(Photo credit: Team Lihue Lines Phoebe White, Ariel Dungca, Lynn Mayekawa, Kristyn Yamamotoya)
To help Kauaʻi and Honolulu counties respond to the challenges and opportunities that emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Hawaiʻi Community Design Center (
UHCDC) and
ISR) hosted a week-long Mayors’ Institute Design Tank that gathered planning and design teams from three universities. “Design Tank” is a hybrid problem-solving process developed by
UHCDC to integrate stakeholder and community engagement with proof-of-concept design inquiry, offering client institutions additional tools to define, prioritize, and plan capital development and improvements.
UH Mānoa design tank participants included
Hawaiʻi rental property owners continue to see elevated rates of rent debt owed and vacancies over the past six months, however they are more optimistic about the future, according to new findings from a survey released by the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization (
UHERO).
UHERO estimates that 20% of renter households are late on rent, which translates to roughly 30,000 households, despite the active participation of nearly 40% of landlords in various rent relief programs. Landlords and property managers self-reported a high level of willingness to help address the situation, with two-thirds saying they were open to working on a payment plan.