Welcome back to The Weekly Wrap, our Friday roundup of stories that explain the problems oppressing people in cities and elevate the solutions that bring us closer to economic, environmental and social justice.

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The EPA Has Ruled to Get Rid of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Rules for Large, Industrial Polluters

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Administrator Lee Zeldin proposed a rule last week to end its Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, Smart Cities Dive reports. This rule requires over 8,000 facilities and suppliers in the country — mostly refineries, power plants, oil wells and landfills — to report their greenhouse gas emissions every year without penalty.

The EPA is arguing that this annual reporting isn’t mandated by the Clean Air Act and that being forced to report their emissions hurts businesses and “[drives] up cost of living.” Despite the pushback, the reporting program has been an effective strategy to lower pollution levels: Since the EPA began collecting this data in 2008, these facilities have reported a 20% decrease in emissions. This move is one of many deregulation tactics by the current administration, erasing Biden- and Obama-era environmental protections.

US DOT is Pulling Grants For Projects That Don’t Focus on Cars

Communities are seeing their federal grants that aren’t based on public transportation being taken away by the Trump administration, Streetsblog USA reports.

The grants being cut by the Department of Transportation were aimed at improving pedestrian and cycling infrastructure. This includes a bike trail alongside Route 66 in McLean County, Illinois; a biking and walking trail along the Naugatuck River in Connecticut; and a extending the rail trail in Albuquerque. Grantees have been instructed to instead focus on projects that promote travel by car.

These three projects were funded under the Biden administration, and local officials have been concerned for months that these grants would be revoked. In April, the department warned applicants to the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program that infrastructure projects that reduced lane capacity for cars were less desirable.

Trump Plans To End Forest Protections for Logging and Mining

The Trump administration plans to end protections for about 45 million acres of national forest, Capital and Main reports. The government plans to allow the construction of roads, logging and mining on swaths of public land that do not have many roads.

Government officials have called the Roadless Rule, which has protected public lands from logging and road construction, too “restrictive.” Ending this protection will benefit the timber industry, but it will hurt conservation throughout the country.

Some officials have argued that this would support quicker responses to wildfires. But Capital and Main reports that a former fire chief in the Forest Service says otherwise. A study from the Wilderness Society found that forested areas that are 50 meters from roads experience almost four times more wildfire ignitions than forested areas without roads.

California Pushes to Build Denser Housing Near Transit Hubs

California’s legislature voted 21-8 last week to pass Senate Bill 79, the Abundant & Affordable Homes Near Transit Act, with Gov. Gavin Newsom to either sign or veto the bill by early October.

California will likely build denser, multifamily housing near its highest-capacity transit hubs throughout the state even if zoning laws restrict more housing, Smart Cities Dive reports. If signed, SB 79 will focus on counties in California that have at least 15 passenger rail stations. This includes San Mateo, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Santa Clara, Sacramento and Alameda.

“Building more homes in our most sustainable locations is the key to tackling the affordability crisis,” State Sen. Scott Wiener said in a press release. “Decades of overly restrictive policies have driven housing costs to astronomical levels, forcing millions of people away from jobs and transit and into long commutes.”

Public Schools Left Struggling Amid Trump Admin Funding Chaos

U.S. public school districts received emails in late June notifying that they would lose millions in federal funding, with the Trump administration freezing a $7 billion pot of promised funding, The Guardian reports. “I had teachers crying, staff members crying. They thought they were going to lose their jobs a week before school,” one Phoenix superintendent told The Guardian.

Schools struggled to keep running and to avoid staff layoffs until some of the funding was reinstated in late July after public outcry and a lawsuit that forced the administration to unfreeze funds. Still, school leaders say they can’t rely on government funding anymore: the current House budget proposal would cut federal funds for disabled students and schools serving low-income students, and Department of Education grants addressing teacher shortages and disability services have also been cut.

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MORE NEWS

• Officials in the Philippines’ Transit Department must take public transportation once a week to better serve commuters. The Inquirer

• The Commanders are returning to Washington D.C. as officials approve $3.7 billion stadium. Bloomberg

• This profit-sharing agreement might change how mining affects Indigenous communities. Grist

• Oregon delays voting on its bill to fund public transportation. Oregon Public Broadcasting

• Immigration advocates ask Pennsylvania governor to end state partnership with ICE. WHYY

• Deploying the National Guard to D.C. has cost around $200 million. USA Today

• After devastating wildfires, L.A. is turning to at-risk youth to help rebuild. Reuters

• Study: State and local officials can ensure that urban spaces lead the way to build resilience against extreme heat. Smart Cities Dive

• Waymo wants to offer self-driving robotaxis as public transit, starting with Arizona. The Verge

• Trump continues to threaten to send troops to Chicago. CBS News

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

• The Social Innovation Lab at the John Hopkins University is accepting applications from Baltimore-area leaders and ventures building sustainable solutions for a better world. Apply by Sept. 27.

• The Ford Foundation’s NYC Good Neighbor Committee is accepting applications from community-based organizations working on education, human services, arts and culture in New York City. Apply by Sept. 30.

• Hinkley Allen is accepting applications from small nonprofits for its social justice partnership program. Apply by Sept. 30.

• The National Geographic Society is accepting applications to fund innovative projects that make farms, farming communities and natural ecosystems more resilient to the realities of climate change and extreme weather. Apply by Sept. 30.

• Project for Public Spaces is accepting applications from nonprofits and public agencies seeking to transform a street or mobility hub into a community gathering place that improves street safety and mobility in Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas. Attend a Sept. 22 info session and apply by Oct. 13.

• Envision Resilience is offering funding to university-affiliated design studios to support curricula centered on adaptive design solutions to the challenges of a warming planet in their communities. Apply by Oct. 17.

• Check out Next City’s jobs board for new opportunities.

EVENTS

• Sept. 23 at 1 p.m. Eastern: Next City is hosting a panel with urbanists from across transportation planning, public health, legal empowerment and cultural policy to discuss innovative programs, projects and research that leverage culture in other areas.

• Sept. 25 at 5:30 p.m. Eastern: Urban Institute is holding a hybrid panel event on the promise and challenges of using emerging financial technology for estate planning to preserve generational wealth for vulnerable homeowners.

• Check out events from Next City and our partners here!

This post was originally published on Next City.