July 2009

  • The Bicycle Mandate

    New York City Council approved a measure, the Bicycle Access Bill, that requires buildings with freight elevators to allow for bicycle access. The measure, which was overwhelmingly passed, is just another example of New York City government taking aggressive action…

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    Awesome Choice: Shelley Poticha to Take Sustainability Post at HUD

    Wow. Only a week after I wrote a post celebrating how well the Obama administration seems to be getting its act together on smart growth and sustainability, they have done it again. My friend Shelley Poticha has accepted a senior…

  • Because we needed more fraud and foreclosure…

    This may be small in the grand scheme of the economic collapse, but I think it’s worth highlighting anyway: While there are dozens of reasons people are getting behind on their mortgages and entering foreclosure, there are also apparently some…

  • Renting From the Bank?

    Alyssa Katz, author of Our Lot: How Our Real Estate Came to Own Us, is skeptical of the proposal to have foreclosed homeowners stay on as renters. Katz, like the rest of us in this field, is well aware of…

  • White House Hosting ARRA Web Forums

    The White House Office of Management and Budget has announced a series of forums geared to help recipients of funding appropriated through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to “better understand and comply with the Act’s transparency guidelines.” White House…

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    The Obama Administration’s Remarkable Week on Sustainable Cities, Smart Growth & Revitalization

    Wow. Last Monday, before heading out to toss the first pitch at Tuesday’s baseball All Star Game, the president kicked off a White House forum on urban policy by criticizing past federal measures that have encouraged sprawl and promising a…

  • A Rental Option for Homeowners?

    Reports are surfacing indicating that the administration is considering a rental option for troubled homeowners. Could homeowners rent their homes in lieu of eviction? According to Reuters: Officials have been frustrated as red tape and rising interest rates have slowed…

  • Short-Term Stimulus and Planning for the Long Term

    Everyone’s excited about the money pouring, or rather trickling, out of the federal government in the form of economic stimulus. As is the case with many grants, loans and other funding sources, the money is meant to be used within…

  • Urban Policy: Just Getting Started

    Xavier de Souza Briggs, the Associate Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, and the subject of an upcoming Shelterforce interview, wrote in Shelterforce last fall that “Urban policies are the rules and incentives that shape the…

  • National Work Among Community Organizing Groups Is Growing

    Editor’s Note: This is in response to Randy Stoecker’s earlier post on community organizing on the national level. ACORN, PICO, and US Action are among the community organizing groups mobilizing people around health care reform. They are part of a…

  • How Much Is Too Much Neighborhood Data?

    Individual behavior plays a significant role in perpetuating residential racial and ethnic segregation. Illegal discrimination, including racial steering, and housing affordability both play a role, but neither can fully explain the severe segregation that plagues so many of America’s metropolitan…

  • Franken, the Fourth of July, and Worker’s Rights

    Finally: Al Franken has been seated in the US Senate. After a grueling recount process, former Sen. Norm Coleman finally conceded defeat and congratulated Franken on his Senate victory in Minnesota. With the Democrats securing 60 Senate votes, the media…

  • Community Organizing Going National?

    There are several things that I’ve been noticing out in the community organizing world that I find increasingly intriguing. I first noticed it over the past year with PICO’s push on national health care legislation. Now I am also noticing…

  • Extra! Major Funding Is Provided By…Congress?

    The print media industry, we all know, has been in rapid decline over the past few years, but recently, we’ve truly begun to see the manifestation of that decline as regional newspapers from around the country are drastically changing their…

  • Compost Bins on the South Lawn

    According to the Sierra Club, of the 31 million tons of food waste tossed each year in the United States, only 3 percent is actually recycled, so I was particularly happy when I read the report on Ecorazzi.org that the…

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    Gary Never Forgot: A Suffering Steel Town Clings to Jackson Legacy

    The eyes of the world were focused on Gary, Indiana in the days following Michael Jackson’s June 25 death. People marveled at the tiny house where Michael spent his first 11 years. Spending the two days after his death in…