Zoning & Planning Committee Report – March 24, 2025
Zachary LeMel, Chief of Long Range Planning, presented the attached
presentation, which outlined the previous teardown analysis. He also explained that the
current proposal to prevent teardowns is before the committee instead of one to prevent
teardowns due to the drastic measures needed to prevent teardowns, the benefits of
regulating contextual development, and the need for time to evaluate other recent zoning
amendments.
Harris County’s routinely long Commissioners Court agendas are often short on details
A Houston Landing review of the cities and counties in the Houston region, found Harris County is among the worst when it comes to posting details of the hundreds of agenda items, including million-dollar contracts, audits and infrastructure projects that make up the county’s $2.6 billion budget. Of the 49 jurisdictions reviewed, 36 post supplemental or background information for agenda items. Ten governments post only their agendas. Three — including Harris County — post incomplete information.
Louisville Launches ‘Anti-Displacement Tool’
The city of Louisville will begin using a new algorithmic tool to assess the potential for displacement of proposed housing projects, according to a Shelterforce article. “The tool analyzes whether a given project meets the neighborhood’s housing needs and income levels, ensuring that rents match local incomes. If the development does not meet these standards, then the city cannot subsidize it.” City officials hope the tool will make development more equitable and ensure that city funding does not contribute to the displacement of long-term residents.
Making the case for good cause eviction in Maryland
Maryland’s General Assembly is currently looking at a bill that would block landlords from evicting tenants without a legitimate reason. On February 18th, members of Renters United Maryland called on lawmakers to require a “good cause” or “just cause” for any eviction, such as a lease violation or non-payment.
Special Legislative Commission to Study and Provide Recommendations to Update and Clarify the “Residential Landlord and Tenant Act”: 2-24-2025
Art on the Underground: A Public Contradiction
Rudy Loewe’s commission at Brixton Underground Station is a case in point. Launching in November 2025, this work will form part of the now well established Brixton Mural Programme by seeking to build upon the area’s diverse narratives by highlighting the ways people gather together in this urban environment. The ‘bold, flat colours’ that characterise Loewe’s aesthetic will undoubtedly chime with Brixton’s own multicultural offering – providing Brixton’s community an opportunity to recognise, and even reclaim, their lived experiences in dialogue with the art. Certainly this is what Claudette Johnson’s current (2024) Brixton commission, Three Women, has sought to achieve.
What do local housing advocates and experts think of Josh Kraft’s housing plan?
About a week after announcing his run for Boston mayor, Josh Kraft gave details on Feb. 12 about his vision for housing development in the city. The average price for rental units in Boston has increased exponentially since 2021, with the price of a one-bedroom apartment costing $2,667 per month in June 2024, according to data from Boston Pads. Additionally, rental inventory and vacancy rates have been very low in 2024 compared to figures in 2020 and 2021.
Anti-displacement planning tool
The city council of Louisville, Kentucky, have voted to adopt an Anti-Displacement Assessment Tool to ensure the risk of displacement is considered in planning, and protect low-income and marginalised groups from displacement. This was based on their 2019 Housing Needs Assessment, which undertook an analysis of displacement and gentrification – and which groups were most at risk. Will you explore how a similar tool might work in London, by a) meeting with academics who devised this tool in Louisville, and b) looking at how the upcoming Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) can consider the risks of displacement faced by marginalised communities?
Is the new anti-gentrification legislation in Louisville a model for global cities?
The housing crisis is often framed as a straightforward shortage of housing of any type, meaning any new supply is seen as good. But in Louisville, Kentucky as in many other places, the picture is really more nuanced. Every type of development does not benefit every type of resident.
Urban Refuge Alumni Reunion Highlights Careers and Impact
On November 18, the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies hosted a career networking roundtable as part of Professor Dr. Noora Lori’s Urban Refuge Reunion Initiative, bringing together alumni from the 2016 Forced Migration and Human Trafficking class with the 2024 cohort. Six distinguished alumni—Meaghan Delaney, Sara Lopez Gonzalez, Ellie Hitt, Raina Kadavil, Victoria Kelberer, and Taylor Resteghini—shared how they transformed a classroom innovation into a lasting humanitarian initiative.