Urbanexus Update - Issue #15
Please scroll down for my weekly selection of information and opinion about real estate and community development.
Real estate markets
JLL's metropolitan momentum index
The index covers 131 major established and emerging markets and tracks a broad range of factors to identify cities that have the strongest short-term socio-economic and commercial real estate momentum, and those that have the future-proofing capacity for longer-term success.
RCLCO’s mid-year sentiment survey
Generally positive, though moderating, operating and investment performance through the remainder of 2018 is the view of the majority of survey respondents.
International construction market survey The 2018 international construction market survey brings together data and experience from 46 markets around the world, to provide an insight into the current state and direction of travel of the global construction industry.
Cautionary tales from Seattle and Philadelphia
Catastrophic population losses in the urban core cities, especially 1970 through 1990 have slowed down or stopped completely in many areas. Sadly, some of the cities that have experienced the most significant turnarounds appear not to have learned important lessons of their previous declines.
Seattle landlords offer incentives to fill empty apartments As new apartments open across the city in record numbers, vacancy rates have grown, rents have stopped rising and landlords are offering an increasing number of freebies to get tenants in the door.
Home listing prices are flat or falling in ten US metropolitan areas The different trajectories for home values and list prices demonstrate how instrumental local economies are in guiding housing markets.
US markets with substantial housing vacanies Alan Mallach is out with a new study from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy called “The Empty House Next Door.” It’s a look at vacant housing in America’a cities.
How the housing market in the USA has become harder since 1988 — www.curbed.com Comparing today to the late ’80s isn’t just a nostalgia trip; in significant ways, the market was healthier.
U.S. millennials happiest in cities — www.citylab.com
Older Americans prefer smaller and more rural places, but Millennials are happiest in cities.
Housing and community development
Gold nugget awards — www.goldnuggetawards.com
The Pacific Coast Builders Conference in the USA recognizes those who improve our communities through exceptional concepts in design, planning, and development.
Olympia wants to avoid Seattle's housing fate — crosscut.com The Olympia planning commission has proposed a massive overhaul of its zoning laws to allow and encourage “missing middle” housing — a name for any of the slightly denser housing types that fall in between a single-family house and an apartment building.
Housing, office, retail near Apple HQ — www.sfchronicle.com The developer of a project to replace the mostly vacant Vallco Mall in Cupertino, less than a mile from Apple’s spaceship campus, won a key approval from the city as it aims to start construction in September.
Planned neighborhood includes toll lane access
Bedford is a gated community in Corona, CA, with plans for approximately 1,620 homes and direct access to a new toll lane on I-15. It is the first residential development of this scale to be introduced in Corona in more than 15 years.
A psychiatrist addresses homelessness — medium.com Matthew State, MD, PhD, chair of UCSF’s Department of Psychiatry, is playing a key role in an ambitious effort to tackle San Francisco’s dire homelessness problem. He answers some tough questions about the challenge.
Startup mentality and a school in San Francisco — www.wired.com
Huge contributions from tech titans, a STEM-packed curriculum, gadgets everywhere: Willie Brown Middle School was supposed to set the bar.
A creative approach to homebuilding — www.facebook.com What do bottle caps, broken mirrors and wine corks have in common? They’re all recycled materials that Dan Phillips uses to build houses.
Housing development approvals
Leadership for development approvals
Land development can be very profitable, very political and in today’s social media age, very public. Patrick Slevin discusses how to manage this challenge.
Getting from “Me” to “We” — www.sightline.org
Housing and community development messaging recommendation resulting from a focus group test.
People disadvantaged by the housing crisis don’t vote
Meanwhile, wealthy homeowners turn out reliably to protect their interests at city hall. Third in a series.
Transportation
Seattle growth in transit boardings leads the nation
In terms of transit boardings per capita, the Central Puget Sound Region (greater Seattle) places 6th out of the 52 metropolitanareas in the country.
Japan and Europe have wonderful train systems. Why can’t we?
We have a less densely populated nation --and U.S. policy favors automobile and plane infrastructure over a robust rail system.
There's a bus driver shortage — www.citylab.com Labor shortages are straining transit service in major cities. No wonder: bus drivers have been kicked to the curb.
Forget banning cars, just reduce parking — www.fastcompany.com Oslo had a plan to lower its emissions by drastically limit car travel in its center. Now you can drive, but it might not be worth it.
Environment
Impervious surface should matter to land developers — mailchi.mp
‘Impervious surface’ – is often related with the green movement. It’s also associated with ‘costly.' Before introducing an affordable (easy), and cheaper (possibly free) solution, we must understand what it means and why typical solutions fail to perform.
Designing a trash-free future AIA New York’s Zero Waste Design Guidelines help the city devise a plan to meet ambitious sustainability goals.
The future we don't want — www.c40.org
Poverty increases climate risks. 215 million urban poor in 495 developing country cities will be vulnerable to extreme heat by 2050.
Around the world
Exploring livability in tropical Australia
Fundamental relationships at the heart of urban public health and livability are under scrutiny in tropical Australia.
Community takes lead to rebuild Philippine city after siege — www.thisisplace.org Place is a news and information website designed to shed light on the many issues revolving around land and property rights.
Large projects in Saudi Arabia — archpaper.com Here is a quick guide to some of the biggest, tallest, and most cutting-edge projects in the works across the country.