In this commentary from Bloomberg, James S. Russell looks as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's threat to withdraw hundreds of millions of dollars worth of housing vouchers from New Orleans and the future of the city.
"In a city pummeled by government incompetence, the department's intransigence has become surreal. HUD was stopped days later because it had failed to seek required approval from the City Council, and Judge Herbert Cade of Orleans Parish Civil District Court halted most of the demolition until the council agrees to let them proceed."
"HUD has threatened to withdraw hundreds of millions of housing reconstruction dollars and thousands of rent vouchers if the council doesn't approve its plan in a meeting on Dec. 20."
"Losing the vouchers would mean that poor people entitled to live in public housing -- and no party to the controversy -- would be thrown into the street. Does the council have a choice?"
"Proponents of demolition have framed the controversy as obstructionist aesthetic elitists versus the voiceless displaced. Actually, it's about a more important issue: What kind of neighborhood will these vast tracts become?"
FULL STORY: U.S. Bureaucrats Start Bulldozing Landmark New Orleans Housing
Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.
Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?
Americans May Be Stuck — But Why?
Americans are moving a lot less than they once did, and that is a problem. While Yoni Applebaum, in his highly-publicized article Stuck, gets the reasons badly wrong, it's still important to ask: why are we moving so much less than before?
EV Chargers Now Outnumber Gas Pumps by Nearly 50% in California
Fast chargers still lag behind amidst rapid growth.
Affordable Housing Renovations Halt Mid-Air Amidst DOGE Clawbacks
HUD may rescind over a billion dollars earmarked for green building upgrades.
Has Anyone at USDOT Read Donald Shoup?
USDOT employees, who are required to go back to the office, will receive free parking at the agency’s D.C. offices — flying in the face of a growing research body that calls for pricing parking at its real value.
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