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.
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.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
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