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Location, Location, Location | Environment and Housing | The Economy and Housing | Housing Matters Spotlight
Tiny-apartment contest envisions future of NYC living
A competition in New York City pitted architects and designers against one another to envision and create livable apartments that are about the size of a hotel room, or 250 to 370 square feet. Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the city is facing a housing shortfall of 800,000 studio and one-bedroom apartments, and that the tiny units will be needed in any city with young people. The winning design will come to life as a 10-story apartment tower, built on city-owned land using modular construction. The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/City Room blog (1/22) Share: 
 
Project in Boston's Chinatown highlights challenges in affordable housing
The $35 million redevelopment of Hong Lok House in Boston's Chinatown will provide apartments for low-income elderly residents for about $500 a month. This is a feat, experts say, both because the area is a magnet for luxury homes and because federal financing for affordable housing had declined dramatically in recent years, leaving developers to cobble together private loans and grants. The Boston Globe (tiered subscription model) (1/23) Share:
Baltimore grant connects scattered energy-efficiency efforts
Baltimore is using a $52.9 million award for energy innovation to consolidate a hodgepodge of programs and grants into a robust new effort that is expected to alter the city's power usage, offer funding for weatherization and other home improvements, and promote financial literacy. The Baltimore Sun (1/22) Share:
Housing inventory continues its slide
The inventory of homes on the market has been dropping as sales continue their upward trend. At the end of 2012, the U.S. had 21.6% fewer homes for sale than a year earlier, the National Association of Realtors reported. Reasons for the shrinking inventory include homeowners' lack of equity, a slowing pace of bank foreclosures and fewer new homes under construction. The Wall Street Journal/Developments blog (1/22) Share:
CBPP recommends renters' credit to balance housing policy
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation grantee, proposes a renters' tax credit to improve the effectiveness and equity of the nation's housing expenditures. Currently, federal spending on housing favors homeownership over renting and targets a larger share of subsidies toward higher-income households. The Center recommends the renters' tax credit as a step toward a more balanced housing policy. Capped at $5 billion, it would assist 1.2 million of the lowest-income renters and lift 250,000 families out of poverty. Read a fact sheet on key features of the Center's proposal. Share:
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