Housing

  • A shift to remote work has softened the demand for office space, accelerating the need for commercial-to-residential conversions.
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    Office-to-residential conversions are tough. Could dorm-style co-living be the answer?

    Microapartments with shared bathrooms and kitchens could suit service workers, retirees and young professionals and cost 25% to 35% less than converting offices to traditional apartments, Pew and Gensler researchers said.

    By • Oct. 22, 2024
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    adamkaz / iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images
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    13 multifamily housing-related ballot measures to watch in November

    While California’s proposition to remove limits on local rent control has attracted national headlines, other jurisdictions also have initiatives focused on addressing housing challenges.

    By Mary Salmonsen • Oct. 22, 2024
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    Trendline

    Top 5 stories from Smart Cities Dive

    From worsening climate change to a shifting transportation landscape and the housing affordability crisis, cities have their work cut out for them.

    By Smart Cities Dive staff
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    San Francisco’s ban on rent-setting software takes effect

    The software allows residential landlords to indirectly coordinate, raising rents, lowering occupancy rates and increasing evictions, lawmakers say. Similar bans are under consideration in San Diego and Philadelphia.

    By Mary Salmonsen • Oct. 18, 2024
  • An eviction notice posted on the front door of a home.
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    Opinion

    Eviction data is lacking. Here’s how local governments can help.

    Local leaders need to understand the magnitude of the housing crisis in their area to act on it, a Princeton Eviction Lab representative says.

    By Camila Vallejo • Oct. 14, 2024
  • A view of office buildings on October 27, 2022 in San Francisco, California.
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Why California’s governor shot down a bill aimed at ramping up adaptive reuse projects

    Converting commercial buildings to residential or other uses may have become even more complicated under the bill, local officials said.

    By Nish Amarnath • Oct. 9, 2024
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    EPA requires lead pipes to be replaced nationwide within 10 years

    The landmark rule imposes the strictest limits on lead in drinking water since federal standards were set 30 years ago.

    By Julie Strupp • Oct. 8, 2024
  • People walk in a lit parking lot at night next to numerous tents.
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    California allocates $131M to local homelessness response efforts

    The state will also reimburse local governments for cleaning up encampments on state land, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday.

    By • Oct. 8, 2024
  • The California Capitol building.
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    New California laws tighten renter protections

    Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed multiple bills into law. A major remaining question is whether voters will approve an upcoming ballot measure to expand local governments’ authority to enact rent control.

    By Mary Salmonsen • Oct. 3, 2024
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    2025’s top smart city conferences

    Smart city technology, housing, climate action, road safety and more will take center stage at events already announced for next year.

    By , • Oct. 1, 2024
  • A vehicle parked on the curb in front of grass.
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    As Los Angeles struggles with RV encampments, a new California law aims to help

    The law allows the city to lease state transportation department property for $1 a month to securely store recreational vehicles formerly inhabited by people experiencing homelessness.

    By • Oct. 1, 2024
  • A person sits at a table in front of a large piece of equipment. On the table are an open plastic water bottle and a plastic bag.
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    HUD extreme heat playbook focuses on increasing resilience in housing

    The guidance identifies potential federal funding sources and example projects that it says could work elsewhere across the country.

    By • Sept. 27, 2024
  • A row of homes with a red sign in the foreground that reads "FOR RENT."
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    Research points to the downsides of rent control

    A review of over 100 studies shows the various negative impacts of policies that regulate rent, including that they can drive up prices in uncontrolled units nearby.

    By Mary Salmonsen • Sept. 23, 2024
  • A person wearing a hat uses a tool to clean up debris and garbage under a freeway.
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    Retrieved from Governor Gavin Newsom.
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    City homeless shelter ban prompts California to threaten legal action

    Norwalk, California’s city council voted Tuesday to extend a ban on new shelters and other types of housing even after Gov. Gavin Newsom blasted it as unlawful and immoral one day prior.

    By • Sept. 18, 2024
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    Google Maps

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    Apartment complex owners sue New Jersey town over new fees

    Among other requirements, landlords in Edison must pay $100 per unit per year under a new housing ordinance.

    By Mary Salmonsen • Sept. 16, 2024
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    Minnesota bans pot smoking, vaping in multifamily properties

    The move is a first of its kind among states, although 85 California municipalities have banned smoking in multifamily units, according to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation.

    By Mary Salmonsen • Sept. 13, 2024
  • The back of a person who is pointing a remote at a wall-mounted air conditioner.
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    Low-income families face high energy burden, prompting calls for more government action

    One in four low-income U.S. households spends more than 15% of their income on energy bills, finds an analysis by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

    By • Sept. 13, 2024
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    Q&A

    Cincinnati mayor says zoning overhaul reflects a ‘generational change in how people think about cities’

    Years of community engagement revealed Cincinnatians don’t support getting rid of single-family zoning altogether — but they were open to relaxing it in some areas, Mayor Aftab Pureval said.

    By • Sept. 11, 2024
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    3 commercial-to-residential conversions receive city government support in Washington, D.C.

    Five businesses are also getting grants to open or expand into downtown spaces that have been vacant for at least six months, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced.

    By • Sept. 10, 2024
  • Apartment building under construction surrounded by high rises.
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    Multifamily permitting drops in urban areas

    Higher interest rates and supply chain concerns have taken a toll on new apartment construction, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

    By Mary Salmonsen • Sept. 9, 2024
  • A person in a suit and ties stands behind a podium. Behind him is a United States flag.
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    Atlanta’s homelessness response could get a $60M infusion

    A bond and the city’s affordable housing trust fund would unleash millions of dollars under a proposal by Atlanta’s mayor and city council. Up to 700 affordable housing units could be built with the funds.

    By • Sept. 6, 2024
  • Officers wearing shirts that read "police" handcuff a person.
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    Homelessness response team heads to streets in Birmingham, Alabama

    As it does in some California and Texas cities, the organization Urban Alchemy will respond to certain nonemergency calls in Birmingham instead of the police.

    By • Sept. 5, 2024
  • A cityscape in front of a snow-capped mountain.
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    ‘Housing production strategy’ passes in Portland, Oregon

    In its first such plan, the city outlined dozens of ways to meet housing needs in coming years as rents and home prices outpace income.

    By • Sept. 3, 2024
  • A person in a suit speaks in front of a seal for the state of California.
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    Justin Sullivan/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    California tackles housing shortage, homelessness with 2 new laws

    “The homelessness crisis demands immediate and innovative action, not the status quo,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has recently cracked down on encampments of people experiencing homelessness. 

    By • Aug. 30, 2024
  • A person pushes a gurney with a person on it into a vehicle
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    Cities assert tenants’ right to cooling in a warming world

    Grappling with fatal heat waves, local governments are passing laws that make landlords provide working air conditioning. Financial and other challenges remain, however.

    By • Aug. 27, 2024
  • DOJ lawsuit against RealPage
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    DOJ sues software firm RealPage over algorithm that allegedly drives up rents

    The attorneys general of several states joined the suit, which accuses the company of an “unlawful scheme to decrease competition among landlords.”

    By Leslie Shaver • Aug. 26, 2024