Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Midat Sodom And The Housing Affordability Crisis, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Planetizen Blog Posts- First Half Of 2019, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Do You Believe In Ghost Apartments?, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Shelter Poverty In Boston: Problem And Program, Michael E. Stone

Michael E. Stone

This paper argues, first, that most housing problems—in Boston and throughout the nation—are ultimately the result of the squeeze between inadequate incomes, on the one hand, and the cost of profitably providing housing on the other. It is also argued that housing cost and incomes together are the most decisive determinants of the overall quality of life of families and communities. Third, it is contended that the long history of inadequate attempts to cope with the affordabiiity problem have not only failed to solve the problem, but have indeed contributed significantly to the broader and serious problems of the overall …

New York City's Community-Based Housing Movement: Achievements And Prospects, Laura Wolf-Powers

Laura Wolf-Powers

A contribution to the book about the relationship of community-based activism to planning, this paper, highlights the experience of community-based not-for-profit housing organizations in New York City and their relationship (from the 1970s through to the present) with that city’s elected officials and executive agencies. I argue that in New York City, community-based organizations have unambiguously added strategic value in the social housing arena, becoming part of the production system and governance framework for the city's affordable housing. Moreover, their political participation and advocacy have helped to bring about many of the policies that currently structure this system. Their role …

Hoffman Triangle: Evolution Of A Neighborhood, James Stire, Brittany Arceneaux, Kim Washington, Michelle Thompson

Michelle M. Thompson

This video spotlights the continual efforts of Associated Neighborhood Development and other local organizations towards the development of the Hoffman Triangle neighborhood in Central City. The summer of 2012 brought significant advancements to Hoffman Triangle through three community-organized cleanup events, led by the Hoffman Triangle Neighborhood Association and the City of New Orleans. Maps and resources produced by Whodata.org and the University of New Orleans Department of Planning & Urban Studies have assisted efforts in highlighting why Hoffman Triangle remains a great place to live, work and play. To learn more about the Associated Neighborhood Development: http://www.and-nola.org and WhoData.org http://www.whodata.net

Book Review: Edward L. Glaeser, Triumph Of The City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, And Happier (The Penguin Press 2011), David J. Reiss

David J Reiss

It is always a bit unnerving to read someone else’s love letters, but even more so, when you have the same object of desire. Edward Glaeser’s TRIUMPH OF THE CITY is a love letter to cities and to New York City in particular. Glaeser provides a theoertical framework of the city, arguing that “Cities are the absence of physical space between people and companies. They are proximity, density, closeness.”

Glaeser prescribes three simple rules to protect the vitality of the urban environment: First, cities should replace the current lengthy and uncertain permitting process with a simple system of fees. Second, …

Blue Moonlight Rising: Evictions, Alternative Accommodation And A Comparative Perspective On Affordable Housing Solutions In Johannesburg, Gerald Dickinson

Gerald S. Dickinson

The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality v Blue Moonlight Properties 39 (Pty) Ltd and Another (338/10) [2011] ZASCA 47 (30 March 2011) is a welcomed addition to the eviction jurisprudence in South Africa. Courts have jostled for years with the question of whether socio-economic rights should be enforced in the context of adequate housing and evictions. Today, the central questions in comparative constitutional law now deal with how courts should enforce such rights. In other words, what are the remedies for violations of socio-economic rights? The usual proposed remedies are coercive orders aimed at guaranteeing occupiers the denied rights directly, …