United States

Getting Medicaid to Pay for Pest Control
For children who have asthma, pests like cockroaches and mice can trigger allergic reactions and lead to recurring and expensive hospital visits. Could insurers save money by investing in housing-based improvements like pest management services?

Restorative Housing Policy: Can We Heal the Wounds of Redlining and Urban Renewal?
Our fair housing laws enshrine an approach that prohibits us from explicitly referring to race, even in programs intended to undo the harm caused by racism. Now restorative housing policy is attempting to directly confront this history.

Major U.S. Metro Areas in a Transition Period, According to Census Analysis
The nation's growth slowed from 2010 and 2020, according to 2020 Census data, and demographers are still trying to figure out what population trends mean for the future of country's major metropolitan areas.

Federal Program To Award $450 Million to University Transportation Centers
The program will fund research on mobility, congestion, safety, and other crucial transportation issues.

The Housing Crisis in America’s Mobile Home Parks
With demand surging and rent costs rising sharply, mobile home parks are becoming unaffordable for their most vulnerable residents.

Study: Cutting U.S. Emissions by 50 Percent This Decade Is Possible
With coordinated effort at the local, state, and federal levels, the United States could meet its goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030.

Let’s End Traffic Stops
The technology to make traffic enforcement obsolete is becoming available. But in the U.S. willing to use it?

Communities Near Warehouses Unprotected by Outdated Zoning Codes
Today’s massive modern distribution centers have outsized impacts on adjacent neighborhoods. But outdated zoning codes often let them slip through the cracks with no environmental review.

$368 Million in Rail Investments Announced
The Federal Railroad Administration announced a round of grant funding for the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program. The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act tripled the amount of funding for the program.

Transportation Challenges for Older Rural Americans
Vast distances and inadequate funding pose problems for the rural transportation services that older adults rely on to access essential services.

The Sound of Music City: Orange, NJ
Music naturally brings people together. In Orange, New Jersey, organizers show how “creative placekeeping” finds its strength in the relationships that are formed within the community.

Leaky Roof? A USDA Home Repair Option
One USDA program has given out over $1 billion in rural home repair grants since its inception, and could be inspiration for similar programs in urban and suburban communities as well.

How an ‘Aversion to Change’ Worsens the Housing Crisis
A long-standing tradition of opposing multifamily housing construction continues to hamper housing production even as demand for affordable options grows.

Extending the Life of California's Largest Power Plant
Gov. Gavin Newsom has notified the U.S. Department of Energy of his interest in using funding included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to extend the life of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant slated to close in three years.

Americans Find it Increasingly Difficult To Move
High housing costs and low supply are making it harder for American families to move as household dynamics and job opportunities change.

Federal Environmental Justice Program Could Worsen Outcomes in Low-Income Neighborhoods
Without more specific regulations, the Justice40 initiative, which requires spending 40 percent of federal funds in underserved areas, could fund projects that increase emissions and pollution.

The Electric Scooter Rebound
The nascent electric scooter rental industry came close to total collapse during the pandemic, but riders are back in bigger numbers than ever and the companies hope to build momentum on growing concerns about the climate impacts of transportation.

'Are Gas Prices Too High?'
Nominal gas prices have never been higher. But are they too high? The question was posed by the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources to the Secretary of the Interior during a committee hearing on May 19.

Zoning Reform Works, but Is No Magic Bullet
Improving housing affordability and boosting housing production requires more than just eliminating single-family zoning.

Feds to Award $13 Million for Transit Oriented Development Planning
A newly bolstered competitive grant program administered by the Federal Transit Administration has announced a new round of funding.
Pagination
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.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
Tyler Technologies
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions