Having charged low rates during years of bumper development, the National Flood Insurance Program worked at cross-purposes with itself while development continued on.

Drawing from a segment of Vox's "The Weeds," Kelly Swanson writes, "The national flood insurance program was created in the 1960s to deter people from building in flood prone areas. But, says Sarah [Kliff], it has actually done the opposite."
"[Matthew Yglesias] offers an explanation as to why representatives from flood-prone areas support the federal flood insurance program — the cheap land has promoted economic growth." Charging low premiums in what were actually high-risk areas did little to curtail development there. And when the floods came, money was available to bail the most risky homes out.
Eager for development, local politicians supported the program. Says Yglesias, "It was the politicians in these areas that did not really want to accept the market verdict, that it may seem like the city of Houston is surrounded by cheap land, but that land has enormous hidden flooding risk."
FULL STORY: The Weeds: the problem with the national flood insurance program

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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