Government / Politics

Housing Advocates Gain More Allies on Capitol Hill, by Way of New York City
A growing number of congressional representatives serving the city of New York support aggressive public investment in housing programs.

2020 Election Results for Transportation and Land Use
Thinking beyond the presidency: Here's an Election Day 2020 roundup of election issues related to planning, urban design, and the built and natural environments.

Corona Crisis in America: The Metropolitan Area to Watch
The battle to control the coronavirus in the U.S is being led by 50 governors and the D.C. mayor, but ultimately it is at the local level where decisions are often the most consequential. Among large counties, the crisis is most severe in El Paso.

Two Presidential Candidates, Two Approaches to Housing Policy
The Biden and Trump campaigns are from different worlds on housing policy, according to this analysis.

The Environment Hangs in the Balance on Election Day
Both the presidential election and numerous state and local ballot measures will determine the future of environmental policy in the United States.

Transit Spending on the Ballot in Seattle and Washington
Voters in the city of Seattle will consider a sales tax to fund bus transit service, while voters around the state of Washington will have a chance to send new leaders to Congress.

How California Plans to Slow the Corporate Takeover of the Residential Market
The state of California is trying to prevent a repeat of one of the most significant consequences of the Great Recession: large Wall Street interests buying for-sale housing in bulk for conversion to apartments.

The CARES Act Was Supposed to Protect NJ Tenants from Eviction. It Didn’t.
State activists say eviction cases were filed in violation of the CARES Act’s ban on evictions. Pre-trial settlement conferences are further complicating the situation.

'We are Entering the Steep Slope of the Epidemic Curve'
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, President Trump's former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, warned CBS viewers recently that the U.S. was at a "dangerous tipping point" in the pandemic. "We are on the cusp of exponential growth," he added later.

Downzoning for Society Hill Back on After the Philadelphia City Council Overrides Mayoral Veto
One of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Philadelphia is increasing parking requirements and limiting building heights at all costs.

COVID's Extensive 'Excess Mortality'
The pandemic's cumulative death toll in the U.S. does not include over 100,000 fatalities that are directly or indirectly attributable to COVID-19, according to a CDC report released Oct. 20 on the subject of "excess deaths."

The Trump Administration's Trail of Broken Environmental Regulations
Critics of the Trump administration who chide the president for a lack of accomplishments should check the environmental record.

Pedestrian Safety Experts: Decriminalize Jaywalking
Angie Schmitt and Charles T. Brown make nine arguments against the criminalization of jaywalking.

Valuing Black Lives and Black Cities
Andre M. Perry’s "Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities" reveals the web of historical and contemporary socioeconomic barriers that maintain the racial wealth divide.

North Dakota Physicians Plead for State and Local Leaders to Mandate Masks
The medical community is sounding the alarm in North Dakota, where hospitals are overwhelmed with COVID patients. With the governor opposed to issuing a statewide mask mandate, physicians are asking local governments and the public for help.

Announcing an Antidote for Planning Uncertainty: A Pandemic Tool Kit for Local Governments
A new toolkit shares 22 actions governments should take to get the economy restarted, including the regulatory or policy tools needed to implement the actions.

Op-Ed: It’s Long Past Time for Planning Reform in L.A.
Another corruption scandal involving a Los Angeles city councilmember highlights the urgent need for major planning changes in the city.

Las Vegas Golf Course With a History of Development Controversy Cleared for Houses
A golf course formerly owned by "legendary sports bettor-turned-convicted insider trader" Billy Walters finally has the residential zoning that created so much controversy in the past.

A Bipartisan Case for Mass Timber—Combating Wildfires and Developing Local Economies
What’s good for our forests and planet can also be good for our jobs, communities, and the economy. That’s why we’re writing this together—an ex-Democratic political operative and an ex-Republican staff member who want to see mass timber flourish.

Herd Immunity Finds Receptive Audience in White House and Florida
A trio of epidemiologists from Stanford, Harvard, and the University of Oxford have joined the president's new coronavirus medical advisor, Scott Atlas, in promoting an alternative approach to dealing with coronavirus infections.
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