing bill vetoed by Colorado governor, sparking backlash from legislators

The bill’s co-sponsors clapped back, claiming in a statement that Gov. Jared Polis had kowtowed to special interests at the last minute.

By Michael Brady • June 8, 2023

‘Street crisis team’ aims to curb police involvement in homelessness response in San Francisco

Decreasing police use can reduce cycles of incarceration, which are expensive for cities and harm people experiencing homelessness, said a public health expert.

By Ysabelle Kempe • June 7, 2023

Single-family rental construction more active than ever

Lifestyle changes and high home prices are driving demand for build-to-rent homes.

By Mary Salmonsen • June 6, 2023

Lawmakers urge HUD to prohibit biometric recognition tech in federally-funded housing

Racial bias, harassment for minor rule violations were among their concerns, the lawmakers said in their letter to Housing and Urban Development.

By Mary Salmonsen • June 5, 2023

NYC region faces significant health inequities: report

All decisions made in the region, from building more housing to expanding highways, affect public health outcomes, one of the report's authors said.

By Ysabelle Kempe • May 24, 2023

Collecting data to support energy-burdened communities poses unique challenges, experts say

Census data isn’t collected often enough to reflect neighborhood demographic shifts, and asking communities to self-report can present additional burdens, panelists said at a clean energy summit.

By Diana DiGangi • May 24, 2023

The ‘infrastructure decade’ is here, but challenges loom for local governments at the helm

“Money is flowing, grant applications are live, private capital is ready to move. But there are real constraints to achieving public goals,” Brookings Metro Senior Fellow Adie Tomer said at an event last week.

By Ysabelle Kempe • May 23, 2023

Feds to give ‘first-of-its-kind’ homelessness support to California and 5 cities

The “ALL INside” initiative will work closely for up to two years with selected communities, including Dallas and Chicago, offering each the assistance of a dedicated federal official.

By Ysabelle Kempe • May 19, 2023

Los Angeles mayor announces next steps in plan to build shelters, housing on city properties

Mayor Karen Bass said she would spend the rest of her term trying to make “the disposition and development of City owned land faster, cheaper, and more streamlined” in a Tuesday letter to the public.

By Ysabelle Kempe • May 18, 2023

How NYC is preparing its infrastructure for extreme weather

Thu-Loan Dinh, who helps lead infrastructure design for the city’s Department of Design and Construction, discusses the agency’s biggest resilience concerns and how to address them.

By Julie Strupp • May 17, 2023

Rents continue rising, with moderate growth expected through 2023

Major U.S. metros, except Phoenix and Las Vegas, experienced rent increases from March to April, a new report found.

By Mary Salmonsen • May 15, 2023

Housing is increasingly unaffordable for teachers in many metropolitan areas

Rental costs can range from 47% of a teacher’s salary in San Francisco to 17% in Wichita, Kansas, according to a National Council on Teacher Quality analysis.

By Anna Merod • May 12, 2023

Parking minimums will soon be history in Austin, Texas

“Our priority should be allowing space for people rather than mandating space for cars,” City Council member Zohaib Qadri said.

By Michael Brady • May 12, 2023

Bank failures could slow new apartment construction

Last year’s interest rate hikes have made it more challenging to get construction loans, which could slow multifamily construction starts by 60%, one real estate executive said.

By Leslie Shaver • May 9, 2023

Advocates push for housing owned by communities, rather than by investors

It’s still unclear what broad-scale programs would look like, but there is some evidence that decommodifying housing can work.

By Gaby Galvin • May 4, 2023

California spent $1.3B in cap-and-trade funds on climate, equity projects in 2022

The California Climate Investments funding addressed affordable housing, transportation, energy costs, extreme heat, fire, access to clean drinking water and more, a California Air Resources Board official said.

By Kalena Thomhave • May 2, 2023

Affordable, all-electric and energy-efficient housing gets $15M boost from NYC initiative

The initiative “will demonstrate to the affordable housing market a highly replicable new construction solution,” said Doreen Harris, president and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

By Ysabelle Kempe • May 2, 2023

Women, people of color, renters underrepresented on land-use boards: report

Homeownership and other requirements could create barriers to participation that “function as inexplicit racial filters,” an Urban Institute report found.

By Gaby Galvin • April 28, 2023

Los Angeles’ Fashion District rezoning plan to include affordable housing

A key City Council committee agreed this week to add provisions for affordable housing and preserve manufacturing ahead of next month’s vote.

By Lara Ewen • April 27, 2023