Will LA hotels be required to house homeless people alongside their guests?

The Responsible Hotels Ordinance, if enacted, would require every hotel in Los Angeles to report its vacancies to the municipal government.

By Noelle Mateer • Oct. 4, 2023

Building a bike-friendly city

Smart Cities Dive looked at the bike-friendly features of the top large, medium and small cities for bike riders in the U.S., as named by nonprofit People for Bikes.

By Karen Kroll • Oct. 2, 2023

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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

FEMA climate resilience grants unevenly distributed among communities

Coastal states with more “high-capacity” local governments tend to win more of the competitive BRIC grants, a Headwaters Economics analysis finds.

By Ysabelle Kempe • Sept. 27, 2023

Baltimore faces expensive road ahead for waste infrastructure

Despite pressure from advocacy groups, the city's 10-year waste plan anticipates landfill and incineration will continue to serve a key role as the city works to increase recycling.

By Jacob Wallace • Sept. 19, 2023

Forest Service unveils 385 urban forestry projects to get over $1B in grants

The Inflation Reduction Act bolstered the program's funding to more than 27 times its 2022 appropriation. Explore which states received the largest investments with our map.

By Ysabelle Kempe • Sept. 15, 2023

Extreme heat disproportionately threatens Black renters, experts say

Black renters disproportionately experience energy insecurity, which stems from an inability to pay energy bills, and federal policy falls short in addressing it, a Brookings Metro report says.

By Ysabelle Kempe • Sept. 13, 2023

Broadband affordability program enrolls 20M+ US households, most in urban areas

Some cities are advancing their own plans to bridge the digital divide using American Rescue Plan Act and other funding sources.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Sept. 12, 2023

EPA seeks advisers on ‘critical’ local government issues

The Environmental Protection Agency will pick up to five officials who represent local, state, tribal or territorial governments to serve one-year terms.

By Ysabelle Kempe • Sept. 8, 2023

How 2 big US transit agencies approach equity

Community members, small businesses and the agency's own workforce can provide crucial input to programs and projects, agency executives said.

By Dan Zukowski • Sept. 8, 2023

FEMA selects ‘disaster resilience zones’ to get priority access to federal funds

The 483 census tracts span D.C. and all 50 states. More communities will be designated as community disaster resilience zones in the coming months.

By Ysabelle Kempe • Sept. 7, 2023

Cool pavement covers this LA neighborhood. Does it make a difference?

Project partners released their findings a year into what they described as “one of the most comprehensive studies of an urban cooling intervention.” 

By Ysabelle Kempe • Sept. 5, 2023

Heat-related illness: New federal tool reveals highest-risk communities

Officials can use the online dashboard, updated weekly, to prioritize where to focus on outreach, cooling centers, street trees, parks and cool roofs, according to the Transportation Department.

By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 31, 2023

California clean vehicle rebate program expands statewide

The state's rebate incentives will help lower-income consumers access electric and fuel-cell vehicles.

By Dan Zukowski • Aug. 24, 2023

4 communities to build anti-racist data ecosystems with $5M from foundations

Pittsburgh will use the grant to include Black communities “at the point where data is first discussed, before, sometimes, even the point of data collection,” said the city’s chief data officer.

By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 23, 2023

What managed retreat around the world can teach US cities

In a future where managed retreat relocations “become more and more popular,” a Stanford University researcher’s work may hold crucial lessons.

By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 21, 2023

For emergency preparedness, Houston looks to teens

The city launched an educational campaign after identifying emergency preparedness as a top youth need in a process that led to it being named the nation’s first UNICEF-designated child-friendly city. 

By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 18, 2023

Ride-hailing vehicles must be zero-emission in NYC by 2030 under proposed rule

Uber and Lyft vehicles that are wheelchair-accessible would be exempt from the zero-emission requirement. Ride-hailing drivers worry about the cost of buying new vehicles to comply.

By Dan Zukowski • Aug. 17, 2023

Boston grants aim to lower carbon footprint of affordable housing

Building owners can get up to $10,000 each for comprehensive energy assessments.

By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 16, 2023

Extreme heat causing ‘preventable’ deaths in US cities, scientists say

Heat wave early warning and response systems “save lives,” but not enough communities have them, said an expert on the health risks of climate change.

By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 15, 2023

On environmental justice, a new blueprint for action

Chicago violated residents’ civil rights by funneling industrial facilities into communities of color, HUD determined, and the city must make things right.

By Gina Ramirez • Aug. 14, 2023

How ‘snob zoning’ blocks opportunity

Exclusionary zoning policies’ problems — and possible solutions – are on the mind of Richard Kahlenberg, author of the new book “Excluded.”

By Joan Mooney • Aug. 10, 2023

For urban cooling, forests beat street trees, landscaped parks: study

Urban natural areas are “underfunded and unprotected, leaving them imperiled in cities across the country," warns a study of 12 U.S. cities.

By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 9, 2023

How to safely store e-bikes, e-scooters in apartments

The uptick in micromobility battery fires shows electrification is "moving faster than we’re able to necessarily adapt to," a fire protection expert at an engineering consulting firm said.

By Mary Salmonsen • Aug. 3, 2023

Extreme heat merits federal major disaster status, local leaders say

Proposed federal legislation would unlock much-needed resources for local extreme heat response, say the National League of Cities and U.S. Conference of Mayors.

By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 1, 2023

Seattle downtown revitalization plan reimagines area post-pandemic

The plan aims to make downtown safer and more welcoming, but critics say it comes at a cost for people living on the streets.

By Joan Mooney • July 24, 2023