What Can We Learn From What New Zealand Just Did?

New Zealand just passed the first national policy to both end parking requirements and allow the next increment of (residential) development everywhere. I.e., two major items on the Strong Towns wish list.

Herriges, Housing, Zoning, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJanuary 6, 2022housing cost, housing, housing affordability, housing crisis, New Zealand, zoning, parking minimums, single-family

Legalize the Village

The author of Happy City helped build a home that addressed some of the greatest challenges of our times. But his home is illegal almost everywhere in his city—and in your city, too.

Housing, Zoning, Top StoryCharles MontgomeryDecember 16, 2021Homeownership, housing, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, Housing, housing cost, co-housing, canada, Canada, Vancouver BC, zoning, upzoning

Disaster Relief for America's Housing Crisis

COVID has enabled us to get some “disaster relief” for the housing crisis. But what about when the pandemic is over?

Upzoned, Podcast, Federal Government, Coronavirus, Housing, Top StoryStrong TownsDecember 15, 2021Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, federal funding, housing, housing crisis, coronavirus

"Zillow Offers"...Homes to Investors, Not Homeowners

The “Zillow Offers” program was supposed to sell thousands of homes to homeowners and landlords…so why is Zillow now having to offload them onto institutional investors, instead?

Upzoned, Podcast, Housing, Top StoryStrong TownsNovember 10, 2021Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, housing, housing crisis, Housing

We Need More “Democratic Architecture”

This architect demonstrates how there are so many places ready and waiting to become a part of the housing solution—if we would just allow them.

Housing, Sanphillippo, Member Post, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoNovember 9, 2021Housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, Granola Shotgun, architecture, Homeownership, homeownership

The Big Fiscal Impact of Small Upzonings

This study conducted in the U.K. supports concepts about incrementalism that could, and should, be adopted in North American places.

Herriges, Housing, Incrementalism, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesNovember 4, 2021Europe, upzoning, incremental development, incrementalism, incremental, housing, Housing

California's SB 9: A Slow Reversion to the Historic Mean

California's Senate Bill 9 has sparked controversy, mainly among owners of single-family homes. But are we returning to historic forms of housing anyway, with or without state legislation?

Housing, Member Post, Sanphillippo, Zoning, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoNovember 1, 2021Housing, California, San Francisco, Granola Shotgun, zoning, housing policy, duplex, ADUs

Small Town. Big Housing Crisis.

The housing crisis is hitting small, rural towns—often in even more stark and dire ways than in urban areas.

Herriges, Housing, Rural, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesOctober 27, 2021Housing, colorado, rural, Small Towns, small towns, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, housing cost

Multigenerational Living Isn't Immigrant Culture, It's Human Culture

Living with extended family is something Americans often associate with immigrant households. But why?

Housing, Suburban Experiment, Zoning, Top Story, ShayestehShina ShayestehOctober 5, 2021family, multi-family, single-family, Single, immigrants, immigration, housing, Housing, Social Isolation, zoning

The Secret Sauce (Maybe) of California's Zoning Reform

SB 9 just passed in California, effectively ending single-family zoning there. The open question is, "What now?" Will anything actually change?

Herriges, Housing, ZoningDaniel HerrigesSeptember 29, 2021zoning, California, single-family, housing, Housing, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, duplex, fourplex

Zoning and "Bigness"

Big, complicated zoning codes create an environment that gives developers no smaller-scale competition.

Housing, Small Scale Developers, Zoning, Top StoryAddison Del MastroSeptember 13, 2021zoning, housing, developers, Development, Addison Del Mastro

The Anecdotal "Buyback Effect"

What can we learn about the housing market and corporations buying back their own stock...through anecdotal references? (As it turns out, quite a lot!)

Sanphillippo, Housing, Member Post, Small Scale Developers, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoSeptember 13, 2021history, small scale developers, small scale development, California, missing middle, housing, Housing, Granola Shotgun

Landlords Are Not Developers (and Vice Versa)

Conflating the one with the other keeps us from understanding the housing market in a coherent way. Here’s why.

Housing, Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesSeptember 2, 2021housing, real estate, developers, landlords

The Way We Tax Properties Is Broken. Here Are 5 Steps to Fix It.

The inequities in the tax assessment system are national. But the solutions will have to come from the bottom-up.

Race, Davis, Housing, Urban3, Top StorySarah DavisSeptember 1, 2021Assessments, Urban3, Tax Code, property tax, race, Poverty, North Carolina, Deschutes County, Oregon, Buncombe County series, housing

How To Turn a Neglected Alley Into a Beloved (and Wealth-Generating) "Minor Street"

If your city has alleys, chances are they aren’t generating the kind of wealth and productivity they should. This new, free e-book can help change that.

Housing, Top StoryStrong TownsAugust 20, 2021American Alleys Series, ADUs, accessory dwelling units, housing crisis, eBook

What to Expect After the Eviction Moratorium

The eviction moratorium is going to end, and when it does, we face the prospect of mass evictions throughout the country. Let's talk about what that means and what it says about our housing system.

Coronavirus, Herriges, Housing, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesAugust 9, 2021housing, housing crisis, housing activism, housing affordability, housing market, coronavirus

Sustainable Source of Income Snatched Away from Seattle's Black Churches

Churches in Seattle could provide affordable housing for their communities, while gaining a sustainable source of income…if they weren’t being obstructed by city leaders.

Upzoned, Podcast, Faith, Housing, Local Government, Top StoryStrong TownsAugust 4, 2021Podcast, Upzoned, housing, housing crisis, churches, Seattle, Faith Featured

The Only Constant in Life is Construction (and That’s a Problem)

It’s no wonder that some people oppose new housing when the housing and infrastructure projects they see are disruptive construction work that drags on for years.