With relatively few strings attached to the $350 billion in funds states and municipalities will receive, the door is wide open for governments to make a dent in their housing needs. But will they?

When President Joe Biden signed his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package into law in March, it came with significant funding to stanch the housing emergencies created by the pandemic. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) has $21.5 billion for emergency rental assistance, $10 billion for mortgage relief, $5 billion for housing choice vouchers, $5 billion for homelessness services and shelter acquisition, $750 million for housing assistance for Native Americans and Native Hawaiians, and $100 million for rural housing assistance.
But it turns out that is only a fraction of the funding in ARPA that could be used for affordable housing.
The act contains more than $350 billion for states and local municipalities—a fairly open-ended pot of money that can be used to fund a huge swath of needs, such as development, social safety net, education, public health, and more. In mid-May, the U.S. Department of the Treasury published guidance for how states and cities can spend the billions coming their way, and it makes clear that affordable housing development, housing vouchers, housing counseling, and other programs are approved uses when spent in Census tracts with high concentrations of low-income residents or on people disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
Preservation Working Group, a Pittsburgh coalition of housing advocates, developers, public health workers, and others, is lobbying Pennsylvania state officials to use ARPA funds for affordable housing and to bolster the participation of developers of color in the affordable housing industry. The coalition faces something of an uphill battle, with a ...
FULL STORY: Rescue Plan has Billions Available for Housing, Advocates Urge Officials to Take It

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

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

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

Driving Equity and Clean Air: California Invests in Greener School Transportation
California has awarded $500 million to fund 1,000 zero-emission school buses and chargers for educational agencies as part of its effort to reduce pollution, improve student health, and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.

Congress Moves to End Reconnecting Communities and Related Grants
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee moved to rescind funding for the Neighborhood Equity and Access program, which funds highway removals, freeway caps, transit projects, pedestrian infrastructure, and more.

From Throughway to Public Space: Taking Back the American Street
How the Covid-19 pandemic taught us new ways to reclaim city streets from cars.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Ada County Highway District
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service