Across the country, federal funding is unable to keep up with repair costs, forcing some municipalities to cut units from their programs.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) says between $22 and 32 billion is needed by the country's public housing authority to rehabilitate existing buildings. In New York, for example, there is a three-year backlog on repairs. Additionally, thousands of units have been lost altogether, according to Cara Buckley: 150,000 units were removed from federal programs in the last 15 years and 5,700 are currently pending removal.
In response, HUD has proposed legislation to allow city housing authorities to borrow public and private funds to finance repairs. The solution is contentious, writes Buckley:
"The bill, yet to be formally introduced in Congress, stirred mixed reactions among housing authorities and advocates, many of whom feared the prospect of public housing falling into private hands."
FULL STORY: Public Housing Repairs Can’t Keep Pace With Demand
HUD's New York Leader Suggests Privatizing Public Housing
In The Real Deal, HUD administrator Lynne Patton hints at a 10-point plan for New York and New Jersey.
A Defense of HUD's Grant Funding
Next City explores the possible consequences of reported desire by the Trump Administration to cut $6 billion from the budget of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Trump Administration Budget Draft Could Cut HUD Budget, Planning Grants, More
The Washington Post has a big scoop about the early draft of the Trump Administration's budget for the Department of Housing Urban Development.
Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.
Texas Bill Supports Adaptive Reuse in Commercial Areas
Senate Bill 840, which was preliminarily approved by the state House, would allow residential construction in areas previously zoned for offices and commercial uses.
Opinion: Make Buses More Like Sidewalks
Sidewalks are an intuitive, low-cost, and easily accessible mobility tool. Can local buses function in the same way?
How Cities Can Support Climate Adaptation
In the face of federal cuts to climate resilience funding, a panel at ULI’s Resilience Summit offered suggestions for maintaining managed retreat and other climate adaptation programs.
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.
City of Clovis
City of Moorpark
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions