In CCLR’s 20 years of working in brownfield redevelopment, we’ve found that land recycling means more than remediation or urban green space creation. Land is a finite resource, and the fight to make space for urban housing is a continuous battle.
2016December
"First S.F. housing project gets bigger using state law, prompting backlash"
A project with 200 micro-units has been approved, the first time a San Francisco housing project has used the state’s density bonus program, which allows developments with affordable housing to rise 35 percent higher.
...More"A Rooming House for Career-Minded New York Women"
Sarah Berkes was delighted, if also very surprised, to find that a place like the Webster Apartments on West 34th Street still existed in New York City. The stately rooming house for “career minded professional women” where she has lived for a little over a year is one of the few of its kind left in the city.
...More"Roommates Divide and Conquer With Temporary Walls"
When four young professionals share a one-bedroom, one-bath apartment, a strategy for the morning routine is a necessity.
Katherine Neal, who works in sales, and Annie Jackson, who works in public relations, take the first shifts in the bathroom. Ms. Neal gets in there at 6:45 a.m. and has 15 minutes before it’s Ms. Jackson’s turn.
...More"Proposed state law tells cities: Build more, or we’ll do it for you"
San Francisco’s new state senator pitches housing bill mere hours into his term
Every California city is required to build a certain amount of housing to meet the state’s overall housing goals.
And a lot of places just plain seem to ignore the mandate. Earlier this year, former Palo Alto Planning Commission Kate Downing opined that the Regional Housing Needs Assessments lack so much as a built-in slap on the wrist.
...More"Designing Better Microapartments—By Living In Them"
A proponent of small living shows off his latest tiny apartment, and what his next space will be.
With 26,000 people per square mile, Manhattan is one of the most densely populated areas in the United States. Doing more with less space is a necessity of life and that often comes with compromises—no spare rooms, for instance, and a constant dearth of storage.
...More"Calthorpe Associates Letter to SF Planning Commission in support of CITYSPACE 333"
It is no mystery that the Bay Area and San Francisco has a housing crisis. But the real challenges are more specific than just affordability needs and workforce housing demands. The real challenges are to find urban environments that can absorb and benefit from infill and redevelopment. In short, we need to place housing in walkable, mixed-use and transit rich places like SF if we are to structurally address our most significant social and environmental challenges.
...More"S.F. homelessness: Still a long way to go"
Holiday visitors to San Francisco who encounter people sleeping on the streets may be left to wonder: “Why aren’t city leaders doing something about this?” Actually, they are — and they have been laying the groundwork for some sustainable solutions. But the intensified effort in recent months has not been without its frustration and setbacks.
...More"California’s High Housing Costs: Causes and Consequences"
From March 2015
California’s Home Prices and Rents Higher Than Just About Anywhere Else. Housing in California has long been more expensive than most of the rest of the country. Beginning in about 1970, however, the gap between California’s home prices and those in the rest country started to widen. Between 1970 and 1980, California home prices went from 30 percent above U.S. levels to more than 80 percent higher.
...More"Cost of housing is a drag for jobs"
Dearth of affordable homes pinches job market says consulting firm
The consulting firm Beacon Economics assessed the state of the Bay Area’s financial bearings on Monday. They conclude that the boom times are quieting to an echo, thanks in part to housing costs.
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