After rent emergency declaration, San Francisco mayor proposes reforms

As an AI boom pushes median rents higher, Mayor Daniel Lurie is proposing $30 million in investments and reforms to curb rising evictions and “sudden rent spikes.”

By Ryan Kushner • Sept. 11, 2026

2026 Smart Cities Dive Community Project Award Winners: Solving real community needs

Addressing energy costs, housing, transportation and community engagement, these initiatives exemplify the innovation that helps cities and counties improve residents’ lives.

By Robyn Griggs Lawrence • Sept. 10, 2026

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 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

The Smart Cities Dive Awards

To highlight notable people and projects in U.S. city, county and regional government, Smart Cities Dive presents the Public Service Awards and the Community Project Awards.

By Rachel H. Pollack • Sept. 10, 2026

How one Florida county is using data to help vulnerable residents keep their homes

An early-warning system in Jacksonville, Florida, uses AI to protect generational housing from institutional investors. The initiative is a 2026 Smart Cities Dive Community Project Award winner.

By Ryan Kushner • Sept. 10, 2026

Homeless services contracts to get a ‘reset’ in San Francisco

The city plans to reissue more than $500 million in annual grants and contracts, with an emphasis on outcomes.

By Ryan Kushner • Sept. 8, 2026

Fair housing construction accessibility complaints now have a deadline, HUD says

Accessibility claims related to multifamily building design and construction must be filed within one year of the initial certificate of occupancy, the new guidance says.

By Ryan Kushner • Sept. 4, 2026

For affordable housing fund, Cleveland embraces private partnerships

The city launched a fund to build up to 3,000 affordable housing units using leftover American Rescue Plan Act money.

By Ryan Kushner • Sept. 2, 2026

Social housing program gets city task force sign-off in Portland, Maine

The task force encouraged the city to establish pilot programs aimed at complementing the “tools that we already have” to address affordable housing, a city councilmember said.

By Ryan Kushner • Aug. 31, 2026

New Mexico is short 58K homes. Streamlined permitting can help, study says.

Reviewing housing projects on a case-by-case basis is slowing down production in localities, a report from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University suggests.

By Ryan Kushner • Aug. 28, 2026

Rents are rising faster in Chicago than other US cities. The mayor wants rental reform.

The proposed reforms target “hidden junk fees” and establish an administrative body to handle rental complaints. Industry groups are pushing back.

By Ryan Kushner • Aug. 26, 2026

HUD homelessness tool kit downplays housing-first models, emphasizes addiction treatment

“Housing is essential, but housing alone is not enough,” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner said.

By Ryan Kushner • Aug. 25, 2026

Municipal facility planning amid funding and workforce scarcity

Local leaders need a new playbook as facilities age, experts retire, and federal funding disappears.

Aug. 24, 2026

3 California cities sued over alleged violations of state housing rules

Housing advocacy groups say these cities are attempting to limit the impact of a new state law designed to increase housing density near transit.

By Ryan Kushner • Aug. 21, 2026

Illinois city leaders balked at statewide housing reforms. A Realtors group wants to work with them.

Illinois Realtors’ Housing Supply Accelerator Program aims to work with local governments on updating their housing regulations. “The battleground is local,” its president says.

By Ryan Kushner • Aug. 20, 2026

ADUs had a banner year in LA County. It’s not enough to fill the housing gap, study says.

Nearly 40% of housing units added in the county last year were accessory dwelling units, according to research from the University of Southern California’s Lusk Center for Real Estate.

By Ryan Kushner • Aug. 18, 2026

Seattle bans rental ‘junk fees’

The new transparency ordinance eliminates administrative service charges, pet rent and package fees and requires upfront pricing for tenants.

By Julie Strupp • Aug. 17, 2026

Extreme indoor heat is a housing violation, Arizona warns landlords

The state’s most recent lawsuit against Tucson landlords reflects a nationwide movement to establish maximum indoor temperatures for rental housing.

By Robyn Griggs Lawrence • Aug. 17, 2026

State preemption laws are changing the land use landscape

More than 500 state bills containing clauses preempting county land use authority were introduced across 40 states, a National Association of Counties analysis found.

By Ryan Kushner • Aug. 14, 2026

Housing supply, affordability barriers the focus of US Chamber housing council

Building on ROAD to Housing law momentum, the advisory council will push for zoning, permitting, capital and workforce measures it says could result in more housing.

By Julie Strupp • Aug. 14, 2026

NYC luxury home tax moves ahead while courts review lawsuit

A Staten Island judge ordered a halt to the city’s rollout of a new “pied-à-terre” tax. The city’s appeal stayed the order.

By Ryan Kushner • Aug. 13, 2026

Adding to Texas housing affordability challenges are soaring home insurance prices

Premiums have surged 30% in Texas in the past five years, while median income has only grown 3%, a study by the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University found.

By Ryan Kushner • Aug. 12, 2026

Changes to HUD homelessness aid again blocked by court

The agency’s new criteria for access to $4 billion in funding for local governments to address homelessness failed to follow administrative procedures, a Rhode Island judge ruled.

By Ryan Kushner • Aug. 10, 2026

For local governments, full benefits of ROAD to Housing Act could take years, analysis shows

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act adds to the U.S. Department of Housing and Development's workload — with a significantly reduced staff.

By Ryan Kushner • Aug. 7, 2026

Single-staircase reforms aim to boost middle-scale housing in Michigan

The reforms will make smaller-scale apartment buildings cheaper and easier to build, officials say.

By Ryan Kushner • Aug. 5, 2026

Public benefits of land use don’t outweigh local zoning, New Jersey Supreme Court says

The ruling was hailed by the state’s municipal league as a major win for local authority. 

By Ryan Kushner • Aug. 4, 2026