The Latest

  • Aerial view of a one-story brick building with pools and slide behind it.
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    Permission granted by Thomasville Parks and Recreation
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    Great leadership builds more than facilities: Exemplary Public Servant Cory Tobin

    The Thomasville, North Carolina, parks and recreation director led development and construction of a state-of-the-art community center that delivers long-term community benefits without raising costs.

  • Metra train traveling rails near downtown Chicago, Illinois
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    Scott Olson via Getty Images
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    Chicago transit agencies propose fare hikes, restate 2026 budgets

    Hope now rides with the Illinois General Assembly to provide state funding that could prevent rail and bus service cuts.

  • People wearing vests and hard hats standing under a partially finished concrete overpass.
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    CHUYN via Getty Images
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    Cities must act now to secure remaining IIJA funds: NLC

    Local governments should “maximize this moment” to strengthen resilience and climate readiness before the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act expires, a National League of Cities legislative director said.

  • Round logo that says U.S. Department of Homeland Security against backdrop of U.S. Capitol
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    Getty Images
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    Judge rebukes DHS for defying order on FEMA grant conditions

    A federal judge said the Department of Homeland Security ignored a directive to remove immigration enforcement conditions from FEMA funding agreements in a “ham-handed attempt to bully” states.

    Updated Oct. 15, 2025
  • People walk through an area illuminated by a portable floor light in Grand Central Terminal following a power outage.
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    Alexi J. Rosenfeld via Getty Images
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    New York City could face power reliability issues beginning next year, state’s grid operator says

    Reliability report findings “should be alarming to residents and serve as another wake up call for the state,” said Gavin Donohue, president of the Independent Power Producers of New York.

  • Homes in foreground, clouds clearing over skyline in the background.
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    Art Wager via Getty Images
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    Harris County, Texas, sues EPA over canceled Solar for All funds

    County officials say the loss of $54 million in clean energy grants jeopardizes staffing, planning and partnerships built around the program, forcing major adjustments to local operations and budgets.

  • Two rows of standing men and woman with those in the front row holding a long red ribbon.
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    Courtesy of CNW Group/Polara
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    Chicago suburb debuts electric paratransit fleet

    Schaumburg, Illinois, joins transit agencies in New York City and San Francisco in providing zero-emission transportation for older adults and people with disabilities.

  • A suburban neighborhood.
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    Getty Images
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    Senate advances landmark affordable housing legislation

    “This is a historic and long-overdue step forward,” U.S. Conference of Mayors Housing Task Force Chair Andrew Ginther said.

    Updated Oct. 14, 2025
  • Two people, one wearing a mask, looking at an open book amid a crowd.
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    Scott Olson via Getty Images
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    Judge temporarily blocks federal troop deployment to Chicago

    A federal judge found “no credible evidence” of a rebellion brewing in the city and noted that National Guard troops are not trained in de-escalation and law enforcement.

    Updated Oct. 14, 2025
  • View of Hammock Lake in Miami-Dade County.
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    Getty Images
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    Interactive map tracks housing shortages across Florida

    The Sunshine State needs more than 120,000 housing units. The tracker’s developers say its data could help local leaders make informed decisions.

  • Rows of seated people facing a stage and large screen showing a woman speaking.
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    Dan Zukowski/Smart Cities Dive
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    Public transportation ‘experiencing unprecedented momentum’: APTA CEO Paul Skoutelas

    Federal Transit Administrator Marcus Molinaro spoke to 3,200 transit leaders at the American Public Transportation Association’s 2025 TRANSform conference in Boston.

  • Workers install solar panels on the rooftop of a home.
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    Lawsuit challenges EPA rollback of solar program serving low-income communities

    Community and labor groups argue the EPA’s termination of the $7 billion Solar for All program strips local governments of critical clean energy funding.

  • Two people dressed in military fatigues with masks over their faces and holding guns in front of barbed wire fence.
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    Scott Olson via Getty Images
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    Appeals court allows Trump to federalize but not deploy National Guard in Portland as troops move into Chicago

    Federal courts will hear arguments today in two cases about whether the Trump administration can override governors and send National Guard troops into the two U.S. cities.

    Updated Oct. 9, 2025
  • People hunched over a stand with dividers at a voting place.
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    Michael Ciaglo via Getty Images
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    Transit measures are on the November ballot in these local elections

    Voters in four states are being asked to approve taxes to support roads and public transit and form a new transportation authority.

  • A rendering of a single family 3D-printed home
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    Courtesy of Lumen Villas

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    This small Texas town has a housing affordability problem. Can it print its way out?

    A company that builds homes using 3D printing technology is building a nine-home community in Marfa, Texas, and an 80-home development in Houston. It says the technology could address the “affordability crisis across Texas and the U.S.”

  • Scaffolds covering a building in New York City.
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    Getty Images
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    Zoning reforms, tax incentives help drive NYC’s office-to-housing boom

    Office conversions have nearly tripled as the city takes action to address a housing shortage and historically high office vacancy rates.

  • The Department of Housing and Urban Development
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    Getty Images
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    How the government shutdown is (and isn’t) impacting housing funds for cities

    Previously approved federal housing funding streams remain available, but staff reductions could threaten core functions.

  • A person wearing a vest and boots sits with head bowed on steps amid debris.
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    Jim Vondruska via Getty Images
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    5 things keeping emergency managers up at night

    Emergency managers are stretched thin as climate disasters and cyberthreats grow. Chronic underfunding and mission creep have left the nation’s front line unprepared, a Deloitte-NEMA study says.

  • An illustration shows an overhead view of a city intersections with imaginary lines extending from each vehicle to other nearby vehicles.
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    Getty Images
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    Roadway safety can benefit from vehicles that talk to each other

    Connected vehicles can help avoid accidents and alert authorities to dangerous situations, says an AT&T executive.

  • California Gov. Gavin Newsom seen holding a signed bill.
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Newsom orders statewide coordination on climate disaster risk

    California agencies will jointly develop tools to help local governments and utilities withstand economic losses and insurance disruptions caused by worsening wildfires and other disasters.

  • A close-up shot of Gov. Ron DeSantis speaking at a podium with an American flag as the backdrop.
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    Getty Images
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    Florida leaders used state DOGE effort to call out cities and counties for ‘wasteful spending.’ The communities are pushing back.

    Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state CFO primarily criticized funding used for equity and LGBT-related initiatives as wasteful.

  • A construction worker wets concrete
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    Scott Olson/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Trump blocks Chicago funding as Illinois moves forward with $50.6B infrastructure plan

    The White House froze $2.1 billion in funding for a transit rail line and a viaduct project as federal and local officials battle over diversity and inclusion.

  • A wide street with one and two-story retail buildings on a sunny day.
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    The image by Renelibrary is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
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    Guiding a small but growing city: Exemplary Public Servant John Noblitt

    The Sanger, Texas, city manager obtained more reliable electricity, worked toward a larger wastewater treatment plant and helped attract the city’s first supermarket.

  • A dome lit up in gold contrasts with the night sky.
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    Getty Images
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    Court upholds New Jersey affordable housing mandate, dismisses suit from cities

    The 27 cities vow to continue their legal challenges to the state law.

  • Four men in sutis and a woman on a stage with audience members in the foreground.
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    Dan Zukowski/Smart Cities Dive
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    How Boston transit leaders fixed a failing transit system

    The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority recovered from safety lapses that prompted the Federal Transit Administration to oversee the agency’s transit rail system in 2022.