A new California law gives transportation agencies the option to pay into an affordable housing fund to offset the increased travel demand associated with major road projects. The approach could achieve several goals at once: mitigating emissions from highway expansions, creating a new funding stream for affordable housing, and helping more people live in accessible neighborhoods, reducing their transportation costs.
affordable housing
The argument for ending single-family zoning
An article in the latest issue of the JAPA makes a case for getting rid of single-family zoning in U.S. cities. The authors argue that single-family zoning exacerbates inequality and promotes the inefficient use of valuable urban land. By excluding other types of development, R1 zoning produces a housing scarcity in desirable places, which pushes prices up and excludes all but wealthy residents.
Transit-oriented development, VMT, and induced gentrification
Many cities are pursuing transit-oriented development as a strategy to decrease regional vehicle miles traveled. But as TOD has become popular with higher-income residents, low-income residents can be pushed out, complicating that goal. A recent study in California looked at travel patterns of both the new residents of transit-oriented neighborhoods, as well as the households displaced due to gentrification.
Latinos are being pushed to urban edges, rural areas with few transportation options
A study by researchers at UT Health San Antonio details the barriers that Latinos in the U.S. face because of poor access to transportation options. Inadequate transit options, unreliable or spotty schedules, long commutes, and a geographic mismatch between jobs and affordable housing are especially acute for Latinos, although the suburbanization of poverty creates similar problems for many communities.
The cost and inequity of children’s access to opportunity
Housing and transportation are the two biggest expenses for average households in the United States, and geographic location has a significant impact on these costs. But living in areas with affordable housing and transportation is not enough to assure that children will thrive. They must also have access to opportunity.
Planners reevaluate parking requirements for affordable housing
The most recent issue of Planning, the magazine of the American Planning Association, examines how cutting parking requirements can also improve the supply of affordable housing. Both cities and developers are recognizing that new projects may require significantly fewer spaces in the future as people eschew car ownership in favor of transit, ridesharing, carsharing, and non-motorized transportation options. Several cities have found that by reducing the requirements for expensive parking in buildings, the cost for the residential units is also reduced.
How Denver and Seattle are working to preserve affordable housing near transit
The Denver and Seattle regions are experiencing a challenge common to a number of cities around the country: despite an influx of transit-oriented development projects, much of that new housing is unaffordable to the people who rely on transit the most. And the people moving in to the TOD projects often don’t use transit.
Seattle's parking reforms
The Seattle City Council passed a number of parking reforms earlier this month to further support the city’s ongoing efforts to become less car-oriented, advance local climate change goals, and reduce housing costs in the city. Seattle is one of many cities to recognize that its parking regulations are outdated, but one of relatively few to take major steps toward reform.
California blocks parking requirements where housing needs aren’t met
In an effort to streamline affordable housing development, a new California law (SB-35) will preclude cities from requiring parking on certain projects, beginning January 1. Parking can drive up housing costs considerably and often isn’t needed.
California blocks parking requirements where housing needs aren’t met
In an effort to streamline affordable housing development, a new California law (SB-35) will preclude cities from requiring parking on certain projects, beginning January 1. Parking can drive up housing costs considerably and often isn’t needed.