Colorado Housing Bill Targets Local Zoning, Spurs City-State Standoff

Colorado's governor is backing an ambitious plan to address the state’s housing, in a bill similar to ones passed in California and Oregon, and proposed in other states.

Incremental Housing, Top StoryBen AbramsonApril 11, 2023colorado, state government, local government, zoning, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, housing activism, affordable housing, accessory dwelling units, ADUs, Law, Land Use, Incremental Housing

Montana’s Fear of "California-Style Zoning" Spurs Reform

Grappling with a recent housing crisis, Montanans are having to reckon with a new reality: that they’re where LA was at 100 years ago, and they’ll have to reform their zoning codes if they want to avoid becoming LA in the future.

Incremental Housing, News, Top StoryBen AbramsonApril 7, 2023Incremental Housing, montana, housing, zoning, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, affordable housing, housing affordability

Cowboy Hotels for Housing Shortages

What lessons can we glean from a century-old solution to housing crises?

Podcast, Upzoned, Incremental Housing, Top StoryStrong TownsApril 5, 2023Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, housing, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, Incremental Housing, Washington, history, History

Homelessness in Rural America

Although you may not see as many people without homes in the streets of rural America, that doesn’t mean the housing crisis hasn’t struck communities outside of big cities.

Podcast, Upzoned, Incremental Housing, Top StoryStrong TownsMarch 29, 2023Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, housing, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, Incremental Housing, homelessness, Homelessness

High-Income Earners Are Renting Instead of Buying Homes

High-earning Americans are saying they might choose to rent indefinitely. Why?

Podcast, Upzoned, Incremental Housing, Top StoryStrong TownsMarch 22, 2023Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, rent, renters, housing, housing cost, Housing, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, Incremental Housing

Atlanta Retrofitting Prominent Office Tower to Residential

With office districts hit hard by pandemic-era declines, Atlanta is repurposing this historic tower to not only give the building new life, but also to address the city’s housing crisis.

Incremental Housing, News, Top Story 2Ben AbramsonMarch 21, 2023housing, Incremental Housing, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, Housing, housing policy, Georgia, zoning

Seniors Have Large Suburban Houses To Sell. Does Anyone Want Them?

With many baby boomers wanting to downsize, the housing market is dominated by large, single-family homes…but that’s not the kind of housing that’s in demand, anymore. Here’s why this is bad news for all generations.

Incremental Housing, Trending, Top StoryBen AbramsonFebruary 9, 2023Incremental Housing, housing, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, housing market, seniors, single-family, missing middle, mixed use

In This Housing Fight, It’s Conservative Politicians vs. Conservative Policies

One would expect a Republican governor to endorse free-market solutions on a local level, yet housing and zoning tend to scramble traditional political debates in unexpected ways.

Incremental Housing, News, Top StoryBen AbramsonJanuary 12, 2023Incremental Housing, housing, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, Housing, housing cost, politics, Florida

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

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

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

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

Subtracting to the Better City

Counterintuitive though it may feel, sometimes to build a better city, we need to prune things back, rather than adding more.

Top StorySeth ZerenAugust 9, 2022freeway removal, highways, freeways, zoning, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, Development, development

Is Wall Street Actually Taking Over the Housing Market?

Are Wall Street-backed investors the reason you can’t afford a house? The truth is a bit more complicated than that.

Housing, Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJuly 27, 2022housing, housing cost, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, housing market, homeowners, Homeownership, homeownership

Affordable Housing in Oregon Is About To Catch a Big Break From Parking Mandates

Finally, homes for people will no longer be conditional on car parking.

Housing, Parking, Top StoryCatie GouldJuly 13, 2022parking minimums, parking, End Parking Mandates and Subsidies, affordable housing, housing, housing cost, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, Housing, housing policy, housing affordability, zoning, Oregon

An Epidemic of Blight Collides With a Pandemic

In Detroit's 48205 zip code, from 2014 to 2020, the number of vacant homes hardly budged, despite $25M spent demolishing 1,628 vacant homes. When the pandemic hit, vacant homes plummeted. What happened?