Chicago environmental justice order signed as mayor’s term ends

The order requires the completion of a citywide environmental justice data project, creates a new environmental justice coordinator role and calls for community engagement standards.

Housing is increasingly unaffordable for teachers in many metropolitan areas

Rental costs can range from 47% of a teacher’s salary in San Francisco to 17% in Wichita, Kansas, according to a National Council on Teacher Quality analysis.

Parking minimums will soon be history in Austin, Texas

“Our priority should be allowing space for people rather than mandating space for cars,” City Council member Zohaib Qadri said.

To spur green manufacturing and jobs, will NYC change its industrial zoning?

“This is a moment for New York City to be ahead of the curve and lead on an issue our president has made a priority for this country,” said Councilmember Amanda Farías.

For more effective climate planning, cities must include suburbs and exurbs, researchers say

Existing regional entities, such as metropolitan planning organizations or councils of governments, can often be starting points for coordinated climate conversations, one researcher said.

Should Massachusetts build high-speed rail across the state?

The state's plan for intercity passenger trains along an existing freight line are "19th-century" thinking, Rep. Seth Moulton said. He also called on the state to advance a long-needed north-south rail link in Boston.

New York City’s congestion pricing plan gets the green light, despite opposition

Many advocates, urban planners and public officials in New York support the congestion pricing program, which would be the first in the U.S. Critics, however, called the program “anti-environment” and “cash-grabbing.”

Bank failures could slow new apartment construction

Last year’s interest rate hikes have made it more challenging to get construction loans, which could slow multifamily construction starts by 60%, one real estate executive said.

Portland, Oregon, to pilot zero-emission delivery zone

The project could help the city reduce climate pollution and improve public health, the Portland Bureau of Transportation said. Portland received nearly $2 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the project.

Connected vehicle technology advances in US with FCC waiver approval

Ford, Audi, Jaguar Land Rover North America, two state transportation departments and nine other companies will be able to invest in technology essential for fully autonomous vehicles.

To build climate resilience, Detroit communities turn to long-neglected alleys

These overgrown strips of land are now working to help mitigate flooding and provide accessible green space in neighborhoods dealing with urban blight.

Dallas restores core emergency dispatch systems after ransomware attack

“At this point, we do not have evidence or indication that there has been data removed during this attack,” Dallas CIO Bill Zielinski told city officials Monday.

Philadelphia agrees to install or fix 10,000 curb ramps in class-action lawsuit settlement

The city will be required to hit 2,000-ramp milestones every three years, take service requests and provide status updates online in the settlement of the lawsuit advanced by Philadelphians with disabilities and others.

Updated May 9, 2023

Racial and ethnic disparities in traffic deaths revealed in NHTSA report

Blacks experience higher-than-average per capita traffic deaths, while such rates among White, Asian and Hispanic or Latino people are lower than average. Pedestrian fatality rates show even greater disparities.

As sea levels rise, it’s time for West Coast communities to overcome ‘taboo of managed retreat’: report

It is urgent for some coastal communities to begin considering managed retreat because the longer they wait, the more expensive it will be, says a report by the international Ocean & Climate Platform.

Uber and Lyft ridership accelerates in Q1

“After lagging other regions in the recovery through 2021 and 2022, the ride-share category in the US & Canada is now growing faster in 2023,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said.

New York’s transit agency rescued by last-minute Albany budget deal

Facing fare hikes and service cuts, the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority will get an injection of state aid and a controversial payroll tax increase for New York City’s largest businesses. 

Advocates push for housing owned by communities, rather than by investors

It’s still unclear what broad-scale programs would look like, but there is some evidence that decommodifying housing can work.

How governments are updating ‘operational technologies,’ including AI, and the challenges that remain: survey

Over half of the survey respondents reported their agency plans to upgrade systems by 2025, a Center for Digital Government and Samsara survey found. Operational efficiency and cost savings are a big reason why.

To spur geothermal heating and cooling, DOE funds 11 community-scale system design projects

DOE will select several of the designs for development to advance community-scale geothermal systems, which are relatively uncommon in the U.S.

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.

Mobility could be transformed by 2035, with US car sales dropping 30%: report

As cities and consumers move toward new mobility options, “the mobility ecosystem will most likely undergo a transformation not seen since the early days of the automobile,” a McKinsey report says.

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.

Grubhub will offer monthly e-bike credits to 500 NYC delivery workers

Grubhub and e-bike rental platform JOCO say their joint bike rental credit program could improve fire safety in the Big Apple, where 11 people have died in e-bike battery-related fires in 16 months.

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.