The Latest

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    Bipartisan federal housing bill becomes law

    Widely championed by municipal groups, the bill provides more federal housing funding and new financing tools and could ease some regulatory burdens.

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    Courtesy of Governor Kathy Hochul/Flickr
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    Faster buses, more reduced fares goal of New York city, state agreements

    More automated camera enforcement of bus lane infractions also will come from agreements between New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

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    Permission granted by Vashon Jordan Jr./Chicago Office of the Mayor
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    With extreme rainfall overwhelming Chicago’s sewers, the city tries a new approach

    A $12 million pilot for underground stormwater storage targets flooding in historically underserved neighborhoods.

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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    $1.1 trillion a year in federal funding at risk in proposed OMB grant overhaul, municipal leaders warn

    Local officials are urged to comment before July 13 on a regulatory change that would expand agencies’ power to cancel grants and alter how they manage annual funding.

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    Permission granted by Dan Zukowski
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    Tracker

    Robotaxis: The latest developments

    Waymo will add four more cities but awaits a permit to operate in Washington, D.C.

    Updated July 10, 2026
  • Two brown DSNY organics collection bins on the side of a street
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    The image by Tdorante10 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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    NYC commercial composting requirements could grow under new law

    Waste officials could expand organics diversion requirements if they find sufficient processing capacity and costs competitive with landfilling or incineration.

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    Alex Wong via Getty Images
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    $1.73B for roads, bridges, transit and other projects allocated in USDOT awards

    More than three-quarters of grants went to road and bridge projects, while public transit received less than 10% of total award funds.

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    Getty Images
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    Election security requirements added to FEMA homeland security grants

    The agency is requiring states and “high-risk urban election jurisdictions” to use paper ballots and verify voter citizenship. Previous immigration and diversity-related restrictions have sparked state and local government lawsuits.

  • RTW, return to work, California RTW mandate, Adam Morgan, Bureau
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    California return-to-office mandate puts state buildings to the test

    As more than 100,000 state employees shift to four in-office days, experts say the bigger question is whether government offices are designed for how people work today.

  • People walking on a plaza to and from a glass-front building with a sign reading "Brightline."
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    Courtesy of Brightline Florida
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    Brightline Florida rail company faces bankruptcy

    Despite strong ridership on the Miami-Orlando, Florida, rail line, the company’s $5.5 billion debt puts its future in doubt.

  • People standing and swimming in the water at a beach.
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    Spencer Platt/ via Getty Images
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    Extreme heat road map urges cities to rethink resilience

    Treat extreme heat as a chronic risk, the Federation of American Scientists says. It offers solutions ranging from grid resilience to cooling access.

    Updated July 8, 2026
  • Aierial view of the planned Sky Castle apartment building in Los Angeles.
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    Courtesy of Kennedy Wilson
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    LA to get 4,000 affordable housing units via adaptive reuse, new construction

    The former LA World Trade Center will be converted into 512 affordable units to kick off the effort.

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    Permission granted by Frederick County, Maryland
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    Nominate a project for the 2026 Smart Cities Dive Community Project Awards

    The awards will highlight innovation and effective use of technology to solve real community problems.

  • A sign reading "road closed" on a flooded road with damaged homes behind.
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    Scott Olson via Getty Images
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    Resilience projects need funding. Green banks could help them reach new investors, one researcher says.

    A hybrid institutional capital model could package small infrastructure resilience projects to make them attractive to institutional investors, a new research paper proposes.

  • In January 2022, Waterton acquired Oasis Townhomes in Waipahu, HI, an 18-acre townhome community with 406 rental residences across 99 two-story garden style buildings which more than doubled Waterton’
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    Permission granted by Waterton
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    4 takeaways from the NLIHC national renter survey

    Many renters facing unaffordable rents lack other housing options, according to the 2025 National Renter Survey by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

  • A person in a yellow rain covering pulls a cart in front of tents on a sidewalk
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    Mario Tama/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    $900M in homelessness funding restored to California local governments

    The state nearly doubled its prior proposal to fund a program that city leaders have called “the backbone of the state’s local homelessness response system.”

  • People dressed for work stand at a train station as an electric-powered train pulls in.
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    Courtesy of Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District
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    Electric commuter rail line extension aims to bring economic benefits to northern Indiana

    A branch of the South Shore Line, the Monon Corridor is expected to generate $2.7 billion in private investment to northwestern Indiana when combined with another completed project.

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    New critical infrastructure cybersecurity framework features government, regional council options

    The Trump administration has said it wants to push more cybersecurity resilience responsibilities to the state and local levels.

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    Adam Gray via Getty Images
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    World Cup drives record public transit ridership in US match cities

    Transit agencies in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Seattle are reporting new highs in ridership on certain game days.

  • A blue tent on a city street with a view of skyscrapers in the background
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    Getty Images
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    Judge rules against HUD’s ‘rapid, untimely overhaul’ of homeless funding

    Although the agency’s “hastily” made changes were deemed procedurally incorrect, the court denied a request to block anti-housing-first policy changes in the next round of Continuum of Care grants.

  • A white, red and black aircraft with six propellers parked on an apron.
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    Courtesy of Toyota Motor Corp.
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    Joby, Toyota form electric air taxi joint venture

    The new entity aims to support the certification and commercial production of Joby’s eVTOL aircraft. The companies' strategic alliance has been in the works since 2024.

  • Construction workers high up on large pedestals with cranes nearby.
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    Courtesy of Justin Chechourka/California High-Speed Rail Authority
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    Will US high-speed rail projects ever leave the station?

    California’s San Francisco-Los Angeles project looks to the private sector for help, but other privately funded projects are struggling.

    Updated July 2, 2026
  • California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Discounted AI services coming to California cities, counties as state partners with Anthropic

    Local governments in California will receive a 50% discount on Claude, the company’s AI productivity assistant, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced.

  • People using equipment and walking around in an outdoor fitness station covered with a large fabric shade with a grassy field behind them
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    Getty Images
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    Aging, mobility and resilience projects get $8.3M from AARP

    Fast-track projects ranging from safer streets and transit access to home-sharing and disaster preparedness were among those funded at a record level this year. 

  • A large round machine with cutting wheels on its green face inside an industrial building.
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    Courtesy of Gateway Program
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    Hudson Tunnel funding restored by federal court

    Construction of the $16 billion project in New York and New Jersey can now continue. The Trump administration froze its funding, causing work to briefly stop in February.