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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After D.C. Takeover, Trump Suggests Other Cities Are Next

Weeks after deploying national guard troops on the streets of L.A. to quell non-violent anti-ICE protests, President Trump this week placed about 800 D.C. National Guard troops on Washington, D.C.’s streets. In an unprecedented move, he announced temporary federal control of the Metropolitan Police Department to address a “crime emergency” in the District. In fact, violent crime is down 26% as compared to this time last year, MPD data shows.

Trump says he will ask Congress for long-term control of the capital’s police department, the Guardian reports, and has suggested that other cities — including Chicago, L.A., New York, Baltimore and Oakland – could experience takeover to crack down on crime and homelessness.

But as mayors have pointed out, crime rates have trended downwards in all of these cities. “I think it’s very notable that each and every one of the cities called out by the president has a Black mayor, and most of those cities are seeing historic lows in violent crime,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott told CNN.

Extreme Heat Has Killed More Than 400 People in this County in Arizona’s Maricopa County

Brutal summer heat has likely killed more than 400 people in Arizona’s Maricopa County this year, the Guardian reports. The Southwestern state is no stranger to heat waves and extreme temperatures, but as the climate crisis causes these elevated temperatures to stick around for longer, people are more likely to struggle with the hot weather.

The county medical examiner’s office has confirmed 17 deaths directly caused by the elevated temperatures and 18 other cases where the heat was a contributing factor. The other 369 deaths suspected of being heat-related are currently under investigation.

According to National Weather Service meteorologists, the area has broken at least three daily temperature records, including a high of 118 degrees Fahrenheit. Nighttime temperatures have also been elevated, which makes heat waves even more dangerous as households do not get any respite from the daytime heat.

Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ May Be Halted, But ‘Deportation Depot’ Is Just Getting Started

The controversial Florida immigration detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” may have to cease construction as mounting concerns over the lack of environmental oversight, the Associated Press reports. Meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced plans to open a second immigration detention facility, called “Deportation Depot,” at a state prison.

Last week, a district judge ordered a 14-day halt to additional construction on “Alligator Alcatraz” facility in the Everglades, and heard arguments this week on whether building on the wetland violated environmental laws. Native tribes and environmental groups have already sued over the facility, but Florida officials and the Trump administration claim rules for environmental review don’t currently apply.

There’s an NYC Suburb Where Rents Have Actually Gone Down

With housing becoming increasingly expensive in nearly every U.S. city, one New York City suburb has managed to cut through red tape, building thousands of apartments and lowering the area’s average rent, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Unlike other suburbs that struggle to build enough housing due to the interaction from NIMBYs, New Rochelle has managed to add more than 4,000 apartments to its housing stock in the past decade. The effort has paid off: Current rents are less than 2% higher than they were in 2020, compared to the 25% increase in rents seen in New York City. The area has achieved this because pushback does not significantly delay construction — if a residential project meets the proper criteria, officials in New Rochelle assure that it receives a 90-day approval process.

Irvine May Support Lawsuit Against ICE Sweeps

Officials in the City of Irvine, California, have said that they are looking into drafting and filing an amicus brief to support a federal lawsuit against ICE’s immigration sweeps across Southern California, the Voice of OC reports. Officials in various other locations in the state, including Santa Ana and Anaheim, have also either voted to join this lawsuit or are expected to soon.

This lawsuit was filed through the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of several people and immigrant rights organizations who have alleged that ICE officers are racially profiling people in hopes of detaining undocumented immigrants.

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MORE NEWS

• How Baltimore became a rising star in America’s worker cooperative movement. Baltimore Beat

• Gerrymandering erodes the public’s confidence in democracy, study finds. UC Riverside

• California’s Central Valley homeowners are seeing their property values sink alongside the land. Los Angeles Times

• Hong Kong’s iconic street hawkers face extinction. DW

• New York City’s energy utility is hiking up prices and disconnections as the climate crisis brings sweltering temperatures. The Guardian

• Funding for Pennsylvania’s public transit is still in limbo. WHYY

• Federal judge orders ICE to improve conditions after detainees complain of mistreatment. Associated Press

• This small German hamlet featuring innovation and collective action is the ‘smartest city’ in the world. Reasons to be Cheerful

• Immigrants are avoiding medical care out of fear of ICE raids and deportation. The City

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

• The Center for Land Economics has launched OpenAVMKit, a free and open source library for real estate mass appraisal. The tool was used to produce the center’s recent findings of Baltimore’s systematic undervaluation of vacant lots.

• Muslims for Just Futures and Sustainable Economies Law Center are launching an institute for movement leaders and lawyers to strengthen movement infrastructure and build collective responses to state repression. Apply by Aug. 25.

• Smart Growth America is accepting applications for its Community Connectors program from locally-led initiatives to reconnect communities and improve street safety. Apply by Aug. 31.

• Norfolk Southern’s Thriving Communities Grant and the Safety First Grant are accepting applications for initiatives that drive community resilience and local economic development; public safety and first responder readiness; and sustainability and workforce development. Apply by Sept. 1.

• The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund at the National Trust for Historic Preservation is accepting applications for its Preserving Black Churches grant program. Apply by Sept. 12.

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

EVENTS

• Aug. 17 at 1 p.m. Pacific: The City of Palo Alto and the Cool Cities Coalition are hosting a summit to discuss how cities can withstand the long hot summers to come.

• Aug. 27 at 1 p.m. Eastern: Next City’s Oscar Perry Abello is hosting a webinar examining how green financing entities are still looking to forge ahead, despite Trump’s attempts to claw back $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

• Sept. 4 at 5:30 p.m. Eastern: WHYY and the Free Library of Philadelphia are hosting a dialogue about the importance of green spaces in the city.

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

This post was originally published on Next City.