Community / Economic Development

Successful Honolulu Open Street Program Extended
Due to its popularity, Honolulu is extending the Kalakaua Open Street Sundays program through the end of July. The program was first launched on June 14 in a collaboration between the city and the Hawaii Bicycling League.

U.S. Mortgage Delinquencies Spike
The popularity of the mortgage forbearance program enabled by the CARES Act is one reason not to fear a housing crash like the Great Recession, yet.

California Rolls Back
The nation's most significant rollback to date of a state reopening plan occurred Monday when California Gov. Gavin Newsom closed seven categories of indoor businesses statewide and an additional six categories of indoor operations in 31 counties.

Lawyers Connect Breonna Taylor's Murder to Choice Neighborhoods Initiative in Louisville
The lawyers for Breonna Taylor accuse police in Louisville of acting on behalf of a redevelopment plan led by the city with funding support from the federal government.

'Metro Recovery Index' Measures the Impact of the Pandemic and the Trajectory of the Recovery
Brookings has released a new tool for measuring the impact of the coronavirus on local economies across the country, as well as the effectiveness of economic recovery efforts.

Groundbreaking Affordable Housing and Homeless Shelter Project Underway in Berkeley
A new Berkeley development, the largest affordable housing development in city history, is slated to house 200 low-income and homeless residents by May 2022.

A New Generation of Community-Led Planning in New York
With a benchmark success in demanding rights for the community during an ongoing rezoning process in Inwood, a neighborhood in Manhattan, a new generation of community-led resistance to top-down planning is coalescing in New York City.

House Committee Calls for Stronger Federal Role in Planning to Deal With Climate Change
The new "Solving the Climate Crisis" report could provide guidance and direction if federal leadership in Washington, D.C. finally decides to take aggressive steps to reduce carbon emissions and adapt to a changed climate.

Mobility Companies All Over the PPP Recipients' List
The transportation industry has been promising high-tech innovations for years, and has attracted a lot of big time investment dollars along the way. But it looks like some of them are struggling during the pandemic anyway.

Richmond 300 Plan Update Includes New Cap Park, Form-Based Code
Richmond, Virginia is hoping to make some big changes in time for its tricentennial in 2037, including a new cap park and a new form-based code.

Bars or Schools? Governors Need to Decide
In a frank assessment of the reopening choices confronting the nation's governors, Harvard's global health expert, Ashish Jha, asserts that the opening of bars and some other indoor businesses jeopardizes the opening of schools in the fall.

'Freedom to Move Act' Would Provide Federal Support for Free Transit Programs
New legislation by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) would also target fare enforcement on the nation's transit systems.

Plan to Widen I-5 in Portland Loses Critical Local Support
The I-5 Rose Quarter project has proven controversial throughout the study and planning process, and now it's losing key local political support.

Mapping Eviction Risk
Millions of renters are at risk of eviction as federal support runs out and the economic realities of the pandemic take hold.

A Plan for a 'Just Green Recovery'
The Rhodium Group charts a path toward an economic recovery plan that would also achieve social and environmental benefits.

When Discussing Racist Monuments, Don't Forget Urban Freeways
The racist history of planning in Los Angeles is particularly evident in the way Interstate freeways were planned in the region.

Justice Department Challenges Hawaii Quarantine
The U.S. Justice Department has intervened in a lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs challenging Hawaii's mandatory two-week quarantine for travelers arriving on the island state. The Trump-appointed judge did not react favorably.

COVID's New Demographic
Younger people are making up more of the new cases of COVID-19 as the coronavirus explodes in the Sunbelt states, particularly Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas, bringing with it new attention on bars as settings for high viral transmission.

EU to Bar Travelers from U.S. and other High-Infection Countries
In another pandemic reversal, a "safe country" list was completed by EU officials to take effect July 1 to prevent the reintroduction of the coronavirus. President Trump banned travelers from Europe in March to reduce the introduction of the virus.

Chicago's Planning Director on Leadership During Crises
Maurice Cox, planning commissioner for the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, is the subject of this in-depth coverage by the Chicago Tribune.
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Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service