The Trump administration says the city’s housing policies and support of ‘cultural districts’ are racially discriminatory, while city leaders call the investigation politically motivated.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity will investigate the city of Minneapolis for alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act, reports Julie Strupp in Multifamily Dive.
According to the FHEO, the city “may be engaging in unlawful discrimination by prioritizing Minneapolis residents for housing based on race and national origin rather than need.”
In a letter, the FHEO cites as an example the fact that Minneapolis’ “Community Planning and Economic Development department will prioritize ‘rental housing for Black, Indigenous, People of Color and Immigrant communities’ by ‘leveraging [its] rental licensing authority.’” The letter also calls the city’s support of cultural districts as racially discriminatory.
According to a city spokesperson, “This investigation appears to be about politics, not affordable housing.” HUD launched a similar investigation into the city of Boston in December of last year.
FULL STORY: HUD launches fair housing investigation into Minneapolis
HUD Plans to Revive Fair Housing Rule
The department is proposing an updated version of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, which requires local governments to take action to end residential segregation.
16 States Sue HUD Over New Limits to Fair Housing Act
The lawsuit charges the agency with reversing decades of fair housing regulations and weakening its own enforcement capacity.
HUD Plans to Kill Key Fair Housing Rule
The department issued a proposal to eliminate the disparate impact rule, a cornerstone of some discrimination rulings under the Fair Housing Act.
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