The Latest from CommunityScale
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A framework for proactive planning
A theory of change explains what you believe needs to happen for meaningful change to occur, and how your work helps make that change possible. We find this framework a helpful way to structure…
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Geospatial housing strategies in Will County
Will County is losing out on young professionals compared to neighboring counties, which have attracted Chicago commuters and new business growth along with them. These young people are more likely to want diverse housing…
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Inclusionary housing nexus calculator from open data
The Metropolitan Council just published a regional housing nexus study and inclusionary housing calculator that CommunityScale built. Here is what a nexus study is, why inclusionary housing policy depends on one, and how we…
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CommunityScale in the news: Grand Traverse County launches housing study to guide where new homes get built
From 9 and 10 News: “GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY- Commissioners are launching a broad study of the housing market that aims to pinpoint where new homes should be built, what is blocking development, and how…
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Housing supply need for the U.S. News 250 Best Places to Live
We mapped U.S. News’ named the 250 Best Places to Live for 2026-2027 and ran our own numbers. America’s best places need 1.1 million more homes by 2031.
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Using CommunityScale’s MCP server to connect your AI agent to housing and demographic data
Agentic AI coding tools like Claude and ChatGPT can now query CommunityScale housing data directly. Our MCP server connects them to the forecasts, cost burden figures, and ACS microdata behind our dashboards, with one…
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CommunityScale in the news: Dorset’s housing market explored for Raptor Lane
Read the full article in the Manchester Journal. Introduction below and photo excerpted from the article. DORSET — Like many other parts of Vermont, the typical price for a home in Dorset has risen…
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Rockland, ME Comprehensive Housing Plan
Housing in Rockland, Maine has grown sharply more expensive, with median home prices roughly doubling since 2020 and local workers increasingly priced out. Working alongside Levine Planning Strategies, CommunityScale helped the City develop a…
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Birmingham Regional Housing Study
The suburbs of the Birmingham region are growing rapidly, raising new questions about how housing supply, demographics, and workforce trends fit together across the metropolitan area. CommunityScale is partnering with the Birmingham Regional Planning…
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Blue Hill HOOP (Housing Opportunities on the Peninsula)
On the Blue Hill Peninsula in Downeast Maine, a combination of unaffordability, high demand, and construction challenges has produced a housing market that is financially out of reach for most households. CommunityScale is leading…
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CommunityScale on Straight Talk radio to discuss Catawba Regional Workforce Housing Study
During a site visit that included focus groups in each of the region’s four counties, the CommunityScale team stopped by the longstanding Sub Station II sandwich shop in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where radio…
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Less driving, more housing for Earth Day this year
Across America’s cities and towns, how dense a place is turns out to be highly predictive of how much its residents drive. For Earth Day this year, CommunityScale explores that relationship, showing how more…
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When using AI for planning analysis and policymaking, the results can mislead without reliable data.
In a recent Cities essay, Milad Malekzadeh argues that planners should engage with off-the-shelf AI as curators rather than coders, asking the right questions, validating outputs, and integrating results into their work. In reality,…
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Fair housing, housing supply, and affordability
April is Fair Housing Month, commemorating the Fair Housing Act, which was enacted on April 11, 1968 and prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing. This year, CommunityScale examined housing through…
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Diving into Portland, OR’s multifamily zoning incentives
Portland, Oregon has become a national model for getting middle housing built, and this post digs past the headline of legalized fourplexes into the zoning mechanics that actually moved production. Portland’s code pairs legalization…
