Washington State Bill Would Allow Greater Parking Flexibility

A new bill, currently in committee in Washington’s House and Senate, is intended to spark development in places where parking minimums have hindered housing starts.

Housing, End Parking Mandates, News, Top StoryBen AbramsonMarch 2, 2023Parking, parking minimums, parking, End Parking Mandates and Subsidies, Washington, housing, housing crisis

A Better Suburban House

A lot of suburban house models distort traditional architectural styles and patterns. Here’s a simple markup showing how they could be improved, without increasing building costs.

Erfurt, Housing, Top StoryEdward ErfurtJanuary 27, 2023housing, architecture, suburbs, developers

There’s No Such Thing as Affordable Housing

Los Angeles lost a hundred thousand affordable homes in a decade. Don’t look to bulldozers to explain how.

Herriges, Housing, Incremental Housing, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJanuary 4, 2023Incremental Housing, housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing crisis, Los Angeles, poverty

Seattle Has 800,000 Problems

The Seattle area is growing fast, and the suburbs are not going to be exempt from change. Data on the true costs of development is helping local advocates develop a vision for a more prosperous—and, yes, populous—future.

Housing, Urban3, Top StoryKerry HayesDecember 8, 2022Incremental Housing, housing, housing affordability, housing crisis, housing cost, Housing Crisis, Housing, housing policy, Seattle, Washington, Urban3

Top of the Bottom-Up: Building Gentle Density and a Grassroots Campaign for City Council

Ashley Salvador is a housing advocate and city councilor in Edmonton, Alberta.

Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Planning Profession, Housing, Success Story, Top Story, Incremental HousingStrong TownsDecember 1, 2022The Bottom-Up Revolution, local conversations, taking action, city council, accessory dwelling units, ADUs, Incremental Housing, success, success stories

Reminder: The Place You Live Is Not New York (Unless It Is)

Discourse about affordable housing is dominated by a handful of extremely unrepresentative places, and the solutions that might be applicable in those places don't translate in the rest of the U.S.

Herriges, Housing, Top Story, Incremental HousingDaniel HerrigesDecember 1, 2022housing, housing affordability, housing activism, housing cost, Incremental Housing, Housing, housing policy, YIMBY, NIMBY

This Man Overcame Homelessness by Building His Own Tiny Home…on Hollywood Boulevard!

This LA resident has gone viral after taking matters into his own hands to deal with the housing crisis.

Upzoned, Podcast, Housing, Top Story, Incremental HousingStrong TownsNovember 9, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, airbnb, rent, housing, housing cost, Housing, housing policy, housing market, housing crisis, Incremental Housing, Tiny House, Los Angeles

What Does the "Airbnbust" Mean for the Housing Market?

Airbnb owners have voiced concerns over plummeting bookings in the last few months. Are we witnessing the “Airbnbust,” and if so, what does this mean for the housing market, as a whole?

Upzoned, Podcast, Housing, Top Story, Incremental HousingStrong TownsNovember 2, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, airbnb, rent, housing, housing cost, Housing, housing policy, housing market, housing crisis, Incremental Housing

We Need More Housing—But Also More People Who Can Build More Housing

The Ontario government has stated that the province will need 100,000 new construction workers and 1.5 million homes over the next decade…and industry leaders aren’t feeling optimistic about it.

Upzoned, Podcast, Housing, Top Story, Incremental HousingStrong TownsOctober 19, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, housing, housing crisis, housing affordability, housing cost, Housing Crisis, Housing, construction

Check Your Temperature—You Might Have an Assessment Fever

This new interactive map shows homeowners how their home assessment compares to other properties nearby—and has exposed that many homes of similar value are being overassessed.

Sheppard, Housing, Top Story, Transparent AccountingSeairra SheppardOctober 18, 2022homeowners, Homeownership, homeownership, property tax, Just Accounting for Health, Transparent Local Accounting, mapping, maps, #DoTheMath

Pre-Approved House Designs Jump-Start Infill Development in South Bend

While other places keep finding ways to say “no” to new housing, this Indiana city is offering pre-approved development templates to small-scale developers at no cost.

Herriges, Housing, Top Story, Incremental HousingDaniel HerrigesOctober 6, 2022housing, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, Incremental Housing, incremental development, Infill Development, infill, missing middle, Indiana, success, success stories, Development, small-scale developers

We Have Plenty of Land in the United States. But Can All of It Support Housing?

A recent article from The Wall Street Journal claims that land must be positioned in a very specific way to support more development. What’s the Strong Towns take on this?

Upzoned, Podcast, Top Story, Housing, Incremental HousingStrong TownsOctober 5, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, housing, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, Incremental Housing, developers, Development, development

A Loophole Allowed Me to Flourish

Many older homeowners face a tough choice: Age in a home that’s too large or inaccessible for them, or give up their property and move somewhere else. Here’s how one resident of Delta, BC, found a third option.

What Will Housing Prices Be a Year From Now?

If one thing’s clear about the housing market, it’s that it’s currently more sensitive to factors outside of your community—outside of your control—than anything within.

Finance, Housing, Marohn, Top Story, Incremental HousingCharles MarohnSeptember 26, 2022housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing market, Housing, housing policy, housing finance, Incremental Housing, homeowners, Homeownership, homeownership, finance

The Pillaging of Detroit

Stunning new data analysis on the homes lost to tax forfeiture in Detroit shows that, in just a three-year span, $300 million in real estate transferred from homeowners living in Detroit to outside owners.

Finance, Housing, Sheppard, Top Story, Transparent AccountingSeairra SheppardSeptember 20, 2022Detroit, Michigan, property tax, homeowners, Homeownership, homeownership, poverty, Poverty, local government, Transparent Local Accounting, Just Accounting for Health

The Suburbs Are a “One-Life-Cycle” Product

A recent CNBC documentary features Strong Towns insights from Charles Marohn about why suburban development is so risky.

Housing, Quednau, Top Story, Transparent AccountingRachel QuednauSeptember 20, 2022suburban development pattern, suburban experiment, suburbs, incremental development, incrementalism, incremental, Incremental Housing, housing cost, housing, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, Housing

New Tools To Visualize How Your City Could Benefit From Incremental Development

The American Enterprise Institute has released some impressive—and free—data tools for understanding housing markets and development potential. And as a bonus, attend their upcoming talks if you’re in California!

Herriges, Housing, Incrementalism, Top Story, Incremental HousingDaniel HerrigesSeptember 16, 2022housing, housing crisis, incrementalism, incremental development, incremental, Incremental Housing, Housing Crisis, walkability, California, events, event, maps

Suburbia Was a Housing Program

Suburbia was an experiment—an experiment in the service of building lots of housing very quickly.

Housing, Suburban Experiment, Top Story, Incremental Housing, Transparent AccountingAddison Del MastroSeptember 12, 2022Addison Del Mastro, suburban experiment, suburbs, suburban development pattern, housing, housing policy, housing cost, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, housing affordability, NIMBY, Incremental Housing

The Starter House Is Nearly Extinct

Increasingly, for entire cities in the U.S., buying a starter home on a modest income is no longer an option.

Housing, Herriges, Top Story, Incremental HousingDaniel HerrigesSeptember 8, 2022housing cost, housing, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing, Incremental Housing, housing market, housing policy

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Moving from Planning to Action

Strong Towns member Spencer Gardner is the new planning director for the city of Spokane, WA, and he’s been helping his city take action on important housing issues.