California spent $1.3B in cap-and-trade funds on climate, equity projects in 2022

The California Climate Investments funding addressed affordable housing, transportation, energy costs, extreme heat, fire, access to clean drinking water and more, a California Air Resources Board official said.

By Kalena Thomhave • May 2, 2023

Affordable, all-electric and energy-efficient housing gets $15M boost from NYC initiative

The initiative “will demonstrate to the affordable housing market a highly replicable new construction solution,” said Doreen Harris, president and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

By Ysabelle Kempe • May 2, 2023

Flying taxis are coming. Cities will need dozens of vertiports.

By 2030, just one eVTOL operator could operate nearly seven times as many flights per day as the nation’s second-largest airline, estimates McKinsey and Co.

By Dan Zukowski • May 1, 2023

Women, people of color, renters underrepresented on land-use boards: report

Homeownership and other requirements could create barriers to participation that “function as inexplicit racial filters,” an Urban Institute report found.

By Gaby Galvin • April 28, 2023

First state law banning gas in new buildings passes in New York

The law does not include a “poison pill” provision backed by the oil and gas industry, which environmental and social justice advocates had worried would make its way into the measure.

By Ysabelle Kempe • Updated Dec. 21, 2023

Asphalt art grants of $25K available from Bloomberg Philanthropies

“It’s amazing what a few cans of paint — and a forward-looking community — can achieve,” Bloomberg Philanthropies founder and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement.

By Michael Brady • April 27, 2023

Worried about gas ban litigation? After court tosses Berkeley rule, legal experts look at cities’ options

Other “totally lawful opportunities” exist for local governments to phase out gas in new buildings, such as through building codes, said a senior fellow at Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.

By Ysabelle Kempe • April 27, 2023

Elon Musk’s company town plans worry some locals, urban planners

The plans for Snailbrook, near Boring Co. and future SpaceX manufacturing facilities in central Texas, raise questions about local governance, environmental impacts and more.

By Adina Solomon • April 24, 2023

$562M for coastal resiliency projects announced by Commerce Department

The money from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law will fund nearly 150 projects across the country focused on bolstering the country’s response to climate change.

By Jennifer Goodman • April 24, 2023

ARPA funds used to fill city budget gaps, Brookings analysis finds

Spending American Rescue Plan Act funds on “revenue replacement” allowed localities to free up money for long-term priorities, such as economic development, a Brookings Metro researcher said.

By Kalena Thomhave • April 21, 2023

Cybersecurity best practices for smart cities issued by CISA

Smart city technologies are at risk “of exploitation for espionage and for financial or political gain by malicious threat actors,” according to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

By Michael Brady • April 21, 2023

On infrastructure jobs, OSHA steps up workplace safety enforcement

As federal funds flood into construction projects thanks to the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is concerned about protecting workers in the infrastructure sector.

By Julie Strupp • April 12, 2023

How Jersey City’s resiliency plan preps them to weather the storm

How the leaders of Jersey City ensure that their community remains safe and healthy for generations to come.

April 10, 2023

Economic uncertainty, financing issues causing construction delays

Material prices are growing at a much slower pace than a year ago, according to a new National Multifamily Housing Council quarterly survey, and the labor market is showing signs of improvement.

By Mary Salmonsen • April 5, 2023

Every rental unit has level 2 EV charging in its own garage in this Arizona development

Individual chargers will become standard across the housing industry in the future, predicts the property’s development and management team.

By Mary Salmonsen • March 24, 2023

Cities see hyperlocal ‘activity centers’ as key to sustainable growth, less car dependency

Most metropolitan area residents live within three miles of an activity center, according to Brookings Institution research. Officials are planning around such centers to help residents meet their everyday needs while driving less.

By Gaby Galvin • March 21, 2023

Mixed-use project breaks ground in Miami’s Wynwood Arts District

The Wynwood Plaza will feature a landscaped pedestrian thoroughfare by the designers of New York City’s High Line.

By Mary Salmonsen • March 17, 2023

On climate change, this group of mayors thinks globally and acts locally

Climate Mayors Executive Director Kate Wright discusses how the organization is helping mayors lead on climate policy and implement provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act and 2021 infrastructure law.

By Michael Brady • March 17, 2023

Skanska predicts construction costs will rise above inflation in many US cities

The new report examined construction costs in 21 U.S. markets, including Dallas; New York City; Orlando, Florida; Phoenix; San Francisco; and Seattle.

By Zachary Phillips • March 14, 2023

Dynamic curbs could make cities more livable but would require getting more people out of cars, experts say

During the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, cities allowed sidewalk dining streeteries and parklets. Now they’re “tearing half of them down to turn them back into parking spots,” a Lyft executive said.

By Maylin Tu • March 13, 2023

Biden proposed budget boosts funding for clean energy, permitting, efficiency programs

The budget released Thursday includes $11.9 billion for the Department of Energy climate and clean energy research, development, demonstration and deployment, a 20% hike over the FY 23 enacted amount.

By Ethan Howland • March 10, 2023

To fight e-bike fires, New York state and city lawmakers crack down on unsafe batteries, chargers

“Reconditioned and untested batteries are contributing to a serious threat to the health and safety of New Yorkers in their homes and in their jobs,” state Sen. Liz Krueger said.

By Michael Brady • March 8, 2023

The average apartment size is shrinking

Tallahassee, Florida, has the largest new apartments in the country at 1,182 square feet, while Seattle has the smallest at 659 square feet, according to a new study.

By Mary Salmonsen • March 2, 2023

45 projects receive first Reconnecting Communities grants from US DOT

With funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law, the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program aims to restore connections between communities that had been severed by highways and other transportation infrastructure. 

By Dan Zukowski • March 1, 2023

$250M for curbing climate pollution, advancing environmental justice available from US EPA

Each of the 67 most-populated U.S. metropolitan areas is eligible for $1 million in planning grants, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will follow with $4.6 billion to help cities and states implement their plans later this year.

By Michael Brady • March 1, 2023