AltWeeklies Wire
Kangaroo Court: San Antonio's Extra-Constitutional Crime-Fighting Toolnew
By a simple majority vote, San Antonio's Dangerous Structures Determination Board can order a house demolished, any tenants relocated, and send the bill to the owner.
San Antonio Current |
Elaine Wolff |
04-07-2010 |
Housing & Development
Tags: DSDB
Can "Green" Building Standards and Preservationists Coexist?new
As the rush toward energy efficiency promotes visions of a green future, there’s growing concern among preservation advocates that historic buildings may be left in the lurch.
Pasadena Weekly |
Jake Armstrong |
04-02-2010 |
Housing & Development
Housing the Homeless: A Frustrated Builder Thinks Inside the Boxnew
Homelessness is a big problem in Fort Worth, said Mike Wallace, a retired homebuilder who grew up here and still lives here. “And I think I have a solution.” Wallace wants to turn shipping containers into livable homes.
Fort Worth Weekly |
Peter Gorman |
03-25-2010 |
Housing & Development
Tags: shipping containers, homelessness
Exploring a Century of Baltimore's Racist Real-Estate Deals and Developmentsnew
It started with a routine transaction. Few people noticed when Attorney W. Ashbie Hawkins bought the rowhouse at 1834 McCulloh St. on a rainy June Thursday in 1910, but three weeks later, Hawkins was big news. He was black.
Baltimore City Paper |
Edward Ericson Jr. |
03-23-2010 |
Housing & Development
Lost Horizon: Hey Capital One, What's In Your Wallet?new
The Horizon is the $67 million, brand-new, almost finished, red-and-tan building that bookends the southern end of the downtown skyline. It is, as its backers predicted, the gateway to downtown, if you're coming from the south.
The Memphis Flyer |
John Branston |
03-12-2010 |
Housing & Development
Buy an Island: A County's Priciest Property Listing is in the Middle of Converse Baynew
With their children grown, the owners of a Vermont island retreat have put it on the market at a price as big as the bathtub once used by President Taft: $7.9 million. The estate’s $19,652 yearly property tax bill is just as eye-popping.
Seven Days |
Andy Bromage |
03-12-2010 |
Housing & Development
Wrangling Over a Long-Dormant Parcel May Alter the Future of South Nevadanew
A member of City Council wants to help clean up this lot and turn it into a campground and RV park, as it once was in its KOA days, but this time for the homeless and working poor. Considering the plot's location, it seems an ideal plan.
Colorado Springs Independent |
J. Adrian Stanley |
03-04-2010 |
Housing & Development
Paul Koenig, the One-Man Housing Crisisnew
On the 1500 block of Hillside Avenue in north Minneapolis, a brown and white handrail leads to a vinyl-sided beige duplex. Inside, a bowing chimney has split a crack in the drywall beginning at the floor and disappearing into the upper unit. An occasional mouse scurries through.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Andy Mannix |
02-24-2010 |
Housing & Development
Xcel Doesn't Always Tell Customers When They're Being Cut Loosenew
On the evening of Jan. 12, the heat in Taylor Lindstrom’s home went out without warning. She called Xcel Energy, and was told that Xcel had turned off the electricity because the bill had not been paid. Lindstrom asked why she had not been notified.
Boulder Weekly |
Jefferson Dodge |
02-04-2010 |
Housing & Development
Gassed Up: Large Institutions Get a Price Break For Virtually Nothingnew
Seventeen institutions, including The Broadmoor and Colorado College, get a generous price break by signing up for interruptible utilities rates. Yet, they're rarely interrupted, so guess who pays for their price break? Everybody else offsets what could amount to millions of dollars annually.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Pam Zubeck |
02-04-2010 |
Housing & Development
City Hounds the Homeless For Dog Licensesnew
According to Chief George Gascón, the Police Department has flooded upper Haight Street with cops assigned to write tickets for so-called "quality of life" violations, such as off-leash or tagless dogs, jaywalking, and other minor offenses.
SF Weekly |
Matt Smith |
01-27-2010 |
Housing & Development
Chinese Drywall Has Screwed Thousands of South Florida Homeownersnew
"Some people indeed say that the drywall Knauf Tianjin produces is toxic," Liao says cautiously in soft Mandarin. "Everyone in the company has heard about it." In fact, this bustling factory is the epicenter of a global consumer disaster that reaches all the way to South Florida.
Miami New Times |
Tim Elfrink |
01-11-2010 |
Housing & Development
The High-rise Haul: Improving Recycling in Philadelphianew
In the civic sport of recycling, pretty soon there will be those who can keep score and those who can't. That's unacceptable. Whether the burden falls on building managers, haulers or both, there's got to be a way for everyone to get into this game.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Bruce Schimmel |
12-29-2009 |
Housing & Development
A Study Confirms What Inner-city Workers Already Knew: Street Life Killsnew
Marginally housed Canadians are dying sooner than their counterparts in the general population, according to a study: Men living in rooming houses, shelters, and hotels have a 30 percent chance of surviving to 75, compared to a 60 percent chance for men in the general population.
SEE Magazine |
Andrew Paul |
12-23-2009 |
Housing & Development
In 1959, Edmund Bacon Imagined in 50 Years, "No Part of Philadelphia is Depressed."new
The problem was not that Edmund Bacon cared only about design: it was that he believed far too deeply in its power. He relied on a model of physical determinism: the idea that manipulation and improvement of the built environment could strongly influence, or even control, social and economic outcomes.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Nathaniel Popkin |
12-21-2009 |
Housing & Development
