Mall redevelopment, saving California’s high-speed rail, and a provocative rethinking of the concept of redlining.

Last month on Planetizen, readers zeroed in on a story about a massive mall redevelopment project in Montreal, a plan to save California’s high-speed rail project, and the nation’s first ‘shared streets’ law, passed in Washington state. Advocates for unhoused people in Texas say bills being pushed in the state legislature would exacerbate the state’s housing crisis and further criminalize homelessness, and service providers in rural Kentucky struggle to meet the unique barriers posed by rural homelessness. New Hampshire could soon reduce parking requirements for residential projects, and an ode to the disappearing ‘third place’ offered by Dairy Queen restaurants.
The full list of May’s most-read stories:
A 62-year-old shopping complex will be redeveloped over the next 25 years to include a school, a hotel, and thousands of housing units.
The rail authority’s CEO has a plan to get the beleaguered project back on track. Can it be done?
Cities can now create pedestrian-friendly streets with speed limits of 10 miles per hour.
Proposals to speed up the eviction process and accelerate enforcement of a camping ban could make the state’s homelessness crisis worse, advocates say.
Under the law, new developments would not be allowed to prohibit manufactured housing, which offers an affordable option for many homebuyers.
If passed by the Senate, the bill would limit parking requirements to one spot per residential unit.
Were HOLC maps really to blame for the patterns of spatial inequality in U.S. cities?
People experiencing homelessness in rural areas and those trying to offer services face a unique set of challenges.
The transit agency says it will stop taking out new loans as USDOT threatens to suspend federal funding over NYC’s congestion pricing program and purported security concerns.
The closure of dozens of Dairy Queens across Texas leaves some communities suddenly missing a key social space.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

California Set to Increase Electric Truck Chargers by 25%
The California Transportation Commission approved funding for an additional 500 charging ports for electric trucks along some of the state’s busiest freight corridors.

21 Climate Resilience Projects Cancelled by the EPA
The federal government has pulled funding for at least 21 projects related to farming, food systems, and environmental justice to comply with one of Trump’s early executive orders.

Trump Executive Order on Homelessness Calls for Forced Institutionalization
The order seeks to remove legal precedents and consent decrees that prevent cities from moving unhoused people from the street to treatment centers.
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Yukon Government
Caltrans
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Norman, Oklahoma
City of Portland
City of Laramie
