There’s No Such Thing as Affordable Housing

Los Angeles lost a hundred thousand affordable homes in a decade. Don’t look to bulldozers to explain how.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJanuary 4, 2023Incremental Housing, housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing crisis, poverty, california 30 Comments

Seattle Has 800,000 Problems

The Seattle area is growing fast, and the suburbs are not going to be exempt from change. Data on the true costs of development is helping local advocates develop a vision for a more prosperous—and, yes, populous—future.

Top StoryKerry HayesDecember 8, 2022Incremental Housing, housing, housing affordability, housing crisis, housing cost, housing policy, urban3, washington Be the First to Comment

Reminder: The Place You Live Is Not New York (Unless It Is)

Discourse about affordable housing is dominated by a handful of extremely unrepresentative places, and the solutions that might be applicable in those places don't translate in the rest of the U.S.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesDecember 1, 2022housing, housing affordability, housing activism, housing cost, Incremental Housing, housing policy, NIMBY, yimby 7 Comments

This Man Overcame Homelessness by Building His Own Tiny Home…on Hollywood Boulevard!

This LA resident has gone viral after taking matters into his own hands to deal with the housing crisis.

Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsNovember 9, 2022podcast, airbnb, rent, housing, housing cost, housing policy, housing market, housing crisis, Incremental Housing, upzoned, tiny house, california Be the First to Comment

What Does the "Airbnbust" Mean for the Housing Market?

Airbnb owners have voiced concerns over plummeting bookings in the last few months. Are we witnessing the “Airbnbust,” and if so, what does this mean for the housing market, as a whole?

Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsNovember 2, 2022podcast, airbnb, rent, housing, housing cost, housing policy, housing market, housing crisis, Incremental Housing, upzoned Be the First to Comment

We Need More Housing—But Also More People Who Can Build More Housing

The Ontario government has stated that the province will need 100,000 new construction workers and 1.5 million homes over the next decade…and industry leaders aren’t feeling optimistic about it.

Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsOctober 19, 2022podcast, housing, housing crisis, housing affordability, housing cost, construction, upzoned Be the First to Comment

Pre-Approved House Designs Jump-Start Infill Development in South Bend

While other places keep finding ways to say “no” to new housing, this Indiana city is offering pre-approved development templates to small-scale developers at no cost.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesOctober 6, 2022housing, housing crisis, Incremental Housing, incremental development, Infill Development, infill, missing middle, success stories, development, indiana, small scale developers 14 Comments

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

A Loophole Allowed Me to Flourish

Many older homeowners face a tough choice: Age in a home that’s too large or inaccessible for them, or give up their property and move somewhere else. Here’s how one resident of Delta, BC, found a third option.

Top Story, Norm Van Eeden PetersmanNorman Van Eeden PetersmanOctober 5, 2022canada, homeowners, aging in place, housing, housing policy, zoning, local regulation, Incremental Housing, accessory dwelling unit, home buyer 2 Comments

What Will Housing Prices Be a Year From Now?

If one thing’s clear about the housing market, it’s that it’s currently more sensitive to factors outside of your community—outside of your control—than anything within.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnSeptember 26, 2022housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing market, housing policy, Incremental Housing, homeowners, finance, home buyer 20 Comments

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

You Don’t “NEED” More Space

We often speak to the “good old days” as a measure of the U.S. at its best…but in 1950, the average American home was 983 square feet, as opposed to the 2,300 square feet of today.

Top StoryArian HorbovetzSeptember 6, 2022housing, housing cost, cars, car culture, urbanism, capitalism 4 Comments

2 College Towns Leading the Way on Land-Use Reform

Although they stand in very different parts of the country, these college towns are spearheading the push to eliminate harmful, longstanding land-use policies.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesAugust 25, 2022zoning, college, Land Use, local regulation, parking minimums, single-family, housing, Incremental Housing, success stories, end parking mandates and subsidies, florida, michigan 2 Comments

Spokane Opens the Door for Middle Housing Expansion

Last week, the city council of Spokane, WA, voted on a truly “bold, transformational package” that will allow for more forms of missing-middle housing and infill development in the city.