HUD
The Planetizen News Brief - 10/29/09
4:18 minutes (3.95 MB)
Miami approves a form-based code, Houston leans towards zoning, and non-profits work with HUD to green affordable housing -- all on this week's Planetizen News Brief, airing weekly on "Smart City". Read, listen or download.
Coalition Promises $4 Billion to Green Affordable Housing
A collection of non-profits working with HUD is promising to spend $4 billion on updating affordable housing across the country to be more sustainable.
Grist
Time for HUD to Rethink Rental
HUD needs to rethink its emphasis on home ownership and refocus on rentals, argues John Kromer of the Fels Institute of Government.
DC Goes NU
New Urban News looks at the growing influence of New Urbanists and their ideas in Washington, from the appointment of former CNU director Shelley Poticha to a HUD position to the new Livable Communities Act proposed by Sen. Christopher Dodd.
New Urban News
Senate Blocks Funds to ACORN
Yesterday, the Senate voted to block ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) from receiving grants from HUD. ABC News looks at the latest complaints against the group, and ACORN's chief organizer speaks in defense.
ABC News
New HUD Restrictions Limit Condo Construction
HUD has established new rules limiting the percentage of units in a building that can get FHA loans. Developers cry foul, calling it a bias against affordable housing and density.
San Diego Business Journal
Incentives for Energy Efficiency Expanding
The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Housing Administration are looking to increase energy efficiency incentives for homeowners, including opportunities for larger home loans.
Los Angeles Times
Poticha Appointed to HUD Position
Shelley Poticha, President and CEO of Reconnecting America and past executive director of the Congress for New Urbanism, has been appointed Senior Advisor for Sustainable Housing and Communities at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Reconnecting America
HUD Community Development Fund Down 34% In Proposed Fed. Budget
While HUD's budget has decreased by 4%, the Federal Railroad Administration is up 35%. This is just one of the revelations to be found in this interactive graphic of the Obama Administration's proposed federal budget for 2010.
wallstats.com
Joining Up Transportation, Housing, and Environmental Policy
Robert Puentes argues that a new federal interagency partnership, debuted before the Senate this week, could provide the federal leadership necessary for a unified vision of transportation, housing, and environmental policy designed to tackle our interrelated economic, energy, and climate challenges.
DOT and HUD, Together Again
DOT and HUD announce a joint effort to merge land use and planning to improve livability. CNU's John Norquist comments on the merger.
New Urban News
HUD's Dollar Program Misses Mark, Benefits Contractors and Investors
An L.A. Times investigation reveals that HUD's 10-year-old Dollar Homes program provided little lasting benefit to the intended recipients and significant rewards to investors and contractors.
The Los Angeles Times
What’s in Store for the New HUD Secretary?
Shaun Donovan wants HUD to catalyze shifts in American urban planning, one community at a time. A look at the optimistic HUD secretary, who has been given the task of fixing the housing market—and making over a broken government agency.
Forbes
Affordable Housing Gets $32 Million
The MacArthur Foundation has announced it will give $32 million in grants and loans to preserve and create affordable public housing through HUD, in addition to the $4 billion allotted to the agency from the stimulus bill.
Architectural Record
HUD Homeownership Program Shows Promise
An ambitious HUD program promoting homeownership in troubled neighborhoods is, by some accounts, "one of the more intelligent things HUD has done in its history."
The Christian Science Monitor
HUD Announces Mortgage Guidelines- But Can't Enforce Them
The Department of Housing and Urban Development says the new rules will help buyers understand broker's fees will limit fee increases, and they are currently seeking legislation to give them the power to enforce the rules.
The Wall St. Journal
HUD Seeks Dollar House Buyers
Desperate to sell dilapidated, foreclosed homes, as well as to lure in local governments willing to build affordable housing, the Department of Housing and Urban Development is offering those properties for just a dollar.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Disabled Protesters Take On HUD
About 500 disabled Americans have erected a tent city just outside of HUD's Washington, DC office. The group has staged the sit-in to protest housing costs that cannot be met with the incomes of many disabled citizens.
Desert News
Does HUD Need To Be Modernized?
Professor Sudhir Venkatesh of Columbia believe it is time for HUD to be replaced by a more nimble agency capable of responding to the 21st century city.
The New York Times
New HUD Chief Named
President George W. Bush is expected to announce his nomination of Steve Preston, head of the Small Business Association, as the new chief of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The New York Times

















