Applications to the program reveal a pattern of state agencies requesting funds for projects that perpetuate car-centric development with only nominal equity components.

A new federal program aimed at ‘Reconnecting Communities’ divided and displaced by freeway construction could backfire, a coalition of community advocates warns. As Kea Wilson explains in Streetsblog, the group is concerned that the expansion of the range of projects that could be funded by Reconnecting Communities could dilute the program’s goals and perpetuate auto-centric development rather than mitigating and reversing the damage caused by freeways and urban renewal projects.
According to an open letter from the coalition to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, “The Reconnecting Communities program has the power to remedy the injustices of our previous infrastructure investments and recalibrate our transportation priorities so that they support underserved communities, but it is too small to spend any of its funding on projects that might come at their expense.”
Wilson describes several projects that would even expand highways using Reconnecting Communities funds, quoting Ben Crowther, advocacy manager for America Walks, who commented that the number of applications that perpetuate highway-building point to “a pattern of behavior” that uses “equity-washing” to maintain the status quo. Crowther says the small scale of the program so far means USDOT must act selectively to fund projects that are “truly reparative.”
FULL STORY: Advocates Warn ‘Reconnecting Communities’ Program Could Actually Expand Highways

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

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

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
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