United States

California Spends $6.5 Billion on Homeowner Subsidies, 15 Times Less on Renters
A new report from the California Housing Partnership "revealed a wide gap between state support for homeowners and renters."
Road Usage Charge at Least 10 Years Away
Pilot programs are not the real thing, warned Michael Lewis, executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation, testifying at a House transportation subcommittee on March 7. Colorado completed a successful four-month pilot last April.

Trump Threatens Government Shutdown if Congress Funds Amtrak Gateway Tunnel
Trump's animus towards using federal funds to replace a century-old, hurricane-damaged rail tunnel under the Hudson River is so strong that he warned Congress he will veto a spending bill they must pass by March 23 to keep the government operating.

Next Stop for Self-Driving Trucks: Atlanta
Arriving this week. Like, practically right now.

HUD Changing Mission
Although it's unclear if the change is final, it's been widely reported that leadership at the U.S. Department of Housing and Development is pushing to remove wording about racial discrimination from the organization's mission statement.

House Bill 'Guts' ADA Enforcement for Public Places
Designed to thwart predatory lawsuits, the bill could make it easier for businesses to ignore barriers to access, disability rights advocates say.
A Map of the Country's Black Homeownership Gap
None of the top 100 American cities in African American population offers inclusive homeownership rates.

$500 Million in TIGER Grants Awarded
They say the pendulum swings, and the TIGER grant funding pendulum has swung away from public transit.

Multiple Studies Find Ride-Hailing Contributes to Congestion and Transit Losses
Surveys on ride-hailing conducted by regional planning agencies, academic institutions, and public transit agencies throughout the U.S. reviewed by the Associated Press largely led to the same conclusion: more traffic and reduced use of transit.

In California, Policies Spur Rebuilding in the Wildland-Urban Interface
After the worst wildfire season ever, changes to local land use and state insurance rules essentially ensure that the same thing will happen again.

Revisiting Subdivision Regulations
For many decades now, most communities in the United States have grown as a series of subdivisions, built on a tried and true formula. It might be time to change the math.

Road Pricing Shouldn't Stop at Ride Hailing Services
Extra charges for Uber and Lyft rides isn't enough to decrease traffic and speed public transit Joe Cortright argues in City Observatory.

White Flight Hasn't Gone Anywhere
White flight gets described as a symptom of the racism of the mid- to late-20th century, but a new study finds evidence that it's still rampant and suggests that it's a sign of contemporary prejudice.

Corrected: The Bell Tolls for the TIGER Grant Program
The Trump Administration signaled a desire to scrap a funding program that helped fund transit, pedestrian, and bike infrastructure. A new program likely focused on rural and toll roads could take its place.

Study: L.A. County's Urban Oil Wells Are Too Close to Homes and Schools
The Department of Public Health recommends taking action to better protect residents from oil operations that are sometimes only a few feet from where people live, work, eat, play and study.

Former President Barack Obama Addresses Gentrification
Former President Barack Obama is facing a new kind of politics while working to support the development plan for the Barack Obama Presidential Center.

Where Mass Shootings Happen
It's tempting to try to find a link between sites of mass shootings, but data shows they happen in all types of American communities.

More Reports of Trouble at the Top of HUD
Another in a string of detailed exposés on the working conditions and policy agenda of the Department of Housing and Urban Development under the leadership of Secretary Ben Carson.

Climate Challenge: Not Enough EVs or Too Many SUVs?
Both are problems, but globally, sports utility vehicles sales are proliferating far faster than cars, be they electric or petrol-powered, posing a major challenge for governments committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Austin Proposes Using Blockchain Technology to Help Its Homeless
The city wants to give its 7,000 citizens without permanent homes "[u]nique digital identifiers" to help them get reliable access to services.
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