Follow this tag to curate your own personalized Activity Stream and email alerts.
City leaders and lawmakers say thousands of public housing residents in New York City who have been forced to live with leaks, mold, broken elevators, and busted boilers may finally see better living conditions in what could amount to a fundamental shift in how public housing is funded in the city. — Gothamist
Last Thursday, the state Legislature passed a bill that would allow the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to establish a public-benefit corporation that could raise billions for much-needed renovations across 25,000 apartments. Called the Public Housing Preservation Trust, the entity would... View full entry
The developer of a controversial Harlem complex that would have brought 915 new apartments to an underutilized stretch of 145th Street — half of which would have been income restricted — has scuttled the plan ahead of a subcommittee vote on the project Tuesday morning. — Gothamist
Developers Pointsfive reportedly withdrew their application for the zoning needed to build the mixed-use, ShoP Architects-designed One45 hours before it was set to be voted on by the New York City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises. The proposal included a pair of 363-foot-tall towers... View full entry
Developers and city officials recently joined to celebrate the start of construction on a dual-building affordable housing complex in Brownsville, Brooklyn. The development site is located on Newport Street between Thatford and Rockaway Avenues and will debut as Bridge Rockaway. — New York Yimby
Total construction costs for the complex are estimated at $118 million. The development team includes contracting firm Mega Development, non-profit industrial developer Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center, and The Bridge, a non-profit organization that provides rehabilitative services... View full entry
A new Silicon Valley startup is taking the charge put forth by the recent expansion of ADUs and other non-traditional forms of accommodation in the uphill battle to provide affordable housing to the millions of Californians struggling to find a way forward. Business Insider recently took a closeup... View full entry
Ahead of this week’s scheduled planning commission meeting in Santa Monica, Gehry Partners has revealed updated renderings for the proposed Ocean Avenue Project that would install a new mixed-use cultural campus in the heart of Los Angeles’ beachy Westside. The proposal calls for the creation... View full entry
When a recession hits, architects often take it in the gut. The design sector has traditionally been one of the losers of a market downturn, with big real estate developments being put on hold and the need for architectural design services kicked down the road. But during the economic downturn brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, architecture has been surprisingly robust. — Fast Company
According to the 2022 Otis College Report on the Creative Economy, an annual report by Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles that tracks the economic health of creative industries in California, architecture has been the most resilient sector. This is compared to creative goods and... View full entry
A central part of the Fuggerei social housing complex’s 500th anniversary festival of events that began over the weekend, MVRDV’s newly-opened NEXT500 Pavilion examines the future of the all-important typology through the inclusion of proposed designs which would install inspired versions... View full entry
NYC-based architecture and design studio Marc Thorpe Design has launched a design & build agency in New York’s West Catskills dedicated to the development of affordable solar-powered homes. Called Edifice Upstate, the agency was formed in collaboration with local builders... View full entry
In an effort to confront the city’s ongoing homeless crisis, Mayor Eric Adams stood alongside elected officials and union members to support a plan that would clear the streets and subways, and put a near-record number of unhoused New Yorkers into underutilized hotels. — Gothamist
Adams is supporting state bill S.4937/A.6262, which would make it easier for the city to convert underutilized hotels into affordable housing. According to city officials, this work would come at two-thirds the cost of new construction and could create 25,000 beds. Mayor Adams has been... View full entry
Converting empty or underutilized strip malls and shopping centers into mixed-use residential and retail developments could help solve California’s housing shortage crisis and allow stores to stay afloat amid the shift to online shopping, said housing experts and industry leaders during a panel at the Urban Land Institute’s spring meeting last week in San Diego. However, that transformation will require cities to change their land-use policies. — Smart Cities Dive
Greyfield land may be the most underutilized resource in the state’s harried attempt to create the more than 2.5 million housing units required to meet demands set forth by the Department of Housing and Community Development in March. A bill introduced last week by state rep Buffy Wicks would... View full entry
3D printed home specialist Alquist 3D has announced plans to build what it calls the largest 3D printed home building project in the world. The initiative is dubbed Project Virginia and will see the development of 200 homes across the state. Alquist will kick off the project with a demonstration... View full entry
The housing reform collective Architects Against Housing Alienation (AAHA) will represent Canada at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale. Having been selected by the Canada Council for the Arts, AAHA will use the event to launch an architectural activity campaign for safe, healthy, affordable... View full entry
In a 2021 feature titled For Affordable Housing, The Revolution Will Be Modularized, we explored one architect’s vision for an industrial-scale solution to the affordable housing crisis; one which centered on shipping-container-sized modules configured as various combinations of housing options... View full entry
San Francisco’s housing element, which will be before the planning commission for a hearing Thursday, must meet a tall order. Not only must it plan for 82,000 units but it also must create a blueprint for “fair housing.” That means that a significant amount of the new residential development must occur in “well-resourced” neighborhoods where discrimination and zoning rules have historically combined to keep out newcomers and new buildings. — The San Francisco Chronicle
The city’s compliance with the recommendations in the state-manded RHNA (or Regional Housing Needs Assessment) plan would mean tripling its current housing stock by the year 2031. It would also change the socio-economic fabric of the shifting neighborhood schematic, as a total of 85% of all new... View full entry
Now, more than 50 years later, a more urban part of Disney’s utopian idealism is taking shape. The company is announcing a new project to augment its vast theme park and resort development with 1,300 units of affordable housing, set on 80 acres of land right next to Disney World. — Fast Company
The Walt Disney Company is hoping to work with an unnamed third-party affordable housing developer to build the project. The units will be available to income-qualifying candidates from the general public and Disney employees. This initiative comes as Orlando-area rents are increasing, with the... View full entry
