LSA

Local Planning, Housing Research, Forecasts and Analyses

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October 15, 2019

All in the Family: The New Multigenerational Household

October 15, 2019

All in the Family: The New Multigenerational Household

In recent years, particularly since the Great Recession, multigenerational living has been on the rise across the country. Economic and demographic factors are the primary reasons why more people are…
September 30, 2019

Rent Control is Back Again

September 30, 2019

Rent Control is Back Again

In February, Oregon became the first state to enact statewide rent control. In September, California followed with its own statewide rent cap.  Only the District of Columbia and three other…

Recent Posts

May 2, 2019

Who Should Cities be Helping?

  A recent Washington Post article asked the question: Should cities subsidize housing for a family making $141,000? The issue has been raised as DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has proposed a $20 million workforce housing fund in the city to support the development of housing affordable to middle-income households. There has been sharp criticism from […]
March 21, 2019

How Are Babies Made? (Hint: It’s not by building apartments…)

In local debates about building new multifamily housing, the conversation often turns to babies—well, actually to the school-age children that babies ultimately become. The argument is that new housing equals new school children, and new apartments likely means new lower-income school children. Because schools are often overcrowded as it is and school funding remains insufficient […]
March 7, 2019

Local Solutions in Action: School District-Owned Land

The Local Solutions in Action series highlights strategies for expanding housing options and increasing housing affordability. The focus is on land use, zoning, financial and other regulatory tools that are available to cities, counties and towns that can be used to meet the housing needs of their residents and workforce. School District-Owned Land Public land […]
March 4, 2019

Three Questions We Ask at Community Meetings

Three Questions We Ask at Community Meetings Community meetings are critical to any local housing planning process. We know a lot more than we used to—thanks to groups like the Frameworks Institute, MacArthur Foundation and Enterprise Community Partners—about how to talk about the challenge of housing affordability to guide the conversation away from myths, misconceptions […]
February 28, 2019

Why We Care About Interest Rates

Late last year, it seemed all but certain that the Fed would be raising rates in 2019, perhaps three or four times. However, now it is looking like the Fed could move more slowly on interest rate hikes. Why do we care so much about the Federal Reserve and whether the Fed decides to push […]
January 25, 2019

Local Solutions in Action: Motel Conversion

The Local Solutions in Action series highlights strategies for expanding housing options and increasing housing affordability. The focus is on land use, zoning, financial and other regulatory tools that are available to cities, counties and towns that can be used to meet the housing needs of their residents and workforce. Adaptive Reuse: Motel Conversion Adaptive […]
January 23, 2019

Amazon HQ2 and the Demand for Housing in Northern Virginia

In December, I attended a forum on Amazon and the Northern Virginia housing market. The audience was primarily made up of realtors along with apartment owners and managers and the focus was on what the impact of Amazon’s arrival might be on home prices and rents in the region. If those in attendance were expecting […]
November 21, 2018

Local Solutions in Action: Opportunity Zones

The Local Solutions in Action series highlights strategies for expanding housing options and increasing housing affordability. The focus is on land use, zoning, financial and other regulatory tools that are available to cities, counties and towns that can be used to meet the housing needs of their residents and workforce. Opportunity Zones The Opportunity Zone […]