How to make urban housing more affordable

New Urban News Article with image, 12/1/2006

Here are ideas new urbanists can use to offset high housing prices and economic segregation.

Although housing prices in many regions have declined in the past several months, they rose tremendously in the past few years, and affordability remains a big problem in many places. Fortunately, it’s a problem that New Urbanism is well equipped to address — in ways that also improve livability.

After discussing the cost and economic segregation issues with others, including Emily Talen at the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, I’ve put together a series of ideas. The concepts below should be considered simply an expansion of the New Urbanism toolkit, which has for years included things like granny flats, a broad range of housing types and sizes, and inclusionary zoning. None of them are entirely new; they advance or combine ideas that new urbanists have been talking about.