Crypto News: Another hitch in converting offices to housing

Located just a block away from Pittsburgh's Union Station, the half-empty, 44-story Gulf Tower is an ideal candidate for the White House's office-to-housing program, which unlocked $35 billion in low-cost financing to help turn vacant offices near public transit into apartments. But a lengthy approval process, strict environmental reviews and other red tape soon rendered the program unworkable for Gulf Tower's owner.

Since the US Department of Transportation launched the program for transit-oriented projects in October, few developers have taken advantage of the funds. Many who've tried cited similar barriers, writes Kriston Capps. Meanwhile, for property owners and developers in downtowns struggling with vacancy, financing can't come fast enough. Today on CityLab: Why a White House Plan to Fund Office-to-Housing Conversions Isn't Working

— Linda Poon

Munich Is Having a Fight About Skyscrapers
Faced with a housing crunch, the city is easing height restrictions in some areas. But opponents fear new towers will block views without improving affordability.

Lagos Opens Second Rail Line to Ease the World's Worst Traffic
The transport gridlock costs the administration about $2.5 billion annually because of lost work-hours, according to one analysis.

Watch: How San Francisco's Nerdiest Neighborhood Could Save It
Here's what's happening on the ground as the idea of San Francisco as "Cerebral Valley" grows from hackathons and cafe sessions in a few city blocks to being a metaphor for the resurgence the city's boosters are hoping for.

"The real divide between success and failure in this market is the extent to which a school presents a clear Christian identity."

P. Jesse Rine

Expert on Christian higher education

The brutal economics of higher education in the US are squeezing religiously affiliated schools, and being made worse by the dwindling number of young Americans who say organized faith is an important part of their lives.

A tent encampment rises outside Ojai's stately City Hall. Its residents might break your heart (Los Angeles Times)
'Good times and dances might last forever': the sound of London's Black gay scene (Guardian)
RIP to the Apple Car, we hardly knew ye (Verge)
A tech billionaire is quietly buying up land in Hawaii. No one knows why (NPR)
Lusail Towers: Norman Foster on how to 'reinvent the tall building' (CNN)

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