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Berlin is to hold a referendum on a grassroots proposal that would force major property companies to sell thousands of their apartments to a public-owned body. A public petition for the idea, fueled by anger over surging housing prices, has gathered 183,711 valid signatures, which is more than the... View full entry
The American Institute of Architects Los Angeles (AIALA) has published a set of strategies urging LA city leaders to tackle the city’s homelessness and affordable housing crisis. The“House All Angelenos” Call-to-Action urges officials to adopt seven strategies aimed at accelerating the... View full entry
The United States needs to construct an additional 5.5 million housing units to compensate for a slowdown in housebuilding over the past two decades, according to a report by the National Association of Realtors. The housing lobby group, who published the report last week, says that “the scale... View full entry
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law Senate Bill 7, aimed at streamlining large building developments in the state. The bill, also known as the Housing and Jobs Expansion Act, allows for certain proposed developments, particularly infill residential-led projects, to be fast-tracked... View full entry
Buyer Demand is outstripping the availability of homes as many ponder a solution to the newest driver in the housing crisis. A Commerce Department report detailing the continued decline in the market for single-family dwellings again in April, a product of overall increase in demand and lack of... View full entry
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced over $90 million in grants allocated for affordable housing in Tribal communities. The funds, distributed to 24 Tribes and Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs) are intended to support the construction of new houses... View full entry
For decades, ordinary residents have been pushed out of cities like London and New York to make room for offices and luxury apartments. But the pandemic has massively reduced demand for these same locations — turning city centers into ghost towns, full of shiny new buildings that no one needs. — Jacobin Magazine
Writing for Jacobin, Glyn Robbins dissects the pandemic's lasting effect on cities around the world where new luxury developments — too often favored over affordable housing solutions for the broader local community — are now faced with a sudden drop in demand. Related on Archinect... View full entry
More than a dozen designs for accessory dwelling units, known as ADUs, will be offered through the city’s ADU Standard Plan Program [...]. The small-scale, stand-alone residences are generally tucked into properties zoned for single-family homes. The idea, says the city’s chief design officer (and former Times architecture critic), Christopher Hawthorne, is to take a weeks-long permitting process and “turn it into an approval that is over-the counter.” — Los Angeles Times
Notoriously plagued by a shortage of housing stock, Los Angeles has launched a new initiative that aims to drastically shorten the approval process — and promote good design — with preapproved accessory dwelling unit (ADU) plans. The ADU Standard Plan Program will start out with... View full entry
After Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012 an Airbnb host reached out to the billion-dollar online vacation rental company to propose an idea. The host asked if she could offer her home to people who had been evacuated to stay free of charge. Since then the team from Airbnb has evolved the host's... View full entry
In alignment with Project Homekey, LA County's efforts to provide temporary housing pushes forward as the city uses over $68M in grant funding plus $37M in local matching funds to purchase hotels located in the Los Angeles area. In October, the city had acquired ten hotels located in the West... View full entry
At the city’s first tiny home village, scheduled to open in January, each of the 39 closet-sized homes is costing $130,000, about 10 times what some other cities are spending. Five more villages are planned to open later. — Los Angeles Times
LA Times Senior Writer Doug Smith reports on the progress, and higher-than-usual costs, of erecting tiny home villages in a City of Los Angeles effort to take on its ballooning homelessness crisis. "Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the program in March," writes Smith, "signaling that the concept of... View full entry
Shield House is just one example of “permitted development”. It is an outcome of a government experiment in deregulation, which allows homes to be made out of old offices and shops without planning permission, that has been going on for some years. An estimated 65,000 flats have been made in this way. — The Guardian
The Observer's architecture critic Rowan Moore highlights in his latest Guardian piece the failed outcome of a government program that seeks to speed up the conversion of old commercial properties into residential spaces. "The experiment has been catastrophic in several significant respects, but... View full entry
As commercial and office real estate markets continue to be upended by societal shifts touched off by the COVID-19 pandemic, some economists are looking to these now under-utilized spaces as potential avenues for bringing additional housing supplies online in American cities. Previously on... View full entry
As part of a $2.5 billion funding commitment made by computer and electronics giant Apple to help fund additional affordable housing initiatives, the company has allocated $400 million toward a series of first-time homebuyer and affordable housing efforts. An announcement from Apple... View full entry
A recent monthly report from the United States Census Bureau indicates that residential construction is beginning to claw back toward typical levels following steep drops in construction and permitting activities during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report states that... View full entry
