We Have Plenty of Land in the United States. But Can All of It Support Housing?

A recent article from The Wall Street Journal claims that land must be positioned in a very specific way to support more development. What’s the Strong Towns take on this?

Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsOctober 5, 2022podcast, housing, housing crisis, Incremental Housing, developers, development, upzoned 1 Comment

The Suburbs Are a “One-Life-Cycle” Product

A recent CNBC documentary features Strong Towns insights from Charles Marohn about why suburban development is so risky.

Top StoryRachel QuednauSeptember 20, 2022suburban development pattern, suburban experiment, suburbs, incremental development, incrementalism, incremental, Incremental Housing, housing cost, housing, housing affordability, housing crisis 2 Comments

New Tools To Visualize How Your City Could Benefit From Incremental Development

The American Enterprise Institute has released some impressive—and free—data tools for understanding housing markets and development potential. And as a bonus, attend their upcoming talks if you’re in California!

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesSeptember 16, 2022housing, housing crisis, incrementalism, incremental development, incremental, Incremental Housing, walkability, events, event, maps, california Be the First to Comment

Suburbia Was a Housing Program

Suburbia was an experiment—an experiment in the service of building lots of housing very quickly.

Top StoryAddison Del MastroSeptember 12, 2022suburban experiment, suburbs, suburban development pattern, housing, housing policy, housing cost, housing crisis, housing affordability, NIMBY, Incremental Housing Be the First to Comment

The Starter House Is Nearly Extinct

Increasingly, for entire cities in the U.S., buying a starter home on a modest income is no longer an option.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesSeptember 8, 2022housing cost, housing, housing affordability, housing crisis, Incremental Housing, housing market, housing policy 8 Comments

Subtracting to the Better City

Counterintuitive though it may feel, sometimes to build a better city, we need to prune things back, rather than adding more.

Top StorySeth ZerenAugust 9, 2022freeway removal, highways, freeways, zoning, housing crisis, development 3 Comments

Is Wall Street Actually Taking Over the Housing Market?

Are Wall Street-backed investors the reason you can’t afford a house? The truth is a bit more complicated than that.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJuly 27, 2022housing, housing cost, housing crisis, housing market, homeowners, home buyer 13 Comments

Affordable Housing in Oregon Is About To Catch a Big Break From Parking Mandates

Finally, homes for people will no longer be conditional on car parking.

Top StoryCatie GouldJuly 13, 2022parking minimums, affordable housing, housing, housing cost, housing crisis, housing policy, housing affordability, zoning, end parking mandates and subsidies, oregon Be the First to Comment

Love the One You’re With

When you’re not allowed to build the kind of housing you want, sometimes you have to work with what’s already here.

Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoJuly 7, 2022housing, housing affordability, housing cost, housing crisis, housing market, housing policy, home, zoning, Incremental Housing, wisconsin, home buyer 6 Comments

An Epidemic of Blight Collides With a Pandemic

In Detroit's 48205 zip code, from 2014 to 2020, the number of vacant homes hardly budged, despite $25M spent demolishing 1,628 vacant homes. When the pandemic hit, vacant homes plummeted. What happened?

Top StoryAlex AlsupJune 28, 2022housing, housing affordability, homeowners, housing crisis, housing market, blight, housing policy, home buyer, michigan 1 Comment

A Parallel Option: Social Housing (Part 3)

Social housing is not a silver bullet, but can be part of a broader vision for a fairer and more responsive housing market.

HerrigesDaniel HerrigesJune 15, 2022housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing crisis, housing policy, co-housing, social housing series 7 Comments

Legalizing Incremental Change—Everywhere—To Meet America’s Housing Needs

For too long, our housing policy has put investor returns and macroeconomic goals over the universal human need for shelter. The Strong Towns approach to incremental housing is a badly needed corrective.

Top StoryCharles MarohnJune 9, 2022housing, housing affordability, housing crisis, housing cost, housing activism, housing policy, housing market, incrementalism, incremental, incremental development, Incremental Housing, member week 6 Comments

What Is a Housing Shortage, Anyway?

Everyone’s heard of the housing shortage…so why is the “shortage” part of that phrase so poorly defined?

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJune 1, 2022housing, housing affordability, housing crisis, housing activism 5 Comments

Social Housing and the Strong Towns Approach (Part 2)

Why isn’t social housing the silver bullet it's sometimes sold as, and what it would take to be successful? (Hint: You still have to fix the market.)

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesMay 26, 2022housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing crisis, housing policy, co-housing, social housing series 17 Comments

Corporate Investors Own Nearly Half of This City's Residential Property

What does this case study imply for housing in the U.S., as a whole?

Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsMay 25, 2022podcast, housing, housing crisis, housing market, housing policy, upzoned, home buyer 3 Comments

Social Housing and the Strong Towns Approach (Part 1)

Forget what you've heard; this isn't your granddad's social housing.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesMay 25, 2022housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing crisis, housing policy, co-housing, social housing series 1 Comment

Tyranny Won’t Get Us More Housing

Perceived threats to a home's value often prompt homeowners to shut down any discussion about neighborhood changes. But eliminating opportunities for such reactions isn’t helpful, either.