Blogs

July 18, 2022

Housing Scarcity Is Worse Than Ever

A recent report demonstrates that the underproduction of housing units affects 47 states and Washington D.C., and its impacts are being felt in all kinds of places, from dense urban areas to small, rural towns.

March 3, 2022

Land-Use Characteristics Contributing to Region-Wide Housing Inequities

Uncovering JAPA: Authors examine 180 cities in Southern California to determine if changing residential land uses reduce housing inequities.

January 6, 2022

Accessibility and Public Engagement For People Living With Dementia

Uncovering JAPA: Solutions for ensuring people living with dementia are included in the planning process.

December 16, 2021

Affordable Housing Negotiations

Uncovering JAPA: How do uneven negotiating powers stymie affordable housing development?

December 2, 2021

Parents in Vancouver's Dense Family-Oriented Urbanism

Uncovering JAPA: Exploration of how policy, family-oriented design, and programming has the ability to influence parents' locational choice in where to raise their family.

September 30, 2021

Exploring Increased Density in Residential Neighborhoods

Uncovering JAPA: An experiment to determine if the number of people impact the quality of a public space?

September 16, 2021

Measuring the Jobs-Housing Balance in California

Uncovering JAPA: How has the jobs-housing balance in California shifted from the results measured in earlier research?

August 19, 2021

Measuring the Early Impact of Eliminating Single-Family Zoning on Minneapolis Property Values

Uncovering JAPA: See early measurements on the impact of eliminating single-family zoning on Minneapolis property values.

June 3, 2021

Gender Equity and Shanghai's Shared Rental Market

Uncovering JAPA: Discover the emerging trends in shared rental housing in Shanghai, specifically that of bed space rentals, and their implications for gender equity.

May 20, 2021

Advocating For Zoning Reform

Catch up on the latest efforts by planners who are leading zoning reform across the country.

May 13, 2021

Primary Residency and Hosted/Unhosted Short Term Rentals: Why Does It Matter?

Sponsored content from Harmari STR: Primary residency and host presence requirements in short term rental (STR) ordinances can mitigate against negative impacts from commercial STR growth. Learn from state and municipal examples that illustrate some of the major trends in STR compliance.

May 3, 2021

Boston’s New Zoning Amendment Aims to Advance Fair Housing Goals

Boston's new zoning amendment works to affirmatively further fair housing and addresses concerns about displacement.

April 13, 2021

Connecticut Planners Take Zoning Reform Fight to the State

Zoning reform efforts are underway in Connecticut, a state with a long history of exclusionary zoning. Several bills that aim to tackle zoning reform are in play at the legislature this session — and planners are weighing in.

April 2, 2021

Federal Housing Bill Creates New Support and Incentives For Planning

A bipartisan bill that would empower planners to reform zoning and development codes, create housing action plans, and modernize regulatory structures has been introduced in Congress.

February 11, 2021

Affordable Housing Without Public Subsidies

Uncovering JAPA: Why do landlords set housing rents below market? Can planners use this to expand affordable housing without public subsidies?

January 29, 2021

Harnessing the Economic Power of Short-Term Rentals for Growth in 2021

Sponsored Content from Granicus: Whether because of COVID concerns or in spite of them, the growth of the short-term rental market was rapid in 2020, and it looks like that trend will continue in 2021.

January 27, 2021

Planners Secure Zoning Reform Win in Massachusetts

A new economic development bill includes provisions that will make it easier for towns and cities across Massachusetts to produce more housing by greenlighting certain local zoning changes with a simple majority vote.

January 26, 2021

Action Already Underway for 2021 Legislative Priorities

The beginning of the Biden administration and the 117th Congress have been marked with quick action on many of APA's top legislative priorities for 2021.

August 24, 2020

4 Questions Asked During COVID-19 That Expose Gaps in Short-Term Rental Enforcement

Sponsored Content from Granicus: A strong ordinance and a proactive approach can provide communities with a sustainable system for regulation of short-term rentals.

June 18, 2020

When Climate Resiliency Is More Than an Afterthought

Uncovering JAPA: Affordable housing and resiliency must coexist. How can low-income households weather the storm?

May 14, 2020

Is Single-Family Zoning on the Way Out?

Uncovering JAPA: Is it time to give the ax to single-family residential zoning? Nine JAPA viewpoints argue the question from both sides.

April 28, 2020

How Short-Term Rentals Can Affect the Impact of Coronavirus in Your Community

Sponsored Content from Harmari STR: Planners are taking a close look at how the short-term rental industry can affect efforts to flatten the COVID-19 curve.

March 5, 2020

Locating Housing Affordability Amid Foreclosures

Uncovering JAPA: Planners may create communities more resilient to housing foreclosure by addressing location affordability.

February 20, 2020

The Hidden Cost in Housing Affordability

Uncovering JAPA: There is more to housing affordability than finding a place with a reasonable rent. What can planners do to promote energy efficiency and, more importantly, energy justice?

February 3, 2020

3 Top Issues for Planners in 2020 State Legislatures

As 2020 state legislative sessions start up, here are three top issues for planners.

August 8, 2019

Are Bed Bugs a Planning Issue?

Uncovering JAPA: If cities want to attract new residents and planners want those residents to thrive, a coordinated response to bed bugs is necessary.

August 6, 2019

Address the Nation’s Housing Crisis: Action for the States

State legislation is a part of housing reform. Here are APA's actions for the states.

August 1, 2019

Zoning: The Cause and the Cure for High Housing Prices

Uncovering JAPA: Single-family restrictions, lot sizes restrictions, and parking requirements limit developers’ ability to build affordable housing. However, in this quandary, we may also find the solution.

July 11, 2019

Mayors Are Addressing the Housing Crisis — And Planning Is Part of the Solution

Read about the three key housing crisis takeaways for planners in the new National League of Cities Housing Task Force report, Homeward Bound.

June 13, 2019

Partnerships + Data: The Keys to Creating Change and Opportunity

One of APA's partners, Enterprise, describes its work in the arena of housing affordability and accessibility.

May 21, 2019

Expanding Cottage Home: A Pioneer for Housing Affordability

Clovis, California's Cottage Home Program for affordable housing is expanding throughout the city.

October 26, 2018

Planners at the Polls: Housing, Infrastructure on 2018 Ballots

State and local ballot measures are driving voters to the polls this fall. We are watching some key planning-related measures that could have an impact on your community.

October 15, 2018

This Year’s Big Planning Idea: Unlocking the Value of Land

Land value capture — the concept behind several mechanisms to finance infrastructure, affordable housing, and other key components of urban development — was rich food for thought at the 2018 Daniel Burnham Forum on Big Ideas.

October 3, 2018

Inclusionary Zoning Brings Mixed-Income Housing to D.C.’s Priciest Neighborhoods

The Washington, D.C., area has one of the highest median incomes in the country, but the city is making room for affordable housing through a mandatory, district-wide inclusionary zoning program.

June 5, 2018

State-Level Housing Action Heats Up Nationwide

Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Tennessee, and Louisiana are among the states making housing news. From inclusionary zoning to affordable housing, these states demonstrate the geographic reach and varying approaches to the housing crisis.

May 24, 2018

House Appropriators Maintain Some Transportation, HUD Funding Gains

The House Appropriations Committee recently approved a spending bill for transportation and housing programs that maintains some of the dramatic increases to programs made by the FY 2018 omnibus.

March 26, 2018

California's Urgent Search for Housing Solutions

Housing affordability challenges across the nation are some of the most pressing and controversial. Learn more about California housing legislation and the role of planners.

January 26, 2018

Aging in Place: Housing, Supports, Safety

Planners have the ability to create housing options that enable citizens to be independent and to thrive at all ages. One of a series of blog posts on APA's Plan4Health webinar and seminar on “Planning Livable Communities for All Ages."

January 23, 2018

Lay of the Land: 2018 State Legislative Sessions

By the end of January, almost 40 state legislatures across the nation will be in session. Get in the know about key issues and players likely to affect planning during the 2018 legislative season.

January 11, 2018

HUD Extends Assessment of Fair Housing Deadline

In a controversial move, HUD issued a notice effectively suspending new fair housing planning rules until 2020. APA plans to submit comments on the action.

November 10, 2017

Senate Tax Bill: Key Differences from the House Version

The Senate Finance Committee released a detailed summary of its own tax reform legislation just hours after the long-awaited tax bill hit the floor in the House.

November 6, 2017

Analysis: Tax Reform Proposal Impacts Housing, Economic Development

The long-awaited tax reform legislation, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (HR 1), contains provisions that will have potentially significant impacts on housing and economic development activities.

April 24, 2017

Celebrating the Success of CDBG and HOME

Community Development Programs have impacted communities all across the country, here are just a few of the many accomplishments made possible by CDBG and HOME.

April 12, 2017

Federal Programs That Foster Equitable Communities Face Uncertain Future

After 12 weeks in office, President Trump’s equity agenda remains elusive. Promoting social equity and expanded access to economic and social opportunities is one of APA's three legislative priorities.

February 3, 2017

Legislation Takes Aim at Fair Housing Plans and Federal Data

Issues of housing, social equity, and access to data are critical APA legislative and policy priorities, and APA will vigorously oppose legislation that threatens them.

September 28, 2016

Obama White House Toolkit Tackles Local Barriers to Affordable Housing

A new housing development toolkit released this week by President Obama's White House showcases innovative work some communities have done to spur the production of affordable housing.