Legalizing Incremental Change—Everywhere—To Meet America’s Housing Needs

For too long, our housing policy has put investor returns and macroeconomic goals over the universal human need for shelter. The Strong Towns approach to incremental housing is a badly needed corrective.

What Is a Housing Shortage, Anyway?

Everyone’s heard of the housing shortage…so why is the “shortage” part of that phrase so poorly defined?

Housing, Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJune 1, 2022housing, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, housing activism

Social Housing and the Strong Towns Approach (Part 2)

Why isn’t social housing the silver bullet it's sometimes sold as, and what it would take to be successful? (Hint: You still have to fix the market.)

Herriges, Housing, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesMay 26, 2022housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, Housing, housing policy, co-housing, social housing series

Corporate Investors Own Nearly Half of This City's Residential Property

What does this case study imply for housing in the U.S., as a whole?

Upzoned, Podcast, Top Story, HousingStrong TownsMay 25, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, housing, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, housing market, Housing, housing policy, Homeownership, homeownership

Social Housing and the Strong Towns Approach (Part 1)

Forget what you've heard; this isn't your granddad's social housing.

Herriges, Housing, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesMay 25, 2022housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, Housing, housing policy, co-housing, social housing series

To Address the Housing Crisis, We Need a Fairer Tax System

Two charts illustrate the massive housing shortage in Buncombe County, NC, and show why we need to get property taxes right.

Housing, Sheppard, Urban3, Top Story, Transparent AccountingSeairra SheppardMay 17, 2022housing, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, housing affordability, Housing, housing cost, tax revenue, Just Accounting for Health, Urban3

The NIMBYs Made $6.9 Trillion Last Year

We keep looking for villains to blame for the housing affordability crisis—but are we pointing fingers at the wrong culprits?

City Observatory, Housing, Top StoryJoe CortrightApril 20, 2022housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, housing market, Housing, homeowners, Homeownership, homeownership, race, Race, City Observatory, Joe Cortright

Why Are Used Homes So Expensive? (Part 2)

We’ve explored why new housing is so expensive…but why is it often the same case for used housing?

Housing, Top StorySeth ZerenMarch 28, 2022housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, housing market, Housing, Homeownership, homeownership

We Could Fit Lots of Homes in the Middle of Old Strip Malls

Redeveloping just 10 percent of strip malls could fill a nine-year supply of housing in the Boston region, a new study finds. What could similar efforts elsewhere do?

Housing, Zoning, Top StoryCatie GouldMarch 23, 2022housing, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, sprawl retrofit, suburban retrofit, strip malls, Massachusetts, zoning

Can a Houstonian Approach to Homelessness Work in L.A.?

L.A. is facing an increasing problem with homelessness. Can it learn something from the efforts of another large Sunbelt city?

Upzoned, Podcast, Housing, Top StoryStrong TownsMarch 9, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, homelessness, Homelessness, Homeownership, Los Angeles, Houston, California, Texas, housing, Housing, housing crisis, Housing Crisis

Would Tax Abatements Spur More ADU Construction in Anchorage?

Like so many other cities, Anchorage needs to encourage more options for housing. But how?

Housing, Zoning, Top StoryMikhail SiskoffMarch 1, 2022accessory dwelling units, housing, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, housing policy, zoning, alaska, anchorage

Annamarie Pluhar: Shared Housing Doesn't Have to Be Scary

It’s time we embraced co-housing as a viable solution for both affordable housing and social isolation.

Podcast, Marohn, ST Podcast, Housing, Top StoryStrong TownsFebruary 28, 2022Podcast, housing, Housing, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, co-housing

The "Lickety Splits": Working Around High Housing Costs in California

Small-scale developer Johnny Sanphillippo shares tales of Californians employing simple, low-cost, high-yield measures to get by amidst the housing crisis.

Housing, Member Post, Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoFebruary 25, 2022housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, affordable housing, California, Granola Shotgun, homelessness, Homelessness

Monopoly Hotels and Missing Middle Housing

In Monopoly, there are only two types of real estate: houses and hotels. But were hotels understood differently in 1904, when the game was first created?

Housing, Member Post, Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoFebruary 18, 2022housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, history, History, missing middle, affordable housing, San Francisco, California, Granola Shotgun

Free (Rural) Land: Any Takers?

These small towns in Kansas are offering land and housing at a steal in an attempt to fortify their shrinking tax bases. What does this mean for the future of rural America?

Upzoned, Podcast, Rural, Top StoryStrong TownsFebruary 16, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, rural, Kansas, Small Towns, small towns, housing crisis, Housing Crisis

Weaponizing Historic Preservation

Has historic preservation harmed the capacity for cities across the U.S. to address the housing crisis?

Upzoned, Podcast, Housing, Top StoryStrong TownsJanuary 19, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, housing, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, Housing, Historic Preservation, historic preservation

Population Growth and the Housing Crisis

A smaller population does not necessarily result in more affordable housing for those looking for it. But why?

Upzoned, Podcast, Coronavirus, Housing, Top StoryStrong TownsJanuary 12, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, Population, housing affordability, housing, housing cost, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, cities, coronavirus, Coronavirus

Hartford Land Bank Invests in Human Infrastructure

Connecticut’s Hartford Land Bank isn’t just stewarding the rehabilitation of its community—it’s also bringing up the next generation of local small-scale developers.

Housing, Small Scale Developers, Success Story, Top Story, StangeJay StangeJanuary 6, 2022housing, incremental development, incrementalism, housing cost, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, taking action, success, success stories

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.