The Jumpstart loan program is helping Black and female residents become developers.

A Philadelphia program has helped more than 3,000 citizens — most of whom are Black and female, and almost all of whom are locals — become developers of affordably-priced housing, reports Courtenay Duchene for the Philadelphia Citizen. The program, called Jumpstart, was founded 10 years ago in the Germantown neighborhood by local investor Ken Weinstein and includes training, mentoring and financing. The Citizen’s investigation of the program’s impact reveals that its nearly $60 million of loans have flipped typical developer demographics on their heads.
“In an industry where 99 percent of real estate firms are White-owned and, as a 2021 Knight Foundation study found, only 2.8 percent are owned by women, Jumpstart tells a very different story: 83 percent of the people who use its loan program are Black, five percent are Hispanic and 51 percent are women,” the article states. What’s more, 20 percent of Jumpstart loans go to developers who live in the same zip code they’re purchasing in.
In order to qualify, borrowers from the Jumpstart program must rent and resell their properties at an affordable rate — at or below 70 and 90 percent of the area median income (AMI), respectively.
Since its inception, Jumpstart has spread to other municipalities in Pennsylvania. It is expected to expand to Washington, DC, Indiana, Delaware and beyond in the coming years.
FULL STORY: Is it safe to breathe in L.A.? Lawmakers call for federal action to monitor wildfire pollutants

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.
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
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont