Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Two years after the departments of Justice and Health and Human Services negotiated a historic settlement with Alabama officials to improve wastewater treatment services for Alabamians in majority-Black communities harmed by raw sewage, Trump has terminated the settlement, deeming it “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
The settlement represented a landmark: the first time in U.S. history that federal civil rights laws were used to alleviate an environmental injustice. Its termination represents a blow:
“Conditions in the Black Belt, which spans as many as two dozen counties in south-central Alabama, and in Lowndes County in particular, have been widely criticized for years,” Inside Climate News reports.
“Following a visit to Alabama in 2017, Philip Alston, the United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, characterized the situation in the Black Belt as a result of racism and the demonization of the poor.”
April Must-Reads: Top 10 Articles From Last Month
A key federal housing assistance program is in peril, Maui tries to balance housing affordability with its tourism-based economy, and a landmark Virginia law could set a new standard for road safety.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
Forest Service Rescinds Tree Planting Grants
The $75 million program fell victim to the federal government’s purge of ‘DEI’-related projects.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Baltimore to break ground on $50 million Transit Priority Project
The project will bring faster bus trips, safer streets and better bike connections to Baltimore.
Airbnb launches $250 million 'last-dollar financing' housing accelerator, makes first investment in Austin
The company will put $6.4 million towards affordable housing development in Texas’ capital.
Guerilla urbanists are building DIY bus stop benches in Chicago
A before-and-after of one of the bus stops with a new bench. The new benches are not officially sanctioned or permitted, but the residents who placed them hope they will be the start of a network of DIY benches across the city.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association