Government / Politics

Is Now Really the Time to Cut HUD Funds for Renters?
The Secretary of Urban Housing and Development wants to make renters "independent," but at least two experts say that's a terrible idea.
Smart City Expo World Congress to Focus on Citizen Empowerment and Mobility
The event will focus on the strategies to empower metropolises and their citizens through active participation, critical reflection, awareness and access. The new Smart Mobility World Congress will be a global mobility hub.

Washington Gets Its Marine Spatial Plan
The Pacific Northwest's competing and sometimes conflicting stakeholders have created a master plan for the use—and also the preservation—of marine resources.

U.S. Supreme Court Won't Overturn California's Inclusionary Zoning Laws
The U.S. Supreme Court turned down a case with the potential to eradicate inclusionary zoning and in-lieu housing fees in the state of California.

Caps on Mortgage Interest, Property Tax Deductions Included in Republican Tax Reform Package
The mortgage interest deduction would be capped, as would property tax deductions, under a sweeping tax reform package proposed today by Republicans.

Pennsylvania Voters Could Eliminate Property Taxes
A measure on the Pennsylvania statewide ballot in next Tuesday's election would change the state's constitution to allow local jurisdictions the ability to eliminate property taxes.

Home Builders Oppose Changes to Property Tax, Mortgage Interest Deductions
The National Association of Home Builders has decided that the Republican tax reform proposal would lower property values.

Budget Gap Spotlights Oklahoma's Onerous Three-Fourths Supermajority Requirement
California legislators have it easy compared to their counterparts in Oklahoma and Arkansas who seek to increase revenue through tax increases. A bill to hike gasoline and cigarette taxes and revise alcohol taxes faces a high hurdle.

Op-Ed: Ride Sharing Tax Will Help Poor
Chicago's Mayor Emanuel's proposed tax would be used for the benefit of transit.

Three Congressional Bills Respond to Western Wildfires
Two GOP bills and one bipartisan Senate bill hope to reduce the wildfire risk in the West. The "Wildfires Management Act of 2017" is sponsored by the two Republican senators of Idaho and three of the four Democratic senators of Washington and Oregon.

Rent Control Advocates Turn to California's Initiative Process after Bill Fails
A statewide initiative has been filed by California tenant activists that would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Act, the 1995 legislation that restricts the type of rental housing regulated by local rent control ordinances.

Eminent Domain Cases Roil Communities Across Massachusetts
Several communities across Massachusetts are looking to take private property to build new schools.

Friday Eye Candy: Highly Detailed Cold War Era Soviet Maps of the U.S.
A new book sheds light on maps created by cartographers in the Soviet Union that dove into remarkable detail about buildings, transportation networks, and other infrastructure in cities across the United States and around the world.

An Amtrak Train Runs Through Them
Efforts to ensure that Amtrak's Southwest Chief continues its current route through three states has united more than 20 small communities in New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas.

California Gas Tax Repeal Provokes Internecine Republican Conflict
Chances for a repeal of California's 12-cents gas tax increase have doubled in that two measures aim to qualify for the November 2018 ballot. The initiatives are opposed by the state's major business groups that usually side with Republican causes.
Prototypes for Trump's Border Wall Now on View in California
The U.S.-Mexico border between San Diego and Tijuana received eight controversial additions over the weekend.
Tolling the Interstates: Will Indiana be the First?
Indiana is on track to be the first state to apply new tolls on all lanes of selected interstate highways if they are successful in their application for a waiver from the Federal Highway Administration.

Confronting Wisconsin's $1.1 Billion Highway Widening Proposal
A coalition of environmentalists, civil rights activists, and other community interests teamed up to successfully oppose a Milwaukee highway widening proposal. In an interview, one of the leading lawyers discusses his work.

Data Shows a Tepid Post-2008 Recovery in America's Cities
According to data compiled by the Lincoln Institute, public revenue and spending on the local and municipal levels hasn't truly bounced back following the Great Recession.

California to Implement Wood Smoke Reduction Program
The program is voluntary, providing incentives to replace older, uncertified wood stoves for cleaner replacements or alternatives. In addition to decreasing air pollution, it reduces emissions of a "super climate pollutant," black carbon.
Pagination
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie