Experts say the change to the HUD budget would make it more difficult to identify people who are homeless and connect them with services, and to prevent homelessness.
The article explores the far-reaching consequences of President Trump’s proposed FY 2026 budget, which seeks to consolidate three major homeless assistance programs—Continuum of Care grants, Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA), and the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG)—into a single block grant. This move would eliminate specialized housing and services for vulnerable populations like people with HIV/AIDS and those with chronic mental illness.
Experts warn that the restructuring would dismantle the country’s coordinated homeless response system, cut more than $500 million in critical funding, and impose a two-year cap on assistance. Overall, the changes in the budget risk leaving over 275,000 people without housing. Programs like Denver’s Beacon Place and initiatives in Atlanta and Boston, which rely on continuum of care funding, could be severely impacted.
Critics—including leaders from the National Alliance to End Homelessness, Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, and the National Low Income Housing Coalition—say the proposal would ultimately increase homelessness rather than reduce it.
Read the full story: How Trump's HUD Budget Proposal Would Harm Homelessness Response
Fair Housing Act May Cover Renters with Criminal Records
The largest private landlord in the U.S. faces a discrimination suit for refusing to rent to people with criminal records.
Housing and Opportunity
In a new article and accompanying policy brief, Arthur Acolin and Susan Wachter of Penn IUR write about their new research into the relationship between housing access and opportunity.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment
The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.
Dallas releases zoning code overhaul to officials
The drafted overhaul is over 400 pages long.
NYC renovations for dangerous, ‘mercilessly crammed’ street delayed until 2027
Construction was supposed to begin this fall.
San Diego’s Midway Rising project gets greenlight from city council
The project looks to become the largest affordable housing development in California's history.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello