Equity
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Low-income families face high energy burden, prompting calls for more government action
One in four low-income U.S. households spends more than 15% of their income on energy bills, finds an analysis by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Sept. 13, 2024 -
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Q&ACincinnati mayor says zoning overhaul reflects a ‘generational change in how people think about cities’
Years of community engagement revealed Cincinnatians don’t support getting rid of single-family zoning altogether — but they were open to relaxing it in some areas, Mayor Aftab Pureval said.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Sept. 11, 2024 -
Explore the Trendline➔
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TrendlineTop 5 stories from Smart Cities Dive
From worsening climate change to a shifting transportation landscape and the housing affordability crisis, cities have their work cut out for them.
By Smart Cities Dive staff -
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OSHA sets late December comment deadline for extreme heat standard
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s proposed rule would require employers to develop heat injury and illness prevention plans, among other actions.
By Ryan Golden • Sept. 4, 2024 -
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Cooling is expensive, and more federal assistance is needed, advocates say
The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program is “chronically underfunded,” argues a policy brief by the Natural Resources Defense Council and WE ACT for Environmental Justice.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 29, 2024 -
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Chicago intercity bus station could close next month
City leaders and bus operators are scrambling to find a short-term solution to handle the more than 500,000 yearly bus riders.
By Dan Zukowski • Aug. 28, 2024 -
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Cities assert tenants’ right to cooling in a warming world
Grappling with fatal heat waves, local governments are passing laws that make landlords provide working air conditioning. Financial and other challenges remain, however.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 27, 2024 -
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Q&AWill New York City make landlords provide air conditioning? Its climate chief is optimistic.
Coordinating any such mandate with the city's building decarbonization law requirements could reduce the burden it might create for building owners, Rohit Aggarwala explained.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 26, 2024 -
Retrieved from New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority on August 23, 2024
NYC rezoning allows transit-oriented development around four new train stations in the Bronx
The New York City Council plan includes 7,000 new housing units around the stations in the East Bronx, currently considered a transit desert.
By Dan Zukowski • Aug. 23, 2024 -
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Focus on heat illness intensifies after death of Baltimore sanitation worker
In the wake of the death of Ronald Silver II, a city employee, labor groups are calling for more heat safety protections — and fast. Pending state and federal heat standards could help.
By Megan Quinn • Aug. 22, 2024 -
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Deep DiveAn air conditioning law, the first in its region, changed tenants’ rights in this Maryland county
Montgomery County began requiring landlords to provide AC in 2020 amid climate concerns and renter complaints. Despite a shaky start, officials say things are going smoothly now.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 22, 2024 -
Kent J. Edwards/Reuters
Deep DiveShould tenants have a right to cooling? More cities say yes amid record heat.
As rental cooling standards pop up around the country, experts warn that they aren’t a perfect solution to the rising danger of scorching temperatures.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 20, 2024 -
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$36M for low-income housing energy efficiency available from US DOE grants
Local governments and other entities can get up to $2 million each for weatherization and workforce training efforts.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 1, 2024 -
Permission granted by Healthy Community Services/The Kresge Foundation
Q&AHow cities can work with philanthropies: Kresge Foundation CEO
Philanthropies are not "a gilded ATM machine that you can access if you figure out the code," CEO Rip Rapson said. "Just try to understand them."
By Dan Zukowski • July 30, 2024 -
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EPA releases $325M in environmental justice grants
It’s not too late for other local governments to apply to the federal Community Change grants program, with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency accepting submissions into November.
By Ysabelle Kempe • July 26, 2024 -
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How cities are using Biden’s $4.3B climate pollution reduction grants
The grants “put local governments in the driver’s seat to develop climate solutions,” a federal official said. Cities and counties plan to use the money for electrification, bike-sharing, solar power and more.
By Ysabelle Kempe • July 23, 2024 -
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$607M in US DOT grants available for reconnecting communities
This will be the final round of grants under the Biden administration's pilot program to restore neighborhoods split by highways and other transportation infrastructure.
By Dan Zukowski • July 17, 2024 -
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NYC delivery worker earnings up 22%
The city says workers’ earnings shot up after it began enforcing its new $17.96 per hour app-based delivery wage. DoorDash, however, called the city’s report “misleading and blatantly biased.”
By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • July 16, 2024 -
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OpinionThe White House just took steps to combat housing discrimination. States and local governments should follow.
As the country’s eviction epidemic grows, lawmakers must take aim at tenant screening practices locking millions out of affordable housing.
By Jasmine Rangel • July 9, 2024 -
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Boston was the first major city to pair fair housing with zoning. How’s it going?
Community input was key to the policy’s passage but should be a larger part of the review process it created, advocates say.
By Kalena Thomhave • July 8, 2024 -
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Sponsored by What’s PossibleFrontline communities can’t wait: A blueprint for building sustainable neighborhoods now
We cannot allow climate change to continue to overburden under-resourced communities. Discover how cross-sector partnerships and equitable investment can advance a more resilient, prosperous and sustainable future for everyone.
By Shaun Donovan, Enterprise Community Partners and Michael T. Pugh, LISC • July 8, 2024 -
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US Supreme Court rules Oregon city’s homelessness laws not ‘cruel and unusual’
The decision elicited swift reactions from stakeholders across the country, including officials in the city where the case began: Grants Pass, Oregon.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Updated June 28, 2024 -
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What US mayors want from the next president, Congress
The creation of a first-ever city mental health block grant, affordable housing investments and gun safety legislation are among the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ requests.
By Ysabelle Kempe • June 27, 2024 -
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ColumnNew York nonprofit develops hundreds of trade careers annually
The Andromeda Community Initiative helps train, place and develop careers for underrepresented groups, especially communities of color, in New York City.
By Zachary Phillips • June 21, 2024 -
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Electrifying neighborhoods could save California billions on gas line replacements
Utilities could save around $20 billion in gas pipeline replacement costs by 2045 while only affecting about 3% of current gas customers, says a new analysis prepared for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
By Ysabelle Kempe • June 20, 2024 -
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Chicago creates Black reparations task force with $500K budget
Chicago joins a growing list of U.S. cities studying reparations programs, although few have come to fruition thus far. Meanwhile, some conservative groups and lawmakers are pushing back on such efforts.
By Ysabelle Kempe • June 18, 2024
