One of the Obama administration's most promising anti-poverty initiatives will marshal federal grants and expertise from numerous agencies to improve infrastructure, services and opportunities across a wide swath of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles will join San Antonio, Philadelphia, southeastern Kentucky and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma as test cases for President Obama's "Promise Zone" initiative. "L.A.'s Promise Zone stretches through Pico-Union, Westlake, Koreatown, East Hollywood and Hollywood, what Mayor Eric Garcetti called some of the 'toughest, challenged areas' in the city," reports Soumya Karlamangla.
"The White House said Los Angeles' funding would go toward increasing affordable housing, investing in public transit lines and bike lanes, and giving people more access to career and technical training opportunities through a partnership with the Los Angeles Community College District," she adds. "Money also would go to the L.A. Unified School District and the nonprofit Youth Policy Institute to increase the number of support services at schools."
FULL STORY: U.S. to designate poor L.A. areas a 'Promise Zone,' eligible for aid
New Promise Zones Include South Los Angeles
South L.A.'s inclusion in the Promise Zones program marks a shift in the way the federal government measures poverty.
Promise Zones Partner Up in Los Angeles and Philadelphia
A new phase of President Obama's Promise Zone anti-poverty initiative will take place simultaneously in Los Angeles and Philadelphia. AmeriCorps staff will be on hand to provide career coaching to high school students.
LA Transit Ridership Plummets Amidst ICE Raids
LA Metro’s bus and rail lines are seeing up to 15 percent lower ridership in the wake of violent immigration arrests.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
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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?
Portland Raises Parking Fees to Pay for Street Maintenance
The city is struggling to bridge a massive budget gap at the Bureau of Transportation, which largely depleted its reserves during the Civd-19 pandemic.
Spokane Mayor Introduces Housing Reforms Package
Mayor Lisa Brown’s proposals include deferring or waiving some development fees to encourage more affordable housing development.
Houston Mayor Kills Another Bike Lane
The mayor rejected a proposed bike lane in the Montrose district in keeping with his pledge to maintain car lanes.
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.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont