Congress has approved a $4 billion federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program, but as the funding trickles down to cities, many find the money too tight to solve many of their problems.
"The federal stabilization program is barely up and running. But already, many states and localities are frustrated by the small sums involved and how the Department of Housing and Urban Development is allocating the grants. The problems are an indication of how federal efforts to halt the foreclosure crisis have proven inadequate to the task."
"Nationwide, some 5.2 million homeowners are expected to lose their houses between 2008 and 2010, according to Economy.com, a research firm."
"HUD recently announced allotments for 308 cities, counties and states. Using a formula based on population, foreclosures and the concentration of subprime mortgages, HUD divvied up the money in grants ranging from $2 million for Pittsburgh to $32 million for Los Angeles. The formula has led to some disparities. California, with 560,000 foreclosures, will receive $529 million, including grants to state and local governments. Meanwhile, Florida, which has half as many foreclosures, gets $541 million."
FULL STORY: Housing-Crisis Grants Force Cities to Make Tough Choices

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.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Making Shared Micromobility More Inclusive
Cities and shared mobility system operators can do more to include people with disabilities in planning and operations, per a new report.

Car Designs Make it Harder to See Pedestrians
Blind spots created by thicker pillars built to withstand rollover crashes are creating dangerous conditions for people outside vehicles.

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.
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.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie