A new city office brings together resources to offer wrap-around services and housing to the most vulnerable residents.
A New Orleans city office launched last year has helped the city place more unhoused residents in housing and link them to supportive services. According to an article by Carl Smith in Governing, staff at the Office of Homeless Services and Strategy were tasked with developing a strategic plan for reducing homelessness and connecting residents to services.
“With the help of a $15 million grant from HUD and other funding sources, the city has managed to clear out three encampments — and then place the individuals who’d been living in them into housing.” The city works with UNITY of Greater New Orleans and local hospitals and universities to provide housing and wrap-around services to ensure people remain in stable housing.
Smith notes that New Orleans has a history of successful efforts to reduce homelessness. In 2015, the city became the first in the nation to end veteran homelessness. Today, the unhoused population is roughly 1,300, with two-thirds of unhoused people living in shelters.
FULL STORY: New Orleans Has Achieved a 12 Percent Reduction in Its Unsheltered Population
Florida Passes Outdoor Sleeping Ban
Florida is the latest state to pass legislation barring unhoused people from sleeping or camping on public property.
A Decade of Progress on Homelessness in Milwaukee County
Unlike most U.S. communities, Milwaukee County has managed to make significant progress toward assisting unhoused residents through a Housing First approach.
San Diego Housing Assistance, Homelessness Programs Facing Major Cuts
Programs supported by federal and state programs are on the brink of losing funding, putting thousands of homeless and at-risk residents in jeopardy.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research