Cities should be mad about the federal government's cutting of discretionary spending and not reducing defense spending, according to this column from Neal Peirce.
"[T]he Republican Congress and President Obama, their differences notwithstanding, deserve failing grades for focusing all their budget-cutting efforts on the 15 percent of the federal budget accounted for by non-defense discretionary spending.
The result has been a carnival of knife-wielding that may get even worse with the next fiscal year. While massive farm subsidies are left intact, we're in danger of shrinking or killing programs that provide some relief from poverty, assist public transit and Amtrak, underwrite Head Start and parts of college tuitions, support the Legal Services Corporation, family planning counsel and technology innovation programs."
Peirce argues that mayors and cities should be especially concerned about the impending dissolution of the Community Development Block Grant program.
Read the full story: Cities Should Question U.S. Defense, Entitlement Spending
Affordable Housing Lacking in Every State
A recent report from the Urban Institute warns of potentially expanding catastrophe for affordable housing around the country.
Report: Reform, Don't Eliminate, the Community Development Block Grant Program
The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program is under the microscope. As the Trump Administration considers eliminating the program, the Urban Institute recommends a less-is-more approach.
Where Community Development Block Grants Money Goes
A Forbes contributor provides analysis of how much states stand to lose if the Trump Administration succeeds in cutting funding for the Community Development Block Grants program.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
In Texas, data centers are swallowing promised parkland
Residents who moved to Taylor, Texas for a rural community now have to contend with three data centers in their backyard.
How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on
The project spanned five presidential administrations and a standoff with a U.S. military base.
MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court
The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.
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
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority