Rent control was dealt another high-profile setback in California, and the Green New Deal is a hot button issue stuck in limbo in Congress. Both efforts got the go-ahead from voters in Portland, Maine in November.

Jared Brey provides insight into the outcomes of a particularly significant election day in Portland, Maine, where voters approved rent control and a local version of a local Green New Deal (see also Planetizen's complete coverage of local and state election results from the 2020 election).
On rent control, Portland voters achieved a major reversal of a vote on rent control just three years ago, when voters rejected a similar ballot measure by two-thirds of the vote.
Evidently, something has changed. In fact, says Jack O’Brien, who organized the 2017 Fair Rent Portland referendum and helped create the successful effort this year, several things have changed. For one thing, turnout was much higher this year. For another, in the intervening years, jurisdictions like Oregon and New York expanded rent control and rent stabilization. The Black Lives Matter Maine movement put affordable-housing at the center of its agenda. And voters saw that the arguments landlords made against rent control in 2017 — that affordable housing was in the works, and rent control would complicate it — didn’t hold water, O’Brien says.
As for the city's Green New Deal, Brey credits Portland as the first such law to be approved directly by voters.
It would require any project receiving more than $50,000 in public subsidy to include solar or green roofs and to match other energy-efficiency standards, and it would require developers of those projects to meet certain pay standards and employ apprentices on each job. It also increases inclusionary housing standards, so that 25% of units in new projects will be affordable to people earning up to 80% of Area Median Income, which in Portland is just over $100,000 a year for a family of four.
The article includes a lot more insight on the political coalition, and its opponents, that produced these progressive victories in Portland.
FULL STORY: Portland, Maine Voters Approve a “Green New Deal” and Rent Control

The Slow Death of Ride Sharing
From the beginning, TNCs like Lyft and Uber touted shared rides as their key product. Now, Lyft is ending the practice.

In Most U.S. Cities, Archaic Laws Limit Roommate Living
Critics argue laws preventing unrelated adults from living in the same home fail to understand the modern American household.

Ten Signs of a Resurgent Downtown
In GeekWire, Chuck Wolfe continues his exploration of a holistic and practical approach to post-pandemic urban center recovery, anchored in local context and community-driven initiatives that promote livability, safety, and sustainability.

California Moves to Limit Autonomous Trucks
A bill passed by the State Assembly and moving on to the Senate would require autonomous semi trucks to have a trained human operator in the vehicle.

Minnesota Budget Includes Significant Transit Investments
After a contentious debate, the state legislature passed a budget that changes how transportation projects are funded and supports increased transit service in the state.

Proposed Land Value Tax Plan in Detroit
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan proposes hiking property taxes for vacant land and buildings while lowering the rate for occupied homes and businesses in a split tax plan he contends will resolve many of Detroit's blight and high property tax woes.
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
City of Orange
City of Charlotte - Charlotte Area Transit
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Montrose County
Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department
City of Lomita
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.