What to Expect When You're Expecting the Biden Administration

Commemorate Inauguration Day by digging deep into the promises and potential of the Biden Administration.

3 minute read

January 20, 2021, 5:00 AM PST

[Updated 1/22/2021] Today's the day. Joe Biden will soon be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, with a promise to "Build Back Better" from the unprecedented public health and economic crises facing the nation at the close of President Donald Trump's time in office.

If you're looking for links to reading about what a Biden presidency might accomplish, look no further. In addition to the latest round of news coverage of the transition, culminating today with Biden's inauguration, you'll also find links below to previous news and analysis from throughout the 2020 presidential election as well as the intervening months between Biden's historic election and today's Inauguration Day.

Biden comes into office with big plans for the federal government's coronavirus response, housing policies, infrastructure planning and spending, economic development. In fact, many of the most closely watched themes for the success of the Biden administration of living up to its campaign promises will be measured in terms of direct relevance to the professional and academic planners of the world—metrics like housing affordability, carbon emissions, vehicle miles traveled. Planetizen will be just as vigilant on the proposals and advancement of policies relating to these causes during the Biden Administration as it was for the previous administration.

The Biden administration is also significant for the historic accomplishment of Vice President Kamala Harris, who becomes the highest-ranking elected female in the history of the federal government, and only the second BIPOC to be elected to the Executive Branch, after former President Barack Obama. Harris becomes Vice President at a time of intense racial conflict, at least some of which can be traced to the backlash from the election of President Obama in 2008.

Government / Politics Biden Administration President Joe Biden President-elect Joe Biden Joe Biden 2020 Presidential Election 2020 Presidential Campaign 2021 Coronavirus and Urbanism Economic Downturn Economic Recovery Housing Crisis Kamala Harris Vice President Kamala Harris Sen. Kamala Harris Build Back Better View More

James Brasuell

James Brasuell, AICP is the former editorial director of Planetizen and is now a senior public affairs specialist at the Southern California Association of Governments. James managed all editorial content and direction for Planetizen from 2014 to 2023, and was promoted from manging editor to editorial director in 2021. After a first career as a class five white water river guide in Trinity County in Northern California, James started his career in Los Angeles as a volunteer at a risk reduction center in Skid Row.

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

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