Housing and Urban Issues
Stresses on urban communities continue to affect housing, food security, child services, homelessness, business development and crime. Coverage includes stories about new solutions to how cities are run, how they develop as urban centers and about the people who live there.
A new report finds that, over the last 10 years, costs have risen in the Evergreen State faster than any other.
A recent report from the Urban Institute examined zoning policies from New York and Philadelphia, finding that upzoning had the potential to create more housing units.
More and more, cities are paying hefty fees for private attorneys to take big businesses to court. In the end, though, they’re making life more costly for their residents.
But some cities with the best opportunity are leaving it on the table.
The structured environments where teenagers once gathered are disappearing, leaving a vacuum now filled by spontaneous, often-chaotic behavior. We need to bring those spaces back, and young people need to be part of the solution.
Some of the region’s metros are showing surprising population numbers, a documented awakening in places that most of the country has grown accustomed to ignoring.
GIS-based apps, imaging, sensors and other tools can significantly improve tracking and response. They need to be thoughtfully integrated with services.
A crucial deadline is looming, and local governments seeking to compete need to demonstrate an investible project pipeline with measurable outcomes. Not every project is a fit.
Inexpensive single-room-occupancy dwellings were common in America decades ago, but overregulation has driven them from the housing market.
Voters will decide whether a new levy could raise millions and push empty properties back onto the housing market.
If local journalism and civic information are truly public goods, their survival will require bold public interventions. It’s beginning to happen.
Housing shortages are bipartisan, but a new survey finds parties have different ideas about fixing them.
About 40 percent of participants in the city’s Inside Safe initiative have fallen back into unsheltered homelessness.
A surge in pro-housing bills reflects growing agreement across parties that boosting supply is key to tackling affordability.
Garden apartments don’t look like much, but they’ve been an important source of housing for people of modest means for a long time. Do they point the way to a residential future?
San Marcos is outperforming much of San Diego County as most jurisdictions lag behind state-mandated housing production.
Restrictive land use policies mean higher housing costs in neighborhoods most in need of affordability. We need policies that promote enough housing for everybody.
New estimates show migration patterns favoring less densely populated areas, while most U.S. counties experience slowing growth.
Gov. Jared Polis praised the two bills as the state’s latest innovative efforts to wrench down the price of housing.
With promising early results, prevention programs are expanding nationwide as a potentially more effective and cheaper model.
Left-leaning mayoral winners are getting a lot of attention, but in a few cities business-friendly moderates are showing strength.
What state legislatures do is important, but process matters just as much. Local governments determine whether reforms unlock housing or quietly stall.
Without access to traditional mortgages, many buyers rely on higher-cost loans with shorter terms and higher interest rates.
The most powerful climate policy in America isn’t in Washington. It’s buried in your town’s zoning code.
A new analysis finds a proposed statewide rent cap could reduce property values and erode local tax revenue.
With 17 percent of office space vacant and remote work reshaping demand, developers are pivoting toward residential construction that could help ease the region’s housing shortage.
Deaths dropped 10 percent but the mortality rate remains far higher than for the general population.
Homeowners in major metros are holding onto properties for longer periods, with Los Angeles topping 20 years and state tax laws helping discourage moves.
The U.S. House and Senate have both voted for a package of changes to federal housing programs, with broad backing from cities and states. A final bill could get a vote this week.
Eric Adams’ failed reform bid is a warning sign for the new mayor attempting to take on one of the city’s most persistent problems.
Between 2023 and 2025, the city cleared encampments and quickly built new shelters. It reduced the unsheltered homeless population by 45 percent, even as the total number of homeless people in Denver has increased.
