For low-income people in the Mankato, Minnesota area, there might be no hope for assistance from government vouchers.
"That fact has become official in the past month as area housing agencies have closed their waiting lists for people seeking rental assistance. The lists were getting so long, and openings for actual vouchers were coming so infrequently, that housing officials felt it only gave false hope to add new applicants.
"It could be three to five years. We just don't know," said Peggy Wiese, the executive director of the South Central Minnesota Multi-County HRA. "... Right now it's well over a year."
Her agency - which serves the counties of Nicollet, Sibley, Waseca, Watonwan and Martin - shut down the list last week. At that point, it contained 625 names of people waiting for help. The agency has funding for about 610 rental vouchers, which average just over $300 a month. So even if every person currently receiving help suddenly dropped from the program, the waiting list still wouldn't be emptied.
And the reality is that almost nobody is dropping out."
Read the full story: Rent aid waiting lists closed
Mismanagement Leads to Loss of up to $35M for DC Affordable Housing
The District’s housing agency forfeited what would amount to $35 million in federal housing funds over the next decade.
California Backtracks on Pledge to Save EV Subsidy
Despite a November promise to replace the federal EV subsidy with a state incentive, Governor Newsom now says the state cannot make up for the “federal vandalism” of EV tax credits.
One Federal Low-Income Housing Program is Actually Being Expanded
Recent changes to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program could lead to over a million new housing units, but cuts to adjacent and complementary programs could limit its impact.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan
Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.
Record-breaking wildlife overpass in Colorado brings 91% reduction in animal collisions
Prior to the overpass, vehicles were hitting one deer per day on Colorado’s Interstate 25.
Mamdani sent nearly 6,000 pied-à-terre tax warnings to homes that didn’t qualify
A judge has ordered the administration to cancel thousands of pied-à-terre tax notices after it sent 35% of them erroneously.
Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment
Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.
‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan
Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.
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 Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello