A new California law overrides local regulations to provide multifamily housing around transit corridors. Can it succeed in finally getting much-needed housing built? And is sprawl really such a bad thing?
With a housing market unable to meet demand and rents spiking, Minneapolis and St. Paul are turning to a practice many have scorned as bad housing policy.
State lawmakers discussed the possibility of curbing property taxes by using surplus state funds and restricting the annual growth of a home’s taxable value. But some worry it would shift the burden onto taxpayers.
Shouldn’t being able to live in an affordable, safe and sanitary home be considered a human right? There are several ways local leaders could attack the problem.
Pilot projects in five communities will test how best to address the health risks that are connected to homelessness. Results could help guide professionals in reducing what has been a chronic problem.
Often overshadowed by its neighbor Minneapolis, the other twin city has survived the pandemic and racial tensions and is ready to move on. Governing talked to Mayor Carter, early in his second term, about the city’s new momentum.
The city’s Planning Board voted unanimously to forward the Expanding Housing Affordability policy after changes were made to improve infrastructure impacts. But some believe the changes were also politically motivated.
The $8 million, three-year pilot program will provide legal defense, in and out of court, to low-income renters who have experienced financial hardship due to the pandemic and are at risk of housing instability.
About three-quarters of undocumented seniors live with younger family members, compared to only a quarter of the elderly who are U.S. citizens. There will be an estimated 55,000 undocumented seniors across the state by 2030.
The city of Elk Grove uses an app that pushes citizens who participate in citywide housing density discussions to craft their own solutions, not just object to what has been proposed.
The state will direct federal funds to investments such as state and local parks, improving drinking water and water infrastructure, roads and bridges, mortgage assistance and expanding broadband access.
Many renters could be in peril if they haven’t sought assistance and don’t pay April rent. Housing experts now expect a flood of evictions to hit courtrooms around the state in mid-April.
In the 1970s, the city created a new generation of homesteaders by practically giving away vacant homes. Now, the idea has been revitalized by a city councilor. But not everyone is convinced it will work.
Experts agree that certain issues, such as public safety, housing and inequities, must be addressed for the city’s downtown to fully recover from the economic devastations of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Public engagement can have downsides. Neighborhood participation in the housing permitting process makes existing political inequalities worse, limits housing supply and contributes to the affordability crisis.
Housing costs were rising faster than income before historic inflation made things worse. The CEO of Habitat for Humanity blueprints what local governments can do to ease the current crisis.
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