Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Census Bureau Seeks Partners In Business, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"By now you should have seen the advertisements for the U.S. Census Bureau to apprise us of the forthcoming census on April 1, 2000. And there will be plenty more since the Bureau has budgeted $167 million on this push for public awareness, something it has never perviously paid to do."

The Secondary Retail Market - A Viable Option?, Elaine Murphy

Masters

The secondary retail market in Dublin has dramatically altered over the last four years. Indeed, the entire retail market in Dublin and countryside has witnessed a substantial upsurge in activity over the last four years. On Grafton Street retail Zone A rents are breaking £2,153 per square metre (£200 per square foot) barrier and premiums are in the region of £300,000 -£400,000. There is currently a shortage of good retail investment opportunities on Grafton Street, which is leading investors to turn to Dublin’s other prime street, Henry Street. Over the last year Zone A rents on Henry Street have increased …

Housing Policies In Maine: A Historical Overview, Frank O’Hara

Maine Policy Review

Frank O’Hara traces the evolution of Maine’s housing policies from Maine’s settlement after the Revolutionary War to the current era, where concerns about sprawl and the preservation of communities have come to the fore. In doing so, O’Hara points out that the approach to housing has always reflected more than a desire to ensure every person has adequate shelter. Rather, it reflects core values and beliefs about society, our sense of beauty, and our relationship to the environment and one another. O’Hara urges policymakers to keep these broader constructs in mind when addressing Maine’s future housing needs. As history shows, …

The Importance Of Moderately Priced Rental Housing To Continued Economic Growth (Or, Portland’S Rental Housing Plight), Erin Maclean

Maine Policy Review

Currently, the Greater Portland, Maine area is experiencing a significant shortage in both subsidized rental housing and moderately priced, market-rate rental housing. According to Erin MacLean, the problem is that even with heightened demand, historically low interest rates, and historically high rents, developers are finding that new, market-rate housing is too expensive to build in Portland. The lack of moderately priced housing has affected local business owners as well, who report they are finding it difficult to hire workers in the $8 to $15 range. Their efforts to recruit and retain workers place an upward pressure on wages, which can …

What Does Smart Growth Mean For Housing?, Karen A. Danielsen, Robert E. Lang, William Fulton

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

Barely noticed amid the returns from the 1998 midterm elections was a quiet revolution that goes to the heart of how and where Americans live. While most news accounts focused on the high-profile candidate elections, voters across the nation-in Democratic and Republican areas alike-approved more than 160 state and local ballot measures intended to preserve open space and limit urban sprawl.

The coalition forming around the idea of limiting sprawl includes environmentalists, farmers, big-city mayors, and some developers. But perhaps most important, the so-called "smart growth" movement also includes many suburban voters who are fed up with growth. For example, …