Writing For Municipal Projects

Lessons from Atlanta’s Housing Strike Force Cities, counties and states have become the front lines of the effort to address the housing crisis in the U.S. Most communities have focused on the “what” — reforms and investments to boost the production, acquisition and preservation of affordable housing. Few communities, by contrast, have focused on the “how” — new institutions and mechanisms to enable the hard work to get done. Atlanta is an exception. Under the leadership of Mayor Andre Dickens, the city government has established a Housing Strike Force. Members include senior executives of every public agency that touches housing or has public land and buildings that could be developed for housing. The Strike Force has a laser like mission: expand the supply of affordable housing in Atlanta by 20,000 units by 2030. In our latest piece, Joshua Humphries and I lay out the origins of Atlanta’s housing crisis response team, detail its myriad accomplishments and describe how the model can spread across the nation. We highlight 8 lessons for other cities to absorb: 1. Set a North Star 2. Unleash the full housing coalition 3. Leverage Public Land 4. Reset the Toolbox 5. Leverage Powers you forgot you had 6. Get some early wins 7. Raise your risk profile 8. Build a new way forward A version of this paper was created for the National Housing Crisis Task Force and is part of a larger State and Local Housing Action Plan. You can find the Action Plan here: https://lnkd.in/difiUtST Benjamin Preis Michael Saadine Colin Higgins Mary Ellen Wiederwohl A.J. Herrmann https://lnkd.in/dPZURJ6E

Want to know what a ‘work in progress’ drawing of a relatively large scheme of apartments looks like ? Like this.   Early testing of a scheme’s viability.   About a year ago we were approached by an organisation tasked with selling an old vacant church and their associated plots of land. Somewhere in Yorkshire. Quite a complicated land sale, it involves: -          Old church buildings. -          Ministers house. -          Separate garden space. -          Separate large undeveloped plot of land nearby. -          Graveyard.   We agreed that rather than selling on as it is, we should conduct some loose feasibility studies to find out what could be done with the land to increase its value, ready for a quick exit, without paying out for the full development costs and associated risks.   All plots of land are in a conservation area and some are in the green belt. The old church is a gorgeous Victorian stone building, it oozes character, is totally unique and is built to last. So, several challenges there straight away to overcome.   We agreed to phase the project into separate ‘bite size chunks’ to make the land sale easier to manage. Phase 1 = old church buildings and ministers house. Phase 2 = other parcels of land.   We then worked out the old church buildings could be converted and retrofitted and would probably generate about 16 apartments over three floors and the separate plot of land could generate 2 x new build apartments blocks of 9 units each, 18 total units. Overall total units = 34 apartments. All based on exceeding the Nationally Described Space Standards for dwelling sizes.   To test the viability of this we submitted a Pre-application Planning Enquiry to the Local Planning Authority. About 6 months later we received a 20 page pre-app report. Yep, you read that right, about 6 months later! This informed us the church building conversion was viable and probably a go-er, subject to some highways and landscaping issues that needed to be overcome. We also received some useful feedback about the Phase 2 developments too.   This wasn’t necessarily an exercise in establishing a final agreed scheme, but rather just testing early viability of the schemes to see what was possible and acceptable in principle. This has now enabled the Client to make firm decisions about what to do next and when.   If there any developers who are interesting in finding out more about these sites, please send me a message! Andrew Wootton-Jones MRICS Helen Williams Ryan Malee 🏗️ Property Developer Heather Smail + anyone else..?   #Property #Strategy #Collaboration

⭐𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜 𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 #𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀⭐ In the simplest terms, the cost of delivering a new dwelling, such as: • land • planning & design • construction • taxes, charges, contributions • marketing & sales • financing (and time) • holding costs • margin for risk, overheads & profit    Must be at or below what the market will pay for said dwellings. Simple, right? 🤷🏻Developers logically won't build housing projects if not feasible - why would they? The NSW Productivity Commission recently reported on housing supply challenges in which they picked up the "feasibility gap"(https://lnkd.in/gAQHKbVa). It found the cost of building a new apartment is much higher than the price the market will pay for said apartment. Ergo, far fewer new apartments will be built than needed. 👷🏻♂️The biggest impact on feasibility is construction cost which has grown 40-50% since 2020. What many don't appreciate is a 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 impact on dwellings with a higher construction cost base - i.e. mid-high rise - compared to other types such as detached houses or townhomes. Everywhere but Victoria, greenfield style development is about feasible, but nowhere in the country is 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 apartments workable. House prices need to rise in circa 20-30% from already high bases for apartments to approach feasible again - if you can find builders to do it. In Victoria where house prices have lagged, a 10% increase will make greenfields work again, whereas scale apartments need a 30-40% growth in underlying housing prices for feasibility to return. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘢 𝘨𝘢𝘱. ⏲️How long that will take is anyone's guess. Prevailing market price is key in the feasibility equation; the depth of market also needs to be considered. For example, it may be feasible to sell a certain number of dwellings at a given price point, but that does not translate to selling an unlimited number of homes in that location. Meeting needs of most new home buyers is more closely linked to overall borrowing capacity and income than whether a certain area can deliver new stock based on prevailling prices. Right now, across the country, median income earners cannot afford to buy apartments at scale to meet their housing needs and capacity. 🤔That's why I keep reiterating that the only solution in the short-mid term is a focus on unlocking more feasible housing types at scale - #greenfields and middle-ring townhomes. Or we'll have more people living in the gaps between buildings. #housingsupply #familysizedapartments #housingaccord #housingstatement #economics   UDIA Victoria UDIA National UDIA NSW UDIA NT UDIA Queensland Urban Development Institute of Australia (WA) Property Council of Australia

Must-read! The Urban Design Forum's "Vision for a Better City" report reveals a stark reality: despite record employment and safety statistics, New York City faces urgent challenges threatening its core values of opportunity and community. Housing emerges as "the mother of all problems" - nearly 130,000 New Yorkers stayed in shelters last year, thousands sleep rough, and over half of residents are rent-burdened. Essential workers are being priced out whilst the city struggles to build homes fast enough. What makes this analysis particularly valuable for urban professionals is its holistic framework. Rather than treating issues in isolation, the report structures solutions around six interconnected pillars: Housing, Public Space, Mobility, Economic Development, Public Health, and Climate Action. Key findings include public spaces suffering from deferred maintenance, transport improvements failing to keep pace with needs, and life expectancy declining to its lowest level in decades. Economic inequality persists despite overall growth, with commercial districts in historically underinvested areas facing vacancy and resource shortages. The report's 25 actionable recommendations offer concrete pathways forward - from reforming planning processes to creating "Climate Corridors" addressing heat and flooding, to establishing a Public Realm Fund supporting low-income communities. Developed by Daniel McPhee and Guillermo Gomez with input from over 1,100 civic leaders across five years, this integrated approach demonstrates how thoughtful design can address multiple challenges simultaneously. The positioning of public health and climate action as central to urban planning reflects growing understanding that the built environment fundamentally shapes community wellbeing and urban resilience. As cities worldwide grapple with similar challenges, this comprehensive approach offers valuable lessons for creating more equitable, sustainable, and liveable cities. #UrbanPlanning #CityDevelopment #UrbanDesign #SustainableCities #PublicHealth #ClimateAction #HousingPolicy #UrbanMobility #PublicSpace #CommunityEngagement #UrbanResilience

𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗼𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀' 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀 🏡 Los Angeles is amid profound housing crises driven by a significant mismatch between housing supply and demand. With state officials drawing a line in the sand – zone for 255,000 more homes or forgo billions in federal funds – a new approach is needed. Last Fall at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, under Dan D’Oca's guidance, I dove into this issue with my project: "Big Box HOUSING: Playbook of Strategies for America's Big Boxes". 📔 A striking observation was that approximately 16 million sq. ft. of low-density or vacant big box real estate lies within a 15-minute radius of transit areas in LA. Recognizing an opportunity, this playbook suggests retrofitting these low-density properties into mixed-use affordable housing. It outlines market strategies, financing avenues, innovative housing designs, and construction feasibility. The prime objective? Convert these vast parking and underutilized infrastructure areas into vibrant residential communities, particularly those proximate to transit and educational centres. Case study demonstration: the potential revamp of a vacant warehouse in Green Meadows Neighborhood, which could house up to 650 units, bringing vitality and opportunity to the area. For interested developers and city officials looking for more insights, please DM for playbook access. Acknowledgements to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, Prof. D’Oca, the City of Los Angeles, local stakeholders whom we got to interact with during our site visit from Bestor Architecture, Restore Neighborhoods LA, Co-op Housing Development Group, Gensler,HACLA, Los Angeles Planning Dept, Abundant Housing LA, Michael Maltzan Architecture, Inc., Kounkuey Design Initiative, Brooks Scarpa, Treehouse Senior Living LLC, UnitedWayEUP, and my studio TA's & colleagues for their invaluable input. #housingforall #harvarduniversity #housingcrisis #bigbox #losangeles #realestatedevelopment #urbandesign #urbanplanning

🏠The housing crisis no longer fits within municipal boundaries More than 2️⃣.8️⃣billion people live in inadequate housing conditions. 1️⃣.1️⃣ billion live in informal settlements or slums. More than 300 million people are homeless. In most cities, buying or renting a home exceeds basic affordability thresholds. These figures show that #housing is not only a matter of building more units. It is also a challenge of land, location, transport, services, finance, climate resilience and governance. 📖The report Metropolitan Planning and Finance for Adequate Housing, developed by UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) and the Marmara Municipalities Union from the EGM held in Istanbul during #MARUF25, sets out a clear pathway: moving from isolated projects to metropolitan housing systems. The report calls for stronger multi-level governance, well-located land, diversified housing finance, informal settlement transformation, social rental options and metropolitan housing observatories to support data-driven and transparent decisions. Adequate housing is a human right, a basic social infrastructure and a metropolitan public good. The #metropolitan scale is key to turning this right into real solutions. ✅Access the report: https://lnkd.in/dmyBAwBS UN-Habitat Milano MetroHUB Centre on Metropolitan Dynamics Rafael H Forero H Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB) Contin Antonella European Metropolitan Authorities Oriol Illa Metropolis, World Association of the Major Metropolises Marmara Urban Forum (MARUF) Xavier Estruch Bosch Ali Emre Soner Cemil Arslan Maria del pilar Tellez Soler Xavier Tiana Casablancas Gisela Labrador Araujo Elif Alkay Fioralba Vela Yaşar Adnan Adanalı

Pre-Acquisition Site Analysis for Successful Real Estate Development Introduction Acquiring a site marks an essential milestone in any real estate project. The depth of the acquisition site analysis dramatically influences the success of this crucial step. This comprehensive evaluation considers the various factors impacting the project's feasibility, cost, and timeline. It provides a robust foundation for making informed decisions, proficiently managing risks, and strategizing effectively. This article will thoroughly examine the intricacies of acquisition site analysis and demonstrate how Roayas' approach ensures favourable project outcomes. Critical Aspects of Site Analysis Examination of Soil Understanding soil composition bearing capacity and potential contaminants through soil testing is vital. Detailed soil tests provide insights into soil characteristics that guide developers in designing foundations. Marine Studies for Coastal Properties Conducting studies is critical for coastal sites to assess how tides, waves, and erosion impact the property. This evaluation helps build resilience against these elements by considering measures like seawalls or revetments. Collaborating with consultants ensures recommendations for coastal development practices to secure the property's future with minimal cost implications. Assessment of Traffic Impact Analyzing traffic impact is essential to grasp both future traffic patterns at the site. Developers can incorporate these discoveries into the design and planning stages by assessing how the development will affect traffic patterns, congestion, and road safety. This approach helps reduce impacts and improve access and circulation. Availability of Utilities Evaluating the availability and proximity of utilities such as water, electricity, and sewage systems is crucial. Considering distance and necessary infrastructure upgrades, estimating the expenses of connecting the site to the utility points is vital. Compliance with Zoning Laws and Regulations Reviewing local zoning laws and regulations ensures the proposed development complies with all legal requirements. This process includes identifying any restrictions or special permits needed for construction. Market Research Conducting a thorough market analysis helps to understand demand-supply dynamics in the area. Evaluating target demographics, competitor projects, and market trends is critical for refining development strategies. Sites Physical Attributes Analyzing physical characteristics like topography, size, and site shape is crucial for evaluating construction feasibility. Conclusion A detailed pre-acquisition site analysis is essential for successful real estate development. It addresses environmental, regulatory, infrastructural, and market factors to help minimize risks and maximize opportunities. Roaya ensures that every project is built on informed decision-making and strategic planning.

The twenty-first century is noted globally as the urban century of unique character, dynamism, symbiosis and complexity because more than half of the world's population lives in cities. This population is projected to increase to 70% by 2050. South Africa is no exception to this phenomenal increase in the urban population. More than 60% of the South African population lives in urban areas, and this figure is projected to increase to 71.3% and 80% by 2030 and 2050, respectively. Access to human settlement by this teaming population remains a challenge and an undeniable task for the incumbent government and previous regimes. During the apartheid period, settlement patterns were designed and planned by racial differentiation. This resulted in fragmented and dysfunctional residential settlement patterns that forced many people to travel long distances between places of work and home. Since 1994, the various housing policies, programmes and legislation have not been able to find solutions to the spatial challenges that South Africa faces. The objective of this book is to investigate and unpack mixed-income housing development strategies and how this housing typology, with a new framework, can bring about spatial integration, improved access to social services and infrastructure, and the promotion of social and economic inclusion. The research utilized the case study research design and employed the Delphi method for the investigation. It provides a step-by-step guide on how to use the Delphi technique and Structural Equation modelling (SEM) in human settlement research and planning. The findings reveal that proper coordination across all sectors of government and a good working relationship between the private and public sectors will increase the sustainability of mixed-income housing development. This book, for the first time, brings together and synthesizes the relevant theories and concepts that guide mixed-income housing development and human settlements in general. This book is also a reachout to support existing theories that mixed-income housing might not be able to bring about overall social integration and solve all housing problems, but it has the unique tendency, character and peculiarity in the South African case to address spatial imbalances by increasing the affordability of low-cost housing. This research book will provide an important resource toolkit as it concludes that there is a need for both inter-sectoral and intergovernmental collaboration as well as proper coordination and adequate urban planning to address the human settlement challenges in South Africa and for effective implementation of mixed-income housing development in both developed and developing economies. https://lnkd.in/djXVCFbg #mixedusedevelopment #housingscience #affordablehousing #sgds

Read our new working paper "Vertical Exposure and Urban Resilience: Housing Market Responses to Flash Flood Risk in Dense Cities" (with Naqun Huang, @weizeng Sun, @Yanmin Yang). We examine how housing markets in dense Chinese cities respond to flash flood risk, emphasizing vertical exposure in high-rise buildings and the layered nature of urban resilience. Using millions of rental and sales transactions with floor-level identifiers, we exploit within-building variation and exogenous extreme precipitation shocks to distinguish between the effects of physical damage and mobility disruption. A one–standard deviation increase in extreme precipitation (2.3 days) reduces rents by 1.0 percent for ground-floor units in low-lying areas, compared to 0.2 percent for higher floors. These effects are moderated by neighborhood and city-level drainage infrastructure, highlighting the importance of interconnected resilience systems. Household survey data further show that wealthier, better-educated, and urban hukou households are more likely to relocate to higher floors, while more vulnerable groups remain exposed. The findings underscore how building structure, infrastructure quality, and socioeconomic status jointly shape flood risk impacts in urban housing markets. Read and download here: https://lnkd.in/e33cca8q

I am excited to share that my research article, “Integrating Innovative Design Strategies in Advancing Sustainable Housing in Kenya,” has just been published in the Land Use Policy journal (Elsevier, January 2026 issue). This study explores how innovative design strategies, when combined with policy reform, environmental stewardship, and social inclusion, can significantly enhance the sustainability of housing in #Kenya. Key Highlights: • Synergizing passive and modular design with smart technologies optimizes housing performance and spatial resilience. • Site audits revealed progress in environmental compliance but persistent gaps in affordability and innovation. • Sustainable housing must shift from compliance-based to people-centered, locally attuned models. • Capacity building, policy reforms, and innovative financing are essential to scaling sustainable housing impacts. The findings provide actionable insights for policymakers, developers, and urban planners working to align housing with #SDG11 – #Sustainable #Cities and #Communities. I’m grateful to my co-authors #BernadetteMukwanaWanjala #EdwardOtienoOwino, and #SalomeWambuiRichu, and to #everyone who contributed to this research journey. 🔗 Read the full paper (free access for 50 days): https://lnkd.in/dJPDExSh