Beyond Bricks and Sticks

A weekly digest of current trends in housing and community development. The discussion examines topics from infrastructure to community fabric.

Denver’s Making Public Housing Desirable

(RECAP: Once it is completed in 2018, Denver’s newest development will promote healthy living, mass transit and energy efficiency. It also happens to be public housing.)
http://www.governing.com/topics/transportation-infrastructure/gov-denver-public-housing.html

Community Development Corporations at a Crossroads

(RECAP: Like all other housing producers, CDCs now face the sobering prospect of a housing market permanently altered by devastating price declines, lost equity, imbalances of supply and demand, financial uncertainty and mounting pressure from a rapidly aging population.)
http://www.shelterforce.org/article/3333/community_development_corporations_at_a_crossroads/

How to Organize a Citywide Garage Sale

(RECAP: Now in its 23nd year, the El Cerrito, California, citywide garage sale is more popular than ever. Its planners offer step-by-step instructions for those who’d like to try this type of event in their community.)
http://www.shareable.net/blog/how-to-organize-a-citywide-garage-sale

Seven features of an age-in-place community

(RECAP: Will your community be a good one in which to age in place? If it has these seven features, the answer is probably “yes.”)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/7-features-of-an-age-in-place-community-2013-07-08

Beyond Bricks and Sticks

A weekly digest of current trends in housing and community development. The discussion examines topics from infrastructure to community fabric.

Sustainability and the urban commons

(RECAP: These places of shared interest are critically important to the urban environment and must be nurtured, protected and, in many cases, improved.)
http://bettercities.net/news-opinion/blogs/kaid-benfield/20311/sustainability-and-urban-commons

The Rolls-Royce of Private Partnerships

(RECAP: A new building in Virginia symbolizes a radical shift in economic development, and illustrates that it’s better to build assets than give money to companies.)
http://www.governing.com/columns/eco-engines/col-the-rolls-royce-of-private-partnerships.html

New CDC Trade Association Lays Infrastructure

(RECAP: PLACE, Practitioners Leveraging Assets for Community Enhancement, is a new trade association focused on increasing the visibility of locally based affordable housing and community development practitioners, and on creating a unified advocacy voice.)
http://www.shelterforce.org/article/3313/new_cdc_trade_association_lays_infrastructure/

Senior Housing Logistics: A Mobile Strategy

(RECAP: For those in the senior housing business and those considering entering it, one of the most important and growing aspects of the business today is mobility. This opportunity has nothing to do with iPhone or Android apps.)
http://seniorhousingnews.com/2013/07/09/senior-housing-logistics-a-mobile-strategy/

Beyond Bricks and Sticks

A weekly digest of current trends in housing and community development. The discussion examines topics from infrastructure to community fabric.

Building the indestructible metropolis 

(RECAP: A number of design competitions have sprung up in the past few months asking for "extreme weather architecture" solutions that could become the new standard for communities building in disaster-prone regions.)
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/06/25/building-the-indestructible-metropolis/

Urban sustainability: what will a smart city look like in the future?

(RECAP: By 2050 there will be five billion urbanites. With pressure on resources and climate disruption, new technology and conceptual design will be more important than ever.)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/urban-sustainability-smart-city-future

Disruptions: How driverless cars could reshape cities

(RECAP: With many scientists and car companies expecting self-driving cars to become commonplace in the next decade, researchers, city planners and engineers are contemplating how city spaces could change if our cars start doing the driving for us.)
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/07/disruptions-how-driverless-cars-could-reshape-cities/?ref=technology

A new way to diffuse NIMBYism?

(RECAP: Can affordable housing developers shift the NIMBY discourse by joining forces with market-rate developers of adjacent properties? A fascinating story of NIMBYism diffused in Somerville, Mass., suggests they might.)
http://www.rooflines.org/3301/a_new_way_to_diffuse_nimbyism/

Introducing the retirement commune

(RECAP: It may be time to start calling the “Me Generation” the “We Generation.” Aging in community, rather than all alone, is going to make the boomers’ experience of old age different than anything that ever came before.)
www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2013/06/29/the-retirement-commune-housing-new-direction-for-baby-boomers/VO4KkbSUMv8JmcydfuuaHJ/story.html

Beyond Bricks and Sticks

A weekly digest of current trends in housing and community development. The discussion examines topics from infrastructure to community fabric.

Top 5 Elements of Mixed-Use Projects

(RECAP: Regardless of differences in basic definition, most mixed-use projects share some key elements. These reflect trends have coalesced over time and now characterize the mixed-use approach.)
http://www.ubmfuturecities.com/author.asp?section_id=234&doc_id=525207

Better Government through Better Metrics

(RECAP: Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones wants to tackle the city’s entrenched poverty, and he wants to do it by investing smartly in community revitalization efforts. The big question is, what works?)
http://www.baconsrebellion.com/2013/07/better-government-through-better-metrics.html

Community Development Learning: When, Where and How You Need It

(RECAP: In response to the increased demand for high-quality community development training, NeighborWorks America presents “place-based” training, conducted by request and with support from client/partner organizations in communities across the country.)
http://nw.org/network/training/courses/PBT.asp

Monitoring Could be Next Senior Care Breakthrough

(RECAP: Researchers have realized it’s possible to leverage Wi-Fi signals to detect a person’s movements within the confines of their homes—something they expect their project, dubbed WiSee, will play a pivotal role in as the nation’s senior population wishes to age in place.)
http://seniorhousingnews.com/2013/06/27/wi-fi-monitoring-could-be-next-senior-care-breakthrough/

Beyond Bricks & Sticks

Beyond Bricks & Sticks. A weekly digest of current trends in housing and community development. The discussion examines topics from infrastructure to community fabric.

Why Mixed-Use is in Demand 

(RECAP: The demand for mixed-use development and urban living by Generation Y and lower-income groups is squeezing out the appeal of suburbia.)

http://www.realestatedealsheet.com/blog/featured-content/why-mixed-use-demand

Developers Find Public Benefits Are Sweetening Senior Living Deals

(RECAP: More and more, the best senior living developers are engaging community leaders early to focus on the synergies that can be created when developers and communities collaborate.)

http://seniorhousingnews.com/2013/06/18/developers-find-public-benefits-are-sweetening-senior-living-deals/

Land in Conflict: How Planners Can Better Manage an Increasingly Contentious Public Process

(RECAP: A new approach to resolving land use disputes based on mutual gains may provide a better way to manage the most challenging situations.)

http://www.planetizen.com/node/63734