Social Justice Amid Its War on Fair Housing Protections, HUD Takes a Rare Aggressive Action Against Los Angeles HUD reached a deal with Los Angeles to improve disability access, but has left other discrimination cases unaddressed. Sophie Kasakove
Social Justice Utilities Are Threatening to Deny Service If Pro-Gas Measures Aren’t Adopted National Grid sent many New York customers an email encouraging them to contact state officials in support of pipeline construction or risk shortages. Sophie Kasakove
Social Justice Red State Governments Ban Blue Cities From Passing Bills to Make Housing Affordable Conservative statehouses have passed bills blocking cities from enacting inclusionary zoning ordinances, most recently in Florida. Sophie Kasakove
Economics Developers Aren’t Reporting How They’re Using Tax Incentives Meant for Low-Income Areas The "opportunity zones" program, established in Trump's 2017 tax bill, might be fueling gentrification and luxury developments. Sophie Kasakove
Social Justice Big Real Estate Peddles the Myth That New York Rent Control Mainly Targets Small Landlords Previously unreleased data shows private equity's stranglehold over New York City housing, and its practice of wide-scale eviction. Sophie Kasakove
Social Justice Can Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, and U.S. Cities End Exclusionary Zoning? Most U.S. cities have a housing crisis and severe racial segregation. Will a spate of new plans work to solve both problems? Sophie Kasakove
Environment Confronting Climate Change, Louisiana Shifts Toward Retreat As coastal communities succumb to sea-level rise, managing population migration and decline has become a new focus in the state. Sophie Kasakove
Social Justice Subsidies Meant for Low-Income Communities Are Paying for Luxury Developments Tax increment financing, originally meant to spur development of "blighted" neighborhoods, is now being redistributed upwards. Sophie Kasakove
Economics Congestion Pricing Passed in New York, but Can It Be a National Solution to Traffic? The failure of the subway system provided political will for the policy, but it might be harder to rally support for congestion pricing in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Boston. Sophie Kasakove
Economics Amazon Headquarters Left New York, but Will Other Developers? In Sunset Park, Brooklyn, residents are challenging a new development, charging it won't create jobs for those who currently live in the neighborhood. Sophie Kasakove