America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again

Purple Line Extension

U.S. DOT Brings Maryland Purple Line Back From the Dead

The U.S. Department of Transportation and the state of Maryland are expected to sign a funding agreement next week for the Purple Line between Montgomery and Prince George's counties.

August 23, 2017 - The Washington Post

Project Housing

HUD: 'Worst Case Housing Needs' Only Getting Worse

The 2017 "Worst Case Housing Needs" report paints a dire picture of the nation's low-income housing options, as the Trump Administration proposes drastic cuts to federal housing programs.

August 14, 2017 - The Washington Post

Imperial Beach Border

Department of Homeland Security Will Skip Environmental Review for the Border Wall

Also, the House of Representatives has approved the funding president trump wants for the wall, but the Senate is likely to balk.

August 2, 2017 - Associated Press via Denver Post

Border Wall

Border Wall Plans Following the Path of Least Resistance

Planning of President Trump's proposed border wall is moving along very quietly, and quickly, at a federal wildlife refuge in Texas.

July 31, 2017 - The Texas Observer

Capitol Hill

Senate Appropriations Committee Restores TIGER Grant Program

Unlike the House Appropriations Committee's DOT budget that reduces spending by almost 4 percent from current levels and eliminates the TIGER grant program, its Senate counterpart increased transportation spending, including the TIGER grant budget.

July 28, 2017 - The Hill

Runners in D.C.

2018 Congressional Transportation Budget Begins to Take Shape

While reduced from current levels, the House Appropriations Committee budgeted far more than what President Trump had proposed, but they agreed with him to eliminate the TIGER grant program and reduce transit investments, though by a lesser amount.

July 24, 2017 - The Hill

California North Coast

Trump Budget Would Nix Tsunami Warning System

The difference in lives saved between tsunamis that hit Crescent City, California in 1964 and 2011 was an early detection and warning system. Now it's up to Congress to save the $12 million system from the proposed cuts in Trump's budget.

July 14, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

Capitol Hill

House Appropriations Bills Move the Needle Away from Trump's Agenda

A House of Representatives committee has different ideas about the spending priorities of the federal government when it comes to issues like a proposed border wall and the Great Lakes.

July 12, 2017 - Detroit Free Press

Steptoe Butte State Park

Trump Budget Would Cut PILT Funding to Rural Communities

Sparsely-populated rural counties with large amounts of public land stand to lose the most if the Trump Administration succeeds in cutting funding to the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program.

June 30, 2017 - KPCC

Dam Inspection

Trump Budget Puts Monongahela River Dams and Locks Project at Risk

River infrastructure is often a target for budget cuts in presidential budgets, only to receive funding from Congress. A huge project to replace dams and locks on the Monongahela River hangs in the balance.

June 17, 2017 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Road Construction

The Two Faces of Trump's Infrastructure Plan

The president spent Infrastructure Week touting a $1 trillion infrastructure investment plan that has yet to materialize, unlike the elimination of an essential grant program in his 2018 budget that will be detrimental to over 50 transit projects.

June 13, 2017 - The Washington Post

Conservation Distict

USDA Shake-Up, Trump Budget Could Be the Demise of the Office of Rural Development

A shake-up at the U.S. Department of Agriculture will likely impact the delivery of support and programs from the federal government to rural communities.

June 5, 2017 - Modern Farmer

Los Angeles Metro

Successful Ballot Measures Spell Doom for Transit Funding in Trump's 2018 Budget

President Trump points to the passage of multi-billion ballot measures last November as proof that federal funding isn't needed to fund transit, justifying elimination of a major grants program. The CEOs of two large transit agencies fight back.

May 30, 2017 - The Source

Water

Trump Budget's Devastating Effect on the EPA and Two of America's Greatest Water Resources

President Trump's budget for 2018 has the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency take the steepest hit—31 percent. Funding for two vital programs, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and Chesapeake Bay Program, will have their funds eliminated.

March 20, 2017 - E&E News [Subscription]

Captal Metro

Trump's Draft Budget: Very Bad News for Transit Planners

Transit advocates should be concerned about the cuts proposed by the Trump Administration's early budget draft.

March 16, 2017 - Streetsblog USA

President Trump's Other Infrastructure Plan—Defunding Grant Programs

The showman captured America's attention with a promise to "make America great again" with a $1 trillion infrastructure plan. Receiving scant attention are the infrastructure grant programs he'll cut in order to fund massive defense spending.

March 16, 2017 - The Hill

Subway Station

Trump Budget Blueprint Would Nix Federal Transit Spending

Reports from inside the Trump transition are that the incoming administration will follow a budget blueprint laid out by the Heritage Foundation—public transit not included.

January 20, 2017 - The Hill

News from HUD User

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Call for Speakers

Mpact Transit + Community

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Websites

The best of the Internet—since 2002.

Top Apps

Planning apps for a brave new world.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning 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.