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October 26, 2018
State and local ballot measures are driving voters to the polls this fall. We are watching some key planning-related measures that could have an impact on your community.
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Land value capture — the concept behind several mechanisms to finance infrastructure, affordable housing, and other key components of urban development — was rich food for thought at the 2018 Daniel Burnham Forum on Big Ideas.
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Congressional legislation reauthorizing the FAA included important reforms that promote hazard mitigation and resiliency. The legislation marks one of the most sweeping changes to federal hazard programs in years.
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Housing issues took center stage at this year’s APA Policy and Advocacy Conference. Discussions of the nation’s housing crisis and new solutions to address housing affordability were the clear themes and focus.
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Funding for our parks, green spaces, and the National Park Service are on Congress's agenda. APA is calling on planning advocates to ensure these vital spaces and sources of funding will be protected.
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Norfolk, Virginia, is facing unique housing challenges from sea-level rise. Planners there are working to give residents more housing options in low-risk flood areas.
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July 31, 2018
Discussions about the next Farm Bill are under way, both in Congress and across the country. Learn more about this multi-year law that authorizes most federal policies governing food and agriculture.
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July 25, 2018
The current farm bill is set to expire. The House and Senate will meet to confer on bills that differ on policies for farming, land conservation, nutrition programs, planning, and rural development.
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July 24, 2018
House Transportation Chairman Bill Shuster proposes phased, temporary gas tax increases to fund infrastructure spending and an expanded grant program to fund projects.
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June 1, 2018
Congress is racing to complete as much appropriations work as possible prior to the August recess, but legislators are unlikely to avoid the need for a continuing resolution.
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May 24, 2018
The House Appropriations Committee recently approved a spending bill for transportation and housing programs that maintains some of the dramatic increases to programs made by the FY 2018 omnibus.
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The City of Grand Rapids, Michigan, revolutionized its approach to designing, maintaining, and using its streets over the past five years. A program called Vital Streets has been central to improvement and evolution of transportation in the city.
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May 16, 2018
The Farm Bill, expiring in September, is one of the few “must do” items likely to make it across the finish line before election campaign season takes over. Jason Jordan previews the fight ahead.
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May 14, 2018
Congress is gearing up to tackle housing and transportation funding questions for FY 2019. Will Congress support the administration’s cuts and return to budget austerity, or will it maintain or increase funding based on current enacted levels?
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May 14, 2018
The next round of TIGER applications is here, and with it some noteworthy changes to the popular program. Learn about new shifts in the longstanding program and their likely impact on planners.
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April 2, 2018
With the passage of the omnibus spending package, federal planning programs are fully funded through fiscal year 2018 (FY18).
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March 26, 2018
Housing affordability challenges across the nation are some of the most pressing and controversial. Learn more about California housing legislation and the role of planners.
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March 15, 2018
APA's Policy Director Jason Jordan recaps the latest congressional overtures on an infrastructure package.
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March 6, 2018
The U.S. Department of Transportation held a listening summit in Washington to preview its AV 3.0 guidance set for a summer release date.
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March 1, 2018
The deadline for states to apply for an Opportunity Zone designation is fast approaching. Planners need to act quickly to ensure that their communities do not miss out on this important opportunity.
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February 21, 2018
The President's FY 2019 budget proposal dramatically changes the core functions of HUD by eliminating all community development programs and cutting off funds for renovating and modernizing public housing.
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February 14, 2018
President Trump released his long-awaited infrastructure plan in conjunction with his FY 2019 budget proposal. While the plan pushes debate on infrastructure legislation forward, it fails to address serious funding concerns held by APA and others.
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February 13, 2018
Once again, the Trump administration has proposed eliminating federal funding for programs central to good planning. APA believes such attempts only hurt communities, and urges planning advocates to voice their support for these vital programs.
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February 13, 2018
Congress approved a two-year budget deal that will allow Congress to wrap up work on the current fiscal year 2018 spending and begin initial discussions over the upcoming 2019 fiscal year.
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February 6, 2018
Technology is rapidly expanding our transit choices, and states are taking notice. What’s new for autonomous vehicles at the state level thus far in 2018?
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January 31, 2018
APA's Director of Policy Jason Jordan recaps President Trump's first State of the Union Address, the planning issues discussed, and policy issues Congress must address in the days ahead.
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January 26, 2018
Planners have the ability to create housing options that enable citizens to be independent and to thrive at all ages. One of a series of blog posts on APA's Plan4Health webinar and seminar on “Planning Livable Communities for All Ages."
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January 25, 2018
The short-lived government shutdown has come to an end, but the underlying policy issues that led to the shutdown still have not been resolved.
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January 23, 2018
By the end of January, almost 40 state legislatures across the nation will be in session. Get in the know about key issues and players likely to affect planning during the 2018 legislative season.
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January 11, 2018
In a controversial move, HUD issued a notice effectively suspending new fair housing planning rules until 2020. APA plans to submit comments on the action.
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January 11, 2018
APA’s Healthy Communities Policy Guide identifies policy recommendations for local, state, and federally elected officials with the goal of improving community health and quality of living through planning.
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December 18, 2017
House and Senate conferees have struck a compromise agreement on tax reform. While the bill preserves most planning and development tools, long-term effects of tax reform pose new uncertainties for local planning efforts and communities.
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Reimagining the Civic Commons is a national initiative to foster engagement, equity, environmental sustainability, and economic development in our cities. APA members learned more about the initiative at the 2017 Policy and Advocacy Conference.
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December 5, 2017
Congressional leaders are hoping to complete work on tax reform before the end of the year. The quickest way to accomplish that is reconciling the differences between the House and Senate bills through the conference committee process.
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December 4, 2017
With both House and Senate tax bills passed, it is now the job of conferees to reconcile the two for a final vote on tax reform before the holiday recess. Here's what APA likes and dislikes about each bill.
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November 21, 2017
If tax reform is intended to spur economic growth and investment, it should retain historic tax credits (HTCs) — an incentive for boosting private investment in the rehabilitation of old buildings.
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November 21, 2017
Congress heads home for Thanksgiving having made significant progress on tax reform legislation. The House of Representatives passed its bill, and the Senate's legislation will head to the floor soon.
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November 10, 2017
The Senate Finance Committee released a detailed summary of its own tax reform legislation just hours after the long-awaited tax bill hit the floor in the House.
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November 6, 2017
The long-awaited tax reform legislation, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (HR 1), contains provisions that will have potentially significant impacts on housing and economic development activities.
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The 2020 Census faces severe budgetary constraints for the irreplaceable decennial count. Similar problems could be in store for other Census Bureau activities, including the American Community Survey and the already delayed Economic Census.
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At Planners' Day on Capitol Hill 2017, planning advocates urged their representatives to support programs that benefit communities.
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September 26, 2017
Ryan Avent spoke about rising inequalities in the nation in his luncheon keynote at the 2017 APA Policy and Advocacy Conference.
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Richard Florida urges a switch from from winner-take-all urbanism to urbanism-for-all at APA's Policy and Advocacy Conference.
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Federal data, smart cities, and civic innovation was the focus of the 2017 Daniel Burnham Forum on Big Ideas.
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Representative Nanette Diaz Barragán recently introduced the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program Act of 2017, a bill that would codify funding for the development of urban parks, green spaces, and recreational areas in communities across the country.
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July 11, 2017
Congress moves on the Budget and Appropriations Process, but uncertainty still looms for Fiscal Year 2018.
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Bipartisan legislation introduced in the House would increase investment in urban and community parks across the country.
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There is a real concern that the 2020 Census will be underfunded and unable to deliver the type of data needed for the nation and its communities.
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May 24, 2017
APA's coverage of the President Trump's full budget proposal for FY 2018: it shifts $54 billion away from critical domestic programs and makes a devastating disinvestment in the nation’s communities.
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A wrap-up of the themes that engaged more than 6,300 attendees at the 2017 National Planning Conference in New York.
