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.

If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe.

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Corporations Own More and More Residential Land, Study Says

Corporations now own 8.9% of residential land across 500 counties in the U.S., according to a new study by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and the Center for Geospatial Solutions.

The report notes that though corporations own about 1 in 11 residential parcels, or just less than 10%, that ownership is higher than 20% in some communities in Missouri, Virginia, St. Louis and more. This rate of ownership has increased significantly since 2001.

Communities that have higher rates of corporate ownership often see increases in rental prices throughout the country, researchers note, with rent hikes often happening at a faster rate as compared to smaller landlords. Company ownership also tends to increase the rate of eviction: The study found that these owners were two or three times more likely to evict tenants who missed rent. Small landlords were more likely to give a grace period and work with tenants.

With Right to Counsel Laws Growing, Law Schools Are Expanding Focus on Tenant Rights

A survey of 81 law schools across the country finds that 63% now offer a housing justice or tenants’ rights clinic, and 84% of clinics provide direct representation to tenants facing eviction, according to a new report from New York Law School’s Housing Justice Leadership Institute.

About 60% of these clinics were launched after 2017 – when New York City passed its first-in-the-nation Right to Counsel law, guaranteeing tenants a free attorney in housing court and creating a blueprint for 26 jurisdictions to adopt similar laws in the seven years since. Researchers say this shows more growth in this period than in the previous five decades combined.

About 64% of law schools surveyed also reported partnerships with legal service, tenant advocacy or housing policy organizations.

“Law schools are stepping up to meet a growing need, but the gap remains significant,” says report author Erica Braudy, coordinator of NYLS’s Housing Rights Clinic and deputy director of the Housing Unit at Manhattan Legal Services. “To truly sustain the Right to Counsel, we need every law school investing in clinics, paid internships, and career pathways that prepare students for housing justice work.”

Trump Administration Wants To Block SNAP in Blue States

The Trump administration is planning to block SNAP funding to Democratic-led states if they do not share information about the benefit recipients to the federal government, the Washington Post reports.

As of this week, 29 states and territories have sent the federal government that data, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said. However, Minnesota, New York, California and several other states have refused to do so. Some governments, like that of the District of Columbia, have sued the Department of Agriculture claiming that the request for data is unlawful.

The federal government claims that having data will help them stop fraud and waste, while critics argue that this is another tactic from the Trump administration to stop funding food assistance. The SNAP program is paid for in part by the federal government, and the other half of funding comes from individual states. But it’s still unclear if the White House has the authority to stop paying for the food assistance program.

Local Governments and Nonprofits Are Suing HUD Over Homelessness Grants

Eleven nonprofits and local governments sued the Department of Housing and Urban Development this week, arguing that the department illegally cancelled grants that aimed to tackle homelessness in the country, Smart Cities Dive reports.

Last month, HUD rescinded Continuum of Care grants that were already previously approved, and slashed permanent housing funds by two thirds. The governments and organizations that are recipients of these grants will now have to meet the Trump administration’s anti-DEI criteria, a move that the plaintiffs are calling unlawful.

These changes can displace up to 170,000 people throughout the country. The City of Boston, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, stands to lose $29 million that was supposed to fund permanent supportive housing projects. This loss, caused by HUD’s decision, could leave more than 1,100 people homeless, city officials warn.

ICE Targets Somali Immigrants in the Twin Cities

Following Trump’s racist tirade against Minnesota’s Somali diaspora and announcement of plans to revoke their Temporary Protected Status, federal immigration authorities are targeting Minnesota’s Somali immigrants for an aggressive enforcement operation, Sahan Journal reports.

Newly re-elected Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey responded by signing an order this week banning federal and local agencies from using city-owned lots, ramps and garages for civil immigration operations.

Though it focuses on undocumented Somalis, others without a legal status are likely going to be affected as well, the New York Times reports. “They seem to be targeting anybody who looks to them to be a Somali person,” one immigration attorney in Minneapolis told Sahan Journal. An estimated 100 officers and agents have been brought into the region from around the U.S. to support this mass detention operation.

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MORE NEWS

• San Francisco is going to sue companies that sell ultraprocessed foods. The New York Times

• Boston is experimenting with stacking homes on top of city libraries. The Christian Science Monitor

• San Francisco supervisors pass rezoning plan, making way for taller, denser housing. KQED

• NYC nonprofits are going to see even more federal funding cuts. Gothamist

• Ulster County HomeShare program matches residents to spare rooms for affordable housing options. The River

• Traffic congestion increased in many U.S. cities this year. Smart Cities Dive

• New England is warming faster than any other region on earth. The Guardian

• D.C. Council unanimously approves 11th Street Bridge Park land transfer. PoPville

• Americans in rural communities will struggle to heat their homes this winter. Daily Yonder

• Fresno gears up to close dozens of smoke shops after legal win. Fresnoland

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

• The Philanthropic Impact Fund at Vanguard Charitable is accepting applications for grants from mission driven organizations focusing on AI integration, educating donors, and narratives around the nonprofit sector. Apply by Dec. 8.

• City Thread Accelerated Mobility Playbook Technical Assistance Grant is open to applications from cities and community advocates looking to take transportation projects from concept to fruition. Apply by Dec. 31.

• The Peace Development Fund is providing grants of $3,000 to $7,000 for community organizing projects in Mexico, the United States and Haiti. Apply by Jan. 31, 2026.

• The Climate Smart Communities Initiative has launched a grants competition for funding and assistance to support community-based climate resilience in vulnerable communities. Apply by March 12, 2026.

• The Sparkplug Foundation is offering grants to support early-stage programs that focus on music programs, community organizing and education. Apply by May 22, 2026.

• The Draper Richards Kaplan is providing up to $300,000 in grant funding or investment capital over a three-year period to organizations that are working to tackle environmental justice issues. Apply on a rolling basis.

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

EVENTS

• Dec. 1 to Dec 14 from 12 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. Eastern: Join Next City for the ‘Place & Power’ film series on housing and collective action. Learn more about the experiences behind our housing crisis and what housing justice can look like in the U.S.

• Dec. 10 at 1 p.m. Eastern: Urban Institute is holding a virtual workshop on how local leaders can use data to inform strategic priorities in their community.

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

This post was originally published on Next City.

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.

If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe.

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Iowa City’s Free Buses Cleared Up Traffic and the Air

In August 2023, Iowa City eliminated its bus fare. The two-year pilot noticeably lowered rates of driving, successfully increased bus ridership and lowered local emissions, the New York Times reports.

The program was so popular that city council voted this summer to renew the program for another year, funded by by raising the price of public parking rates from $1 to $2 and through a 1% increase in utility taxes.

People in Iowa City drove a reported more than 1.8 million fewer miles in the area thanks to the free bus program, and bus drivers have reported an easier time driving through the city streets. Small businesses have especially championed the pilot since it has connected parts of the city, including its downtown area.

Santa Fe Ties Minimum Wage to Rental Costs

The Albuquerque Journal reports that the Santa Fe City Council voted 5-2 this week to raise its minimum wage from $15 an hour to $17.50 in 2027, based on the Consumer Price Index and rental prices.

Santa Fe appears to be the first U.S. city to account for the cost of housing when calculating minimum wage, says University of New Mexico professor Reilly S. White, who consulted on the ordinance. This will also factor into future minimum wage increases.

“We investigated six different minimum wage scenarios,” White told the Albuquerque Journal. “The one proposed ended up being adopted and is based both on CPI, or Consumer Price Index, as well as the price of housing. That’s a novel approach because we typically see minimum wages across the country based on CPI alone.”

Food Banks Are Facing Rising Demand

Already strained from an increase of visitors, food banks are facing even higher demand for meals going into the end of year holiday season, NPR reports.

Some of the demand is coming from the recently-ended government shutdown, which temporarily cut off families from their SNAP benefits, as well as new work requirements around eligibility. Government workers who were not paid for weeks are catching up on bills and also need assistance. Other factors have also increased the number of people looking to food banks for support including rising costs on household goods, and mass layoffs from both the government and the private sector.

“More people will lose benefits and they will increasingly need to turn to the charitable food sector, and that will turn need up again and again and again as those changes go into effect,” says Linda Nageotte, the president of Feeding America, according to NPR.

The Trump Administration Wants to Screw Over Public Transit

The Trump administration wants Congress to eliminate billions of federal dollars slated for public transportation systems across the country, Streetsblog reports. If this comes to fruition, Republican-led states are most likely to be impacted.

According to a report from Politico, the White House has advanced two proposals that would remove $30 billion from transit agencies. Through the first proposal, Congress would seek to pass a federal transportation bill that will exclude mass transit from the Highway Trust Fund. This fund has reserved about 20% of gas tax dollars for transit agencies. The second proposal Congress would seek to remove states’ rights to use highway funding for public transit.

These proposals will only make commuting harder. If federal funding for public transit is severely depleted, car crashes and traffic congestion is likely to increase throughout the nation. Commuters will also have to rely on the country’s crumbling highway system.

ICE Set To Head to New Orleans Next

Immigration enforcement agents have a new target after several days of chaos and protest in North Carolina: They’re heading to New Orleans, NBC News reports.

Officials with the Department of Homeland Security have been in contact with officials in Louisiana in preparation for immigration raids to come. According to NBC, a DHS official stated that the sweeps will likely not occur until after Thanksgiving, but the department is preparing ahead of time. This is likely part of an operation that will target both Louisiana and Mississippi.

According to a report from the Associated Press, DHS aims to arrest about 5,000 undocumented people in the coming weeks. They’re calling this the “Swamp Sweep.”

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MORE NEWS

• Communities throughout the U.S. are saying no to data centers. Wired

• Pedestrian deaths have surged amid neglect and lack of investment. The Washington Post

• Over 30,000 students were absent from school to protest ICE raids in North Carolina. WECT

• There was no place for his family to sit. Now the ‘Bench Mench’ has installed 22 benches in Indianapolis. Smart Cities Dive

• Black American families pay more for heating compared to the average family in the U.S. The Conversation

• New York is curbing e-bike fire risk with battery swapping stations. Gothamist

• After a yearlong battle, hundreds have been evicted from Florida’s Li’l Abner Mobile Home Park. Prism

• A federal judge says no to Texas Republican’s plans to redistrict the state. The Texas Tribune

• Virginia’s Episcopal bishop says diocese identified sources for $10M reparations fund. Religion News Service

• Starbucks workers are on strike in over 40 cities throughout the U.S. The Guardian

• Chicago Doordash users will likely get credits after a $18M settlement. NBC Chicago

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

• The Urban Justice Center is offering an accelerator for start-up or early stage organizations that focus on social justice. Apply by Dec. 1.

• The Climate Smart Communities Initiative has launched a grants competition for funding and assistance to support community-based climate resilience in vulnerable communities. Apply by March 12, 2026.

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

EVENTS

• Dec. 1 to Dec 14 from 12 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. Eastern: Join Next City for the ‘Place & Power’ film series on housing and collective action. Learn more about the experiences behind our housing crisis and what housing justice can look like in the U.S.

• Dec 3 at 1 p.m. Eastern: Join a virtual Q&A with the voices, directors, and filmmakers behind the Place & Power film series. You’ll learn more about four of the films in the series.

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

This post was originally published on Next City.

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.

If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe.

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NY Bail Reform Has Reduced Recidivism, Study Finds

A recent study on New York’s 2019 bail reforms shows that eliminating cash bail for misdemeanors and most nonviolent felonies has driven recidivism rates down in New York City’s suburbs and upstate, Hell Gate NYC reports.

An analysis by the Data Collaborative for Justice at John Jay College tracked people for a 50-month period after their arrest to see if they would be arrested again. They found that people were less likely to be arrested again in the last few years post-bail reform compared to before: 57% of people released without bail were re-arrested before 2020, as compared to 66% the year prior for those who had bail set against them.

People released under bail reform were also less likely to be rearrested on more serious crimes. Following reforms, 33% of people arrested on felony charges and 20% of those arrested on violent felony charges were rearrested – down from 40% and 25%, respectively, before bail reform.

Zillow Is Being Sued for Pressuring Homebuyers into Using Their Mortgages

Zillow is facing a lawsuit for allegedly incentivizing agents affiliated with the platform to pressure homebuyers into using its mortgages, the Seattle Times reports. Though the company is known for its digital real estate listings, it also functions as a lending agency and a brokerage.

An Alaska homebuyer, who filed the lawsuit this month through the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, claims that her Zillow-affiliated agent led her to believe her only option was to take out a loan through Zillow Home Loans.

Attorneys argue that Zillow-affiliated agents have been directing clients toward preapproval with Zillow Home Loans in exchange for customer leads, in violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and Washington Consumer Protection Act.

St. Paul and Environmental Groups Sue Over Canceled Federal Energy Grants

The City of St. Paul, Minnesota, joined clean energy and environmental groups in suing the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Department of Energy this week in hopes of restoring more than $7 billion in clean energy grants that were canceled last month, Smart Cities Dive reports.

“Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled,” Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought posted on X in October. Grants were cancelled for over a dozen states including New York, New Jersey and California. The lawsuit claims that partisan politics played a role in the cancelation, and that the 16 states mentioned have Democratic senators and overwhelmingly voted for Trump’s Democratic opponent in the 2024 elections.

Meanwhile, St. Paul also joined Chicago in suing the Department of Justice this week in hopes of preventing the federal government from imposing new conditions on the Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Program (COPS) grant, Smart Cities Dive reports. These new grant conditions include preventing local governments from limiting information-sharing with federal immigration authorities; requiring grantees to forgo any DEI programs deemed unlawful by the federal administration; banning grant funds from “directly or indirectly” supporting educational institutions that require students receive Covid-19 vaccinations, promote gender ideology and advance DEI and environmental justice.

San Diego County Will Test Health Monitors on Inmates

After several in-custody deaths, San Diego County’s Sheriff’s Office is launching a pilot where jail inmates wear biometric devices to monitor their health, Governing reports.

The devices, described as similar to a smartwatch, will regularly check vital signs like heart rate and respiration and alert medical staff of rapid changes in someone’s condition. Local officials say the pilot will begin with a small group of volunteers who are described as medically vulnerable. Law enforcement officials and privacy groups have urged for strict rules on data use and retention.

It’ll Take a While Before Air Travel Gets Back to Normal

The federal government shutdown has officially ended after 43 days, creating chaos and major delays at airports throughout the country as federal employees worked without pay. But conditions for air travel remain uncertain, NBC News reports, and it’s unclear when paychecks will be restored for those workers.

It is also unclear when flight schedules will go back to normal after the Federal Aviation Administration was forced to restrict flights at high-traffic airports. Though it is still the first official week since the shutdown ended, thousands of flights were delayed on Thursday and more than a thousand were cancelled, according to FlightAware.

The chaos has left its mark on local and regional economies. Tourism rates have taken a hit in Las Vegas, Hawaiʻi and beyond, and hotels, restaurants and taxi drivers have seen less business nationwide.

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MORE NEWS

• Vancouver mayor plans to eliminate the city’s climate and sustainability department. National Observer

• Los Angeles looks to cap rent increases on rent-stabilized units. Los Angeles Times

• The need for food assistance will continue after the government shutdown ends. NPR

• Pro-Palestine nonprofits are struggling financially after being defunded for their stance. Prism

• California defunds its popular e-bike incentive program. Smart Cities Dive

• Cities issue bonds at record pace. Marketplace

• Black-owned farms have worked to fill in the gap left by SNAP. Capital B

• New foreclosures jump 20% in October, a sign of more distress in the housing market. CNBC

• Progressive newcomer Katie Wilson is Seattle’s new mayor, portending a shift on public safety and homelessness. Bolts

• This map showcases major flooding blind spots throughout Miami. Miami Herald

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

• Lime Rock New Energy is offering a fellowship for graduate students interested in learning about how to lead impact-focused investment funds. Apply by Nov. 16.

• The Urban Justice Center is offering an accelerator for start-up or early stage organizations that focus on social justice. Apply by Dec. 1.

• The Climate Smart Communities Initiative has launched a grants competition for funding and assistance to support community-based climate resilience in vulnerable communities. Apply by March 12, 2026.

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

EVENTS

• Nov. 17 at noon Pacific: California YIMBY and Lambda Alpha International look at how deposit reform can help finance the next wave of homeownership.

• Nov. 19 at 10 a.m. Pacific: UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation hosts a virtual discussion examining the California housing supply legislation that will go into effect in 2026.

• Nov. 20 at 1 p.m. Eastern: The Environmental Law & Policy Center, Alliance of the Southeast and Friends of the Parks examine a successful community campaign to prevent a proposed toxic waste dump.

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

This post was originally published on Next City.

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.

If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe.

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States Band Together to Sue Trump Over SNAP Benefit Cuts

Governors and attorneys general of 25 states and the District of Columbia have jointly sued the Trump administration this week as the government refuses to continue funding SNAP benefits during the ongoing government shutdown, the New York Times reports.

One in eight Americans rely on USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, also known as food stamps. Once these benefits run out on Nov. 1, more than 40 million aid recipients will face hunger and financial struggles during a year with rising grocery prices.

The USDA maintains a reserve to cover emergencies that lawmakers argue can be used; California’s Attorney General, one of the plaintiffs, says he believes the USDA may have up to $6 billion available. The USDA issued a memo outlining that the contingency fund is for emergencies and not for continuing regular SNAP benefits. If the lawsuit filed this week prevails, it would force the department to use the emergency funding and provide benefits to residents of the states involved in the lawsuit.

Gun Violence Prevention Groups Lose Funding Under Trump

The Department of Justice has disqualified gun violence prevention nonprofits and community-based organizations from applying for a key federal grant on gun violence prevention, The Guardian reports.

The Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative was created in 2022 to help community groups nationwide address violence. Before Trump came back into office, nonprofits, state and local governments, and community-based organizations could apply for grants under the initiative. Now, only city, county and tribal governments are allowed to apply.

This isn’t the first blow to gun prevention under this administration: In January, Trump dismantled the White House office of gun violence prevention. His administration also removed the former surgeon general’s advisory declaring gun violence as a public health issue from the Department of Health and Human Services’ website. The U.S. has experienced around 340 mass shootings this year.

Fewer Children Are Living With Lead Poisoning in Cleveland

Signal Cleveland reports that lead poisoning rates among young children in Cleveland have fallen in the last two years, following a range of efforts to make the city’s housing supply lead-safe.

The rate of children under six who tested positive for high blood lead levels is now at a low of 15.8%, though advocates say that’s still quite high compared to other cities in the so-called “lead belt.”

But local officials and advocates say it’s a signal that collaboration between local governments, health systems and grassroots groups – including a 2019 law requiring landlords who own homes built pre-1978 to get their properties certified as lead-safe, the city increasing its lead-safe certification requirements, local advocates raising funds to help property owners meet these requirements, and a health nonprofit funding more lead poisoning testing for youth – are working.

Cities and States Are Stepping Up To Feed SNAP Recipients

City and state governments are mobilizing political action and funding to feed residents who will lose SNAP benefits in November, Smart Cities Dive reports.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors sent a letter urging the USDA Secretary to “utilize all available resources, including the SNAP contingency fund,” to ensure people receive benefits.

Some areas have revived Covid-era programs. For example, Missouri will restart CoMoHelps, a collaboration between the city of Columbia, Boone County, the Heart of Missouri United Way, the Community Foundation of Central Missouri and the Veterans United Foundation.

States have mobilized, too. Virginia created the Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance program, which will use surplus money to fund benefits through at least November. California recently announced that the state is providing up to $80 million for local food banks.

Local organizations are also pivoting to meet the need, as we report from Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood this week. Keep an eye out for upcoming reporting from rural Kentucky on how local mutual aid efforts are working to fill in the gaps.

ICE Is Holding People in Secret Rooms, Violating Agency Policy

ICE is increasingly holding detained immigrants in secretive holding facilities for days or even weeks at a time, the Guardian reports. People are held there before they are released or transferred to other facilities.

These small rooms do not have beds or windows and are not intended to be used for several days. According to The Guardian’s investigation, some facilities have seen a 600% detention length increase.

ICE policies previously banned detaining people for more than 12 hours in these small holding rooms. According to a memo from June, the rule was waived, saying that anyone recently arrested by the agency could be held in those rooms for up to three days. Because there is so little insight in the agency, there’s no guarantee people aren’t being held for longer after being detained.

As Next City reported last month, Portland has used revelations of a local ICE facility’s alleged illegal detentions to issue a land use violation notice to the agency. The building’s private owner has since filed a request for administrative review, calling the notice “unlawful selective enforcement with a clear discriminatory motive and unlawful political retaliation.” The land use violation process has now been paused.

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MORE NEWS

• Redlining throughout the U.S. is a worse problem than banks like to admit. American Banker

• Corporate investors have purchased 25% of houses in Philadelphia in the last 6 years. The Philadelphia Tribune

• Can NYC’s buses actually be faster and free? The New York Times

• A third of community-serving nonprofits lost government funding in early 2025. The Chronicle of Philanthropy

• An obscure military program helps local cops buy armored cars and spyware. It might balloon under Trump. The Intercept

• California’s high speed rail project CEO is trying to get back on track. Smart Cities Dive

• How do you move a village? Residents of France’s last outpost in North America try to outrun the sea. The Guardian

• Heavy rainfall and widespread flooding shuts down part of NYC’s public transit. Gothamist

• Small stores and other small businesses will feel the squeeze once SNAP benefits are cut. NPR

• The majority of Americans blame Trump for the ongoing shutdown. The Washington Post

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

• DEADLINE TODAY: Voqal Partners is accepting applications from community social justice leaders working toward solutions for inequality throughout America. Apply by Oct. 31.

• The Black Solidarity Economy Fund is open to applications for Black-led and Black-serving organizations building regional solidarity economy ecosystems controlled by the people they serve. Apply by Nov. 3.

• Lime Rock New Energy is offering a fellowship for graduate students interested in learning about how to lead impact-focused investment funds. Apply by Nov. 16.

• The Urban Justice Center is offering an accelerator for start-up or early stage organizations that focus on social justice. Apply by Dec. 1.

• The Climate Smart Communities Initiative has launched a grants competition for funding and assistance to support community-based climate resilience in vulnerable communities. Apply by March 12, 2026.

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

EVENTS

• Nov. 3 at 12 p.m. Eastern: Strong Towns and Proximity Project are hosting a conversation about how houses of worship can be used to help strengthen their communities and support housing programs.

• Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. Eastern: The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility and the Shareholder Engagement Project are hosting a webinar to discuss philanthropy and the role that both corporations and foundations hold.

• Nov. 5 at 12 p.m. Eastern: The Environmental Law & Policy Center is hosting a webinar about what the new Supreme Court term could mean for environmental protections in the U.S.

• Nov. 6 at 2:30 p.m. Eastern: The High Line Network and Urban Institute are hosting a webinar and panel about success workforce development strategies.

• Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. Eastern: Climate advocate Carter Lavin will be leading a conversation on his new book educating readers on how to fight for better transportation.

• Nov. 13 at 12 p.m. Eastern: Funding Freedom announce the launch of their new Toolkit for Divestment, created to equip organizers inside philanthropy to push institutions to divest from the economy of Palestinian genocide, occupation and oppression.

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

This post was originally published on Next City.

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.

If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe.

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Detroit Is Running Out of Abandoned Homes To Salvage

Once filled with thousands of abandoned houses, Detroit’s Land Bank Authority is running out of abandoned homes to rehab, CEO Tammy Daniels writes in the Detroit Free Press.

More than 12,000 old properties have been rehabilitated and made available as housing, largely by the Land Bank Authority. About 6,000 more derelict properties are currently in the rehab process, but options are dwindling despite a need for more housing. At some point, the land bank had more than 20,000 homes pending in a sales queue; about 1,400 remain today.

There is still opportunity. Detroit holds more publicly owned vacant lots than any other city in the U.S., Daniels writes, which can be used to build more housing supply for the growing city.

The Environmental Scars of Two Years of Ecocide

A new report from the Israel-based Arava Institute finds that Gaza is covered with an estimated 61 million tons of rubble. Much of it contains asbestos, unexploded munitions and human remains.

That’s a perfect breeding ground for a public health crisis, on top of what Palestinians have already faced. “Gaza’s soil is polluted after the destruction of wastewater treatment plants, sewage contamination is widespread, and particulate matter left by exploded bombs is increasing rates of respiratory illness,” Grist reports.

“The garbage becomes mountains, and the mountains are a breeding site for mosquitos and rodents, which spread malaria,” environmental chemist and eco-toxicologist Yasser El-Nahhal told Grist.

Pennsylvania Lawmakers Want to Protect Residents from Data Center-Related Energy Costs

Lawmakers and shareholders in Pennsylvania met this week to discuss proposed legislation to allow the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to create regulations for data centers in the state, WHYY reports. These protections are being discussed as several facilities have either been planned or proposed in Pennsylvania.

Data centers use a significant amount of energy, especially as compared to the average office building, to cool equipment and to run security systems. But as more are built and proposed, they strain the grid, and the cost is passed on to customers – including residents who live near data centers.

The proposed legislation, HB 1834, would stop public utilities in the state from turning to ratepayers to cover their data center-related costs. It would also require that 25% of electricity supplied be generated from renewable energy.

NY Attorney General Asks Public to Record ICE After Raids This Week

New York State Attorney General Letitia James has asked New Yorkers to record ICE activity so that her office can review photos, videos and other evidence of their activity. This comes after a raid targeted immigrant street vendors in Lower Manhattan, Reuters reports. Bystanders who witnessed the raid confronted ICE agents, yelling at the masked agents to leave the city.

The call to record possible abuses by the federal agents is part of broader action from Democrats against the federal government’s aggressive immigration crackdown in major U.S. cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, Rep. Robert Garcia of California recently announced that he and other Democrats are launching a website to track the agency’s operations.

Trump Has Called Off His ‘Federal Surge’ to San Francisco, For Now

After threatening to send federal agents and military into San Francisco, President Trump announced this week that he called off his plans following a call with Mayor Daniel Lurie and other city officials, the Los Angeles Times reports. Laurie promised to improve quality of life issues in the city on his own, and that having troops and ICE agents would only hurt the city.

This announcement to fall back came as Bay Area residents protested at the entrance to the U.S. Coast Guard base in Alameda County, where the Department of Homeland Security has staged extra forces in anticipation of troops being sent in. Some officials and communities worry that making concessions with Trump will not stop immigrants and other vulnerable people in the Bay Area from being targeted by agents in the near future.

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MORE NEWS

• The Washington D.C. Council has rolled back tenant rights for small rental properties. Washington Post

• Chicago’s cyclists buy out tamale vendors to protect them from ICE raids. Block Club Chicago

• Automated cameras have slowed down speeding cars in San Francisco. Smart Cities Dive

• NY’s Metro-North is extending service to Albany, competing with Amtrak service. Gothamist

• Climate change worsened the impact of deadly L.A. fires this year. LAist

• Trump wants to send the National Guard into San Francisco. The New York Times

• International buyers are snagging burned out lots in Malibu, causing residents to leave. LA Times

• Dallas-Forth Worth is beating out other cities for attracting new talent. Dallas News

• Police throughout the U.S. spread harmful false rumors about this Venezuelan gang. The Guardian

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

• Voqal Partners is accepting applications from community social justice leaders working toward solutions for inequality throughout America. Apply by Oct. 31.

• The Black Solidarity Economy Fund is open to applications for Black-led and Black-serving organizations building regional solidarity economy ecosystems controlled by the people they serve. Apply by Nov. 3.

• Lime Rock New Energy is offering a fellowship for graduate students interested in learning about how to lead impact-focused investment funds. Apply by November 16.

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

EVENTS

• Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. Eastern: Urban Institute is holding a webinar on the extension of the Opportunity Zones program, examining new evidence on Opportunity Zone investment trends and considering how states should best decide which areas to nominate.

• Nov. 5 at 12 p.m. Eastern: The Environmental Law & Policy Center is hosting a webinar about what the new Supreme Court term could mean for environmental protections in the U.S.

• Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. Eastern: Climate advocate Carter Lavin will be leading a conversation on his new book educating readers on how to fight for better transportation.

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

This post was originally published on Next City.

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.

If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe.

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Trump’s Move To Axe All CDFI Fund Staff Draws Bipartisan Backlash

On Friday night last week – just as a three-day weekend began – the Trump administration quietly terminated the entire staff of the CDFI Fund, a Treasury Department agency that supports federally-certified community development financial institutions (CDFIs).

A federal judge has temporarily blocked these and other terminations, saying: “It is also far from normal for an administration to fire line-level civilian employees during a government shutdown as a way to punish the opposing political party. But this is precisely what President Trump has announced he is doing.”

The CDFI Fund has been a longtime target for this administration, as Next City has previously reported. The move is drawing ire from both sides of the political aisle, Bloomberg Law reports. Unlike some other agencies, it enjoys bipartisan support and even support from industry groups. “There’s a bipartisan CDFI Caucus for a reason, and that’s because entrepreneurship has been a backbone of the US economy,” says Association for Enterprise Opportunity head Natalie Madeira Cofield.

City Housing Agencies Sue HUD Over Anti-DEI Funding Requirements

On Friday, the Chicago Housing Authority filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development over new, anti-DEI requirements for grant funding. The agency says the new conditions could affect 13% of its annual budget in the next few days.

To receive federal subsidies for public housing units, HUD is now requiring grant recipients to certify that none of the funds will be used for “diversity, equity and inclusion mandates, policies or programs,” or to promote illegal immigration, “gender ideology” or “elective abortion.”

Housing authorities in other major U.S. cities — including San Francisco, San Diego, Baltimore, Los Angeles and Salem, Massachusetts — also filed a joint federal lawsuit over these conditions this week.

L.A. County Has Declared a State of Emergency Over ICE Raids

Los Angeles County voted to declare a state of emergency over federal immigration raids this week, the L.A. Times reports. The declaration allows the county to support communities that have been impacted by the federal government’s crackdown on immigration.

Passed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in a 4-to-1 vote, it will also give officials the ability to eventually vote on protections such as an eviction moratorium for tenants who are struggling to pay rent because of ICE raids.

Officials say many immigrants cannot work because they fear being detained if they go outside. Some families in L.A. have had to rely on their children for errands and to keep their small businesses.

NY Governor Signs Bill Banning Landlords From Using Algorithms To Set Rents

This week New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law policies to address discriminatory home appraisals, security deposit returns, and landlords using algorithmic software to set rental prices.

It’s one of the first statewide bans on such technology. Just this month, California passed a broader ban on algorithmic pricing tools, set to take effect in 2026. These two statewide bans follow local ordinances passed in cities including San Francisco, Berkeley, Minneapolis, San Diego, Philadelphia, Jersey City and Seattle.

New York’s law, an update to the state’s antitrust laws, prevents building managers and property owners from using tools like RealPage, which can inflate rents by sharing non-public data (including vacancies and lease renewal rates) to set prices. The U.S Department of Justice sued RealPage last year, saying it “deprives renters of the benefits of competition on apartment leasing terms and harms millions of Americans.”

Democratic Governors Have Formed a Public Health Alliance

In defiance of the Trump administration’s attacks on health and science, a group of governors have formed a public health alliance, the Associated Press reports.

The Governors Health Alliance – comprising governors from 14 states plus Guam — is being framed as a way to share health data, share emergency preparedness and rebuke the current president. It’s not the first such alliance; during Trump’s first administration, some states formed regional groups in the hopes of better addressing Covid-19.

Though the group is bipartisan, all members are currently Democrats. Advisers include Dr. Mandy Cohen, the CDC director under former President Joe Biden. The initiative is supported by Governors Action Alliance (GovAct), a nonprofit nonpartisan initiative that focuses on how governors can work across state lines for progressive initiatives.

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MORE NEWS

• Cincinnati public schools open up safe “sleeping” lots for unhoused students and their families. WLWT5

• A Chicago man was fined $130 by ICE for not carrying identification with him. NBC Chicago

• This community in Texas will vote to form a city to stop a crypto mining operation. Texas Tribune.

• U.S. measles cases continue to climb, with outbreaks across the country. CityLimits

• Communities in Pennsylvania are pushing officials to restrict data center development. Inside Climate News

• Manhattan is seeing a surge of office to housing conversions compared to this time last year. Elite Agent

• A $30 minimum wage and other money topics on the ballot for New Yorkers in the upcoming mayoral election. Gothamist

• SEPTA trains catch fire, and other complaints from commuters who want a better transit system. Philadelphia Inquirer

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

• DEADLINE TODAY: 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.

• The Community Economic Development Association of Michigan is hiring 10 community growth fellows to help design strategies for workers support and build economic resilience. Apply by Oct. 22.

• Voqal Partners is accepting applications from community social justice leaders who are passionate about solutions for inequality throughout the U.S. Apply by Oct. 31.

• The Black Solidarity Economy Fund is open to applications for Black-led and Black-serving organizations building regional solidarity economy ecosystems controlled by the people they serve. Apply by Nov. 3.

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

EVENTS

• Oct. 22 at noon Eastern: American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education is hosting a webinar on the future of greenhouse gas emission controls, based on a legal analysis of the EPA’s proposal to rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding.

• Oct. 23 at 1 p.m. Eastern: Join authors Michaela M. Leslie-Rule and Jennifer Breheny Wallace as they discuss the challenges young people in the country face as they transition into adulthood.

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

This post was originally published on Next City.

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.

If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe.

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California Gives Lyft and Uber Drivers the Right to Unionize

A measure recently signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom will allow more than 800,000 drivers for ride-sharing apps to join a union and bargain for better wages and benefits, the Associated Press reports.

This law is part of an agreement made this past September with Service Employees International Union, Uber, Lyft, state lawmakers and Gov. Newsom. In exchange for allowing rideshare drivers to join a union while remaining independent contractors, California reduced insurance requirements for Uber and Lyft for accidents caused by underinsured drivers. This will likely save the companies hundreds of millions of dollars and even lower fares.

This makes California the second state to provide protections for rideshare drivers. Last November, Massachusetts passed a ballot referendum that allows drivers to unionize.

These Tenants Launched the First Rent Debt Strike Against a Corporate Landlord in the U.S.

A group of nine tenants have organized to announce their collective refusal to pay back owed rent to Equity Residential, the fifth-largest landlord in the United States. Several of the people in the collective began accumulating the rental debt owed during COVID shutdowns.

Some lost their jobs and were even evicted from their apartments when housing protection was lifted, Truthout reports. One striker reports that her deposit was never returned, and that the housing company claimed she owed additional money. The group has organized its efforts with Debt Collective, a union that focuses on the unfair debt many Americans find themselves to meet their basic needs.

This Rural Town in Northern California Has Lost Its Only Hospital

The Guardian reports that Glenn Medical Center, a hospital that served a community of about 28,000 residents in California’s Sacramento valley, shut down at the end of September after 75 years.

The closure occurred because the federal government eliminated the center’s critical access designation, which is a status that gives rural communities access to emergency health care. Now tens of thousands of residents will have to travel more than 30 miles to receive emergency care.

About 200 rural hospitals have closed since 2005 and hundreds more are at risk of shutting down. Some experts warn that the extensive cuts to Medicare and Medicaid in President Donald Trump’s budget bill will worsen medical care access for rural communities. Many hospitals in these areas rely on federal funding from public health insurance programs, and the cuts may increase closure rates.

Former Hollywood Resident Accused of Setting Deadly Palisades Fires

Federal prosecutors have accused 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht of setting the devastating Palisades Fires, Los Angeles Times reports. The fires resulted in the death of 12 people, the destruction of thousands of structures throughout Los Angeles, and an estimated $65 billion in damages.

Rinderknecht was arrested near his residence in Florida and is being charged for the destruction of property by fire, the acting U.S. attorney for the central district of California announced this week. According to court filings, Rinderknecht intentionally started the fire on Jan. 1 near a hiking trail after driving for Uber. The fire smoldered for days until heavy winds made it resurface and spread on Jan. 7.

Rinderknecht had himself called 911 to report where the fire was. He lied to investigators about his location, but his phone was tracked to a location near the fire. Investigators have not yet revealed a motive.

The Government Shutdown Is Seriously Messing With Air Travel

The government shutdown has created air traffic control staffing shortages throughout the U.S. that have severely disrupted air travel, NPR reports. About a dozen Federal Aviation Administration facilities experienced staffing shortages earlier this week. Federal employees are not paid for their work during a government shutdown, and many have called in sick to work other jobs or to avoid working without pay.

Flights in airports including Philadelphia, Chicago and Houston saw extensive delays. Nashville International Airport even experienced a ground stop, which is when the FAA slows down air traffic due to various conditions, including insufficient staffing. One of the worst disruptions was felt in Hollywood Burbank Airport near Los Angeles, which saw a ground delay of more than two hours and no air traffic controllers for more than five hours on Monday.

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MORE NEWS

• Chicago mayor announces ICE Free Zones, limiting where ICE agents can gather. NBC Chicago

• U.S. is undermining global health gains by defunding international aid projects. The Guardian

• City of LA investigating new trend of homeless encampments forming on private properties. ABC7

• Here’s how NYC’s mayoral candidates intend to respond to Trump’s possible deployment of the national guard. Gothamist

• Gov. Newsom threatens to remove funding from California universities that give in to Trump’s policy changes. Higher Ed Dive

• Camden County officials announce collaboration to expand much needed affordable housing. WHYY

• Arizona will be home to four of America’s hottest cities by 2050, study says. Phoenix News Times

• ICE raids throughout Chicago showcase escalation tactics throughout the city. Time

• Oregon is losing $400 million worth of federal grants for climate change projects like energy efficiency projects. Oregon Public Broadcasting

• Updated COVID shots led to fewer virus-related hospitalizations throughout the U.S., study finds. Reuters

• The Trump administration is making it harder for undocumented students to access higher education. The Conversation

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

• 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. Apply by Oct. 13.

• Voqal Partners is accepting applications from community social justice leaders who are passionate about solutions for inequality throughout the U.S. Attend an info session Oct 14 and apply by Oct. 31.

• 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

• Oct. 15 at 3 p.m. Eastern: The Urban Institute, MEF Associates and the Adjacent Possible host a webinar on strategies for coordination and integration across human services agencies.

• Oct. 23 at 1 p.m. Eastern: Join authors Michaela M. Leslie-Rule and Jennifer Breheny Wallace as they discuss the challenges young people in the country face as they transition into adulthood.

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

This post was originally published on Next City.

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.

If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe.

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Millions Could Lose Support For Housing Under the Trump Admin’s Unpublished Rule

Up to 4 million people throughout the U.S. will lose federal housing support under the Trump administration, according to two unpublished rules obtained by ProPublica. The rules proposed for the Department of Housing and Urban Development could lead to more restrictions for receiving federal housing assistance.

These restrictions – currently labeled as drafts – include stricter work requirements and stripping assistance from entire families if only one member of that household entered the U.S. illegally. The push for these rules for HUD are part of the administration’s plan to cut funding for public housing by more than 40%, ProPublica reports. If approved, these changes will devastate vulnerable communities; many who currently receive support are disabled, children or elderly.

The White House’s New Order Defines Dissent as Domestic Terrorism

President Trump recently signed a memorandum that pushes the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force to investigate networks and organizations with dissenting and seemingly left-leaning ideologies, Time reports.

The language in the order is broad, but directs the JTTF to monitor groups that have ideologies that are considered anti-capitalism, anti-American or anti-Christian. Experts worry that this could increase the number of American citizens that will be under federal scrutiny for their ideologies. The White House claims that this is an effort to deter criminal activity, but watchdogs including the ACLU say the order could target and even silence activists and social justice nonprofits.

The memo comes as the current far-right administration has cracked down on left-leaning ideology in the wake of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk’s murder, with some leaders claiming that progressives fuel political violence despite research showing right-wing terrorism is more common in America.

Trump Wants to Use “Dangerous” Cities as Military Training Grounds

President Trump has suggested that military leaders use U.S. cities as training grounds for soldiers as part of his months-long crackdown on crime in Democrat-led areas, The Hill reports.

“They’re very unsafe places, and we’re going to straighten them out one by one … That’s a war, too. It’s a war from within,” Trump said during a meeting with top generals and admirals in Quantico, Virginia. “I told [Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth], we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military — National Guard, but our military, because we’re going into Chicago very soon.”

This comes as the president has continued to threaten to send troops to major cities including Chicago and Portland, Oregon. State and local officials have denounced the move to send in troops, calling the move an autocratic tactic that punishes opposition.

The EPA Can’t Protect Our Air and Water During a Shutdown

With a government shutdown in effect and no relief on the horizon, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may struggle to protect clean air and water throughout the country. Former EPA officials worry that major polluters may use this as a chance to dump chemicals into our environment without having to worry about government oversight, the Associated Press reports.

“If your water tastes off later this week, there will be no one at EPA to pick up the phone,” Biden-era EPA official Marc Boom tells the Associated Press. Hotlines that allow citizens to ask questions or report concerns will likely not be functioning. Though some agency employees are required to keep working, significant budget and staff cuts could have lowered those on call during this shutdown.

During the 2018-2019 shutdown in Trump’s first term, about 200 coal-fired power plants throughout the U.S. increased their particulate matter emissions, one study published this month found.

NYC’s Subway Had Its Safest Summer In Years. Could Trump Cuts Reverse That?

New York City’s 24-hour subway system saw its safest summer in recorded history, apart from the start of the pandemic. But police officials have warned that federal cuts to counterterrorism could reverse this, Gothamist reports.

NYPD officials say the federal government could remove about $80 million a year from the agency’s counterterrorism programs. Though its counterterrorism programs have been controversial due to civil rights and surveillance concerns, this summer saw a 5% drop in crime on the subway, and July, August and September set individual records for low crime aside from initial pandemic years.

New York Attorney General Letitia James sued the Department of Homeland Security earlier this week to stop the budget cuts. The cuts come as federal transportation authorities have criticized public transit agencies nationwide for an “epidemic of violence and homelessness.”

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MORE NEWS

• Hundreds of Americans have been charged with “pregnancy” crimes over incidents like miscarriages since Roe v. Wade was overturned. Truthout

• Here’s what happens when people in need are given money…but in cryptocurrency instead of cash. Bloomberg

• Thanks to this nonprofit, 900 home bakers stepped up to help a food bank near Seattle. Associated Press

• Trump canceled 94 million pounds of food aid. Here’s what never arrived. ProPublica

• Trump admin halts funding for infrastructure projects in NYC, claiming that minority contracts are unconstitutional. Gothamist

• A transitional tiny home for unhoused people is shutting down due to Denver budget cuts. Denver7

• Mississippi’s high infant mortality is now a public health emergency. NPR

• A group of volunteers install benches throughout Spokane’s public transit system. The Spokesman-Review

• New York State helped relocate migrants, but ICE raids are reversing months of progress for immigrant families. NY Focus

• Federal judge stops the Trump administration from removing FEMA funding from more than 10 states. Smart Cities Dive

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

• 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. Apply by Oct. 13.

• Voqal Partners is accepting applications from community social justice leaders who are passionate about solutions for inequality throughout the U.S. Attend an info session Oct 14 and apply by Oct. 31.

• 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

• Oct. 9 at 1 p.m. Central: Data centers have arrived in the Midwest. Will the AI boom derail or drive clean energy goals? Experts from the Environmental Law & Policy Center discuss.

• Oct. 15 at 3 p.m. Eastern: The Urban Institute, MEF Associates and the Adjacent Possible host a webinar on strategies for coordination and integration across human services agencies.

• Oct. 23 1 p.m. Eastern: Join authors Michaela M. Leslie-Rule and Jennifer Breheny Wallace as they discuss the challenges young people in the country face as they transition into adulthood.

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

This post was originally published on Next City.

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.

If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe.

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Report: Training Workers and Migrants To Fill in Green Jobs Could Contribute $280 Billion to Cities By 2040

A new study finds that by 2040, urban climate action is expected to create 13 million green jobs globally in the construction, transport and waste sectors alone, with Boston alone estimated to need 60,000 jobs. Cities around the world will need to support green job training for existing workers and new migrant workers to avoid major labor shortages.

“The combined impact of skills training and inclusive immigration policies could see up to US$280 billion in economic growth by 2040, across the 25 cities studied,” researchers found. Produced jointly by the Mayors Migration Council, C40 Cities and the Climate Migration Council, the research focused across seven countries.

The labor shortages are likely to be filled if new workers (like migrants) and existing workers are trained on a green transition in these areas, the study explains. The labor shortage cannot be bridged without a focus on both existing workers and training for migrant workers.

King County Bans Rent-Setting Software That Artificially Inflates Housing Prices

In June, the City of Seattle passed an ordinance banning algorithmic rent-fixing. This week, the King County Council in Washington State unanimously voted to ban landlords from using rent-fixing technology for establishing rental prices, The Seattle Times reports.

King County is now the 11th jurisdiction to ban use of controversial software like RealPage that uses an algorithm to help landlords artificially boost rent prices. This occurs because the software collects data that is then used to recommend terms for lease renewal, recommend rental prices, and even occupancy levels. Residents can now sue landlords or service providers who violate the ban for up to $7,500.

Seattle School Board Directors Are Begging the City for More Housing

Members of Seattle’s school board are pushing for more housing development in hopes that more affordable options for families will keep enrollment from declining, The Urbanist reports.

Seattle’s public schools have seen insufficient state support as well as a drop in enrollment of about 15% over the last decade – which has been linked to lack of affordable housing and families with school-aged children.

A study on Seattle public school enrollment found that low-density housing areas saw the highest rates of displacement and therefore the largest declines in enrollment. Meanwhile, communities with higher density and lower cost of living did not see a large decline in public school enrollment.

A Colorado Town Is Divided Over a Lucrative ICE Deal

The Trump administration’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ will re-open a shuttered private prison in Walsenburg, Colorado as part of a major ICE expansion playing out nationally. The move will bring financial opportunity to the town of less than 5,000 residents, Mother Jones reports, but the community is torn over the cost to immigrants being targeted and detained by the Trump administration.

The town will gain revenue and jobs that were lost when the facility was closed down more than 10 years ago. Local officials have praised the influx of money as a “godsend.” But some residents disagree: “We don’t want to be known as a town with a concentration camp,” one said during a commissioners meeting. Some have gathered to protest outside of the facility weekly.

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MORE NEWS

• Tribal nations in the Northwest could lose hundreds of millions in funding thanks to the ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’ Underscore

• A Mexico City cab service for women is creating a community against gender-based violence. CNN

• NYC has ramped up handing out housing vouchers to housing-insecure military veterans. Gothamist

• Wildfire smoke is prematurely killing 40,000 Americans every year, a new study says. NPR

• Philadelphia considers a tax exemption for developers who are building affordable housing. WHYY

• The Trump administration threatens Boston and Chicago’s public transit funding over “safety” concerns. WCVB

• Food delivery apps depend on cheap immigrant labor to survive, research shows. Journal of Canadian Labour Studies

• California AG says he plans to sue Trump administration for violating environmental laws. Reuters

• Most children in the U.S. rely on Medicaid for healthcare, study finds. Stateline

• Grassroot groups in California are using mushrooms to clean up after wildfires. Ambrook

• A look at how different cities around the world are working to beat extreme heat. The New York Times

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

• TODAY IN NYC: Sept. 26 at 5-8 p.m. Eastern: Opening reception for Cross Bronx/Living Legend, a six-week exhibition that reconsiders one of New York City’s most contested infrastructures through new photography and oral histories.

• Oct. 9 at 1 p.m. Central: Data centers have arrived in the Midwest. Will the AI boom derail or drive clean energy goals? Experts from the Environmental Law & Policy Center discuss.

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

This post was originally published on Next City.

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.

If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe.

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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.

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.

If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe.

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SCOTUS Says It’s OK for ICE to Racially Profile During Immigration Stops

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 6-3 decision that allows ICE agents in Los Angeles to essentially racially profile Latinos during immigration stops, Vox reports.

The ruling reversed a lower-court injunction that prevented agents from stopping people over their appearance, their employment, their presence in a certain location, and/or speaking Spanish publicly.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina to serve the court and one of the judges to vote against the recent ruling, warned about the dangers of racial profiling in her dissent: “We should not have to live in a country where the Government can seize anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish, and appears to work a low wage job.”

In Los Angeles County, about one in three people are foreign born. Advocates worry that documented immigrants and citizens who present as Latino will be targeted alongside undocumented immigrants.

Pennsylvania’s SEPTA Is Saved From Budget Cuts By Bailout

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has approved a $394 million bailout to reverse recent service cuts to Philadelphia’s public transit agency to restore rail, bus and trolley services, the Associated Press reports. The system has about 800,000 daily riders, many of whom rely on the service to make it to work and school.

Gov. Shapiro directed the state’s transportation department to approve a request that directed a one-time funding lifeline this Monday, Bloomberg reports. Before this critical support, recent cuts reduced both bus and rail service by 20%, but that will be restored by Sept. 14. A second phase of drastic cuts that were planned for this coming January were also cancelled by the recent infusion of cash.

The White House Threatens to Cut Funding to Transit After NC Train Murder

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has suggested that he may pull funding from transit networks throughout the U.S. after last month’s brutal murder on a light rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina, Streetsblog USA reports.

“Your federal tax dollars go to fund a lot of these transit systems,” Duffy recently told Fox News host Sean Hannity, decrying an “epidemic of violence and homelessness” on public transit. “And we have to look at them and say, ‘Well, maybe it’s appropriate that we start pulling some of that money back.”

On Aug. 22, Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was fatally stabbed in an unprovoked attack aboard a Charlotte train. This prompted Duffy to call for more law enforcement on public transportation and the White House to condemn “Democrat-run cities” for allowing him to be released after previous crimes.

Trump Seems to Walk Back Plans for National Guard in Chicago, For Now

President Trump seems to be pivoting from previous threats to send the National Guard to Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reports. Local officials, including Gov. JB Pritzker, have warned that this hesitance to send in troops may be temporary.

The President has instead suggested that he will focus the government’s efforts towards a different location. “We’re going to be announcing another city that we’re going to very shortly, working it out with the governor of a certain state who would love us to be there, and the mayor of a certain city in the same state that would love us to be there,” Trump told reporters earlier this week.

Trump has sent the National Guard to several Democrat-led cities this year, including to Washington D.C., claiming that this has effectively reduced crime.

A House Bill Could Amend the Clean Water Act, Rolling Back Pollution Regulations

A bill that could reduce the power of the Clean Water Act passed through the committee in the U.S. House this week, and environmental advocates worry that it will reach the Senate floor for debate later this month, Inside Climate News reports.

If passed, the bill will limit the bodies of water that qualify to be protected under the Clean Water Act, which will increase the chance that waterways in the U.S. can be polluted with fewer consequences. Businesses and factory farms would not require permits for discharging pesticides or pollutants, like manure-contaminated stormwater, into nearby waterways.

“They call it the PERMIT Act. We call it the Permission to Pollute Act,” Nancy Stoner, a senior attorney for the Environmental Law & Policy Center and former assistant administrator for the EPA said. “That is the worst bill for clean and safe water that I have seen in decades.”

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MORE NEWS

• New Mexico becomes the first state in the U.S. that will provide free universal childcare. KRQE News

• NYC officials pledge millions to save community service jobs lost to the Trump administration. Gothamist

• The U.S. is ending its EV carpool lane access program by October. Reuters

• Fossil fuel firms receive more than $30b worth of subsidies in the U.S., study finds. The Guardian

• About half of U.S. residents are uncomfortable with the government’s use of AI. Smart Cities Dive

• Teacher’s unions are suing the Trump administration, citing that immigration arrests are keeping students home. Associated Press

• Study: Rising temperatures lead to a spike in sugar consumption. Scientific American

• Will California’s strict vaccine rules survive the Trump administration’s rollbacks on science and public health? The Los Angeles Times

• Trump’s Medicaid cuts will hurt children’s hospitals. NPR

• Tourism tanked in D.C. after federal troops were deployed in the capital city. CNN

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

• DEADLINE TODAY: 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.

• The Chinook Fund is accepting applications to fund Colorado-based organizations that focus on progressive social change and challenge inequality. Apply by Sept. 15.

• The Cummings Foundation is accepting letters of inquiry for their local grant program for social justice focused organizations in the Greater Boston area. Apply by Sept. 17.

• The Social Innovation Lab at the John Hopkins University is accepting applications from leaders and ventures building sustainable solutions for a better world. This is available to applicants in the Baltimore area. 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.

• 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. 14 at 11 a.m. Eastern: Planner Desiree’ Powell is hosting a virtual zoning 101 class for students and early career professionals to learn more about zoning, land use and their real-world impacts.

• Sept. 16 at 12 p.m. Eastern: Kumsa Baker and Sergio Montero from the University of Toronto will host a virtual discussion on transportation infrastructure as a community asset.

• 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.

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.

If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe.

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D.C. Sues the Trump Admin Over Deploying the National Guard

Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb is suing the Trump administration for deploying the National Guard on the capital city. The lawsuit accuses the president of violating the Constitution by sending in thousands of service members without city officials’ consent, WAMU reports.

“Deploying the National Guard to engage in law enforcement is not only unnecessary and unwanted, but it is also dangerous and harmful to the District and its residents,” Schwalb said. “We’ve filed this action to put an end to this illegal federal overreach.” Schwalb previously filed a lawsuit claiming the administration lacked the authority to mobilize the Metropolitan Police Department on behalf of the federal government.

Troops were deployed in early August as part of the president’s supposed anti-crime efforts, though violent crime rates were already falling. The White House called the suit an attempt to undermine the president’s “highly successful operation,” CNN reports.

Judge Rules Trump Illegally Deployed National Guard in L.A.

A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration broke the law by deploying the National Guard in Los Angeles this past June after protests over his immigration raids. In the ruling, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco expressed concern that the president and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were creating their own national police force, the Associated Press reports.

Judge Breyer noted that the president used the deployed troops for functions that are not allowed according to the National Guard’s own training materials. His ruling barred the troops from actions including making arrests and collecting evidence.

The White House says it plans to appeal this ruling, calling Breyer a “rogue judge.” Meanwhile, Trump has suggested he will deploy National Guard troops to New Orleans next, NBC News reports.

Green Space Helped Prevent Depression During Covid-19

A new national study in Canada found that urban green spaces had “profound” protective effects against senior depression during the Covid-19 pandemic, CBC reports.

The peer-reviewed study of 13,000 adults aged 50 and over, published in the journal PLOS One, found that the depression rate doubled among participants during the first six months of the pandemic. However, researchers concluded, people who lived in the greenest neighbourhoods were 20% less likely to develop depression.

“Notably, the beneficial associations of greenness and depression (during the pandemic) was more pronounced in the lower wealth group than higher wealth group,” researchers wrote. “The beneficial associations of greenness on depression during the pandemic was stronger for those with mobility issues when compared to those who did not.”

Solar Installations Are Up By 64% Worldwide in 2025

Solar is quickly becoming the fastest growing source of electricity worldwide, with solar installations up by 64% worldwide in the first half of 2025, Yale Environment 360 reports.

Countries have collectively installed 380 gigawatts of solar capacity, compared to 232 gigawatts in 2024. The impressive growth was led by China, which increased its solar capacity by more than double from 2024 to 2025.

Meanwhile, the U.S. only saw solar installations increase by about 4%. This comes as American leadership has pushed back against new solar projects throughout the country. Last month, Trump announced that his administration will not approve new wind and solar power projects, despite a serious need for more renewable energy sources.

‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Will Stay Open For Now

The controversial immigration detention center built in the Florida Everglades will stay open after a federal appeals court has temporarily blocked a judge’s order to shut down the center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” CNN reports.

The Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted requests from the Department of Homeland Security and the State of Florida to repeal the preliminary injunction announced last month that would have forced the center to wind down operations in 60 days. The center has been the focus of a lot of controversy from immigration rights advocates and environmental advocates. People held at the center have complained about dangerous heat and lack of sufficient food.

Despite human rights concerns, Florida Sen. Ron DeSantis has doubled down on opening more immigration detention centers. He has recently announced two new detention facilities that he has dubbed “Panhandle Pokey” and “Deportation Depot.”

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MORE NEWS

• Colorado could turn the parking lot next to the governor’s mansion into 12 stories of housing. Denverite

• This old Denny’s in Los Angeles is now a daycare that supports unhoused families. Fast Company

• A Philadelphia judge has temporarily halted SEPTA fare hikes and funding cuts that would hurt regular commuters. Smart Cities Dive

• Gun violence is down throughout New York City. Gothamist

• Chicago has seen its lowest number of summer murders since the mid-1960s. WBEZ Chicago

• Miami Beach votes to protect its rainbow crosswalk and to rename street Pride Street. CBS News

• California is trying to push ahead for its high speed rail project, even though federal funds are in doubt. NPR

• A post-war Gaza includes paying Palestinians to leave, and dystopian luxury developments. Washington Post

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

• Camelback Ventures is accepting fellowship applications from early-stage entrepreneurs who are dedicated to addressing inequities in the education and technology sectors. Apply by Sept. 10

• 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.

• The Chinook Fund is accepting applications to fund Colorado-based organization that focus on progressive social change and challenge inequality. Apply by Sept. 15.

• The Cummings Foundation is accepting letters of inquiry for their local grant program for social justice focused organizations in the Greater Boston area. Apply by Sept. 17.

• The Social Innovation Lab at the John Hopkins University is accepting applications from leaders and ventures building sustainable solutions for a better world. This is available to applicants in the Baltimore area. 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.

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

EVENTS

• Sept. 9 at 1 p.m. Eastern: Corner to Corner and the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities are holding a sponsored webinar about the importance of nonprofit-research partnerships.

• Sept 10 at 6 p.m. Central: Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis is hosting an in-person panel with local civic leaders who are shaping the urban landscapes of tomorrow.

• Sept. 14 at 11 a.m. Eastern: Planner Desiree’ Powell is hosting a virtual zoning 101 class for students and early career professionals to learn more about zoning, land use and their real-world impacts.

• 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.

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.

If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe.

---

This post was originally published on Next City.

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.

If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe.

---

Trump Admin Won’t Approve Wind and Solar Power Projects

President Trump has announced that his administration will not approve new wind or solar power projects in the country, despite the need for energy sources to meet rising electricity demand, CNBC reports.

“We will not approve wind or farmer destroying Solar [sic],” Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social. “The days of stupidity are over in the USA!!!” The president has posted false claims in the recent past about wind farms hurting the environment, and endangered species of animals like whales. He has even gone as far as to claim that windmills create bird cemeteries.

Trump’ policies have not only cut potential for green energy development throughout the U.S., this combined with his aggressive push for tariffs have also raised power bills for households across the country. Since he took office again this January, household electricity bills have increased by about 10%, the Guardian reports. This has gone against his campaign promise of lowering the cost of living in the U.S., including lower utility bills.

Two Years After Deadly Fires, Maui Homeowners Battle Foreclosure

Two years after the deadly fires burned houses to the ground and killed over 100 people in the Lahaina neighborhood of Maui, homeowners in the area are struggling to hold on to their homes, Grist reports.

Many homeowners who lost their homes during the disastrous fires are confronted with what they can do next. Some are unsure if they can rebuild the homes they lost; some held off on paying their mortgages and now owe back payments with interest because they had to rent new homes when they were displaced; some have also lost income due to the damage to nearby businesses that employed them.

All the while, in a textbook case of disaster capitalism, they are receiving increasingly frequent messages from investors that want to use this opportunity to own property in Maui. About a third of homeowners in that area of Maui no longer own their homes because of the fire, and more are increasingly listing their properties for sale as mounting costs and pressures add up.

Trump’s Policies Make It Harder for American Students to Access Higher Ed

From regretting their educational decisions to delaying children to budgeting like mad, Americans are struggling with student loan debt thanks to the Trump administration, The Guardian reports.

Under the Biden administration, many students could depend on the Saving on a Valuable Education plan, an income-driven repayment plan that was introduced in 2023. Loans put into forbearance wouldn’t accrue interest.

The Department of Education has since killed this program, and though borrowers can still forego payments, they will now see interest on their loans. Some borrowers have seen their loan payments more than double, making it difficult for them to save money or plan for a future with children, The Guardian reports.

New York City’s Monthly Evictions Skyrocket

Monthly evictions in one of the most expensive cities in the U.S. have skyrocketed to almost pre-pandemic levels as New York City rents skyrocket and working-class residents struggle to afford their homes, Gothamist reports.

City marshalls have handed out 1,500 evictions per month on average this January to this August, according to city records. That’s almost as much as the 2018 average of about 1,666 evictions a month. This comes after rent freezes and eviction protections were put into place due to Covid-19 have since lapsed. Evictions more than doubled between 2022 and 2023, and have only increased ever since.

Hawaii’s DOT Wants to Slash Cruise Ship Visits

The Department of Transportation in Hawaiʻi recently announced an ambitious plan to cut the number of cruise ships that visit the islands by half by 2030, Travel and Tour World reports. The plan hopes to improve air quality and result in cleaner oceans and has been celebrated by environmental advocates.

However, some local business owners worry that fewer cruise ships means fewer tourists and less customers, SF Gate reports. “I see businesses closing, leaving the islands, a loss of jobs. Families would definitely be affected,” Aaron Paulk of Hawaii Tour Consultants, a group representing 20 small, family-owned tour operators, told Seatrade Cruise News.

This isn’t the first time state officials focus on cruise shops as a way to protect the local environment. Earlier this year. Hawaii’s legislature passed an 11% cruise tax and plans to use that revenue for initiatives including improving environmental infrastructure, Travel and Tour World reports.

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MORE NEWS

• States rethink a long-held practice of setting speed limits based on how fast drivers travel. Associated Press

• The Trump administration deported an NYC elementary school student and her mother. The City

• This Philadelphia bus pilot is filling in the gaps for city commuters. WHYY

• A small city in Oregon has voted to stop adding fluoride to its drinking water. Smart Cities Dive

• Extreme heat is disrupting education for students in Puerto Rico. Associated Press

• The Trump administration is rolling back gun violence prevention efforts for vulnerable communities. NPR

• Trump’s lawyers are working on an executive order to get rid of mail-in voting. The Guardian

• Florida’s leadership wants to get rid of rainbow crosswalks in the state. Advocate

• From more riders to new terminals, intercity buses are having a moment. Smart Cities Dive

• This L.A. county tribe has won land back for the first time ever. Los Angeles Times

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

• 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. 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. 3 at 6 p.m. Mountain Time: Next City’s Oscar Perry Abello is hosting a talk about his book, “The Banks We Deserve: Reclaiming Community Banking for a Just Economy.”

• 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.

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.

If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe.

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.

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. If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe.

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As Texas Pushes For GOP Gerrymandering, Democrats Fight Fire With Fire

Texas Republicans are fighting for control of the House leading up to the 2026 midterm elections by strategically redistricting the state to add five more Republican seats in the state. This would give the party a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, CBS News reports.

The attempts to redraw maps in the Lone Star state began late last month, when Republican leaders released the draft of a new map that gave their party more seats in Texas metro areas.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom responded by threatening to redraw his state’s congressional lines in Democrats’ favor if Texas Republicans succeeded. To block the new Texas congressional districts map from being voted on, 50 Texas House Democrats left the state so quorum could not be met.

Trump’s Workplace Deregulations Disproportionately Hurt Immigrant Workers

Labor advocates are warning that the Trump administration’s efforts to deregulate workplaces are going to disproportionately hurt immigrant workers on farms and construction sites, Documented reports.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a plan to deregulate more than 60 workplace rules, stating that this was due to “President Trump’s commitment to restore American prosperity through deregulation.”

Some of the worker protections being targeted include the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s proposal to amend the OSHA 300 Log, which requires employers to record work-related injuries. The changes would also have OSHA withdraw a proposed requirement for employers to provide adequate lighting at construction sites. About 15% of construction site injuries happen due to bad lighting.

Amtrak’s New ‘High Speed’ Rail Trains Are Coming to the Northeast Corridor

After a three-year delay, Amtrak passengers on the East Coast can finally ride the new NextGen Acela trains for quicker trips between Washington D.C, New York City and Boston, NJ.com reports.

These trains can go up to 160 miles per hour – not as fast as Japan’s high speed trains (which reach up to 200 miles per hour), but faster than the current Acela trains (which max out at 150 miles per hour). The new trains will come with 27% more seats and expanded weekday and weekend service for more travel availability. These new trains will feature amenities like USB ports, outlets, reading lights and high-speed wi-fi.

A Class Action Lawsuit Could Force the EPA to Reinstate Its $3 Billion Climate Preparedness Program

A coalition of local governments, nonprofits and tribes have sued the Environmental Protection Agency and the agency’s administrator, Lee Zeldin, for terminating the Environmental and Climate Justice Program, The Guardian reports.

The grant program, approved by Congress under the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, sought to bring $3 billion to tackle environmental hazards and prepare for the climate crisis. This has been described as a first-of-its-kind lawsuit that seeks to force the EPA to reinstate the program and funding, instead of forcing individual recipients to pursue individual suits.

The lawsuit calls the program’s termination unconstitutional, arguing that Congress approved the funding and that the executive branch shouldn’t have interfered.

NOAA Can Finally Hire Workers Again After Devastating DOGE Cuts

The National Weather Service has received permission to hire workers again after major cuts from the Trump administration. The service can now hire 450 meteorologists, hydrologists and radar technicians, CNN reports.

After the Trump administration came into power, DOGE cut the workforce across multiple federal agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the agency in charge of the National Weather Service. The hiring is an exception to a freeze to federal hiring that’s supposed to be in place until this October, according to the White House.

The cuts to the National Weather Service were heavily criticized as the U.S. continues to face down climate disasters, including deadly flash flooding throughout the Northeast and in Texas this summer.

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MORE NEWS

• Federal judge halts construction at the Everglades ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigration detention center. NPR

• Kids in Pittsburgh are breathing easy after a polluting coal plant shuts down. Inside Climate News

• This Illinois organization supports gun violence trauma survivors. It may have to shut down due to lack of funds. The Guardian

• Tariffs are making transit buses more expensive to manufacture. Smart Cities Dive

• This California community is turning an old oil field into a protected habitat for wildlife. High Country News

• Harlem landlords could be held accountable for deadly legionnaires outbreak. Gothamist

• Netanyahu is pushing to occupy the Gaza Strip. Truthout

• Crops are going to waste as immigrants workers stay home to avoid ICE raids. CNN

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

• 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.

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

This post was originally published on Next City.

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.

If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe.

---

Bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act Seeks to Tackle Roots of Housing Crisis

With a 24-0 vote, the U.S. Senate this week advanced its first large, bipartisan housing package in over a decade, Smart Cities Dive reports. Sponsored by unlikely allies Tim Scott and Elizabeth Warren, the Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream to Housing Act of 2025 includes proposals to expand and preserve the country’s current housing supply and improve access to affordable housing.

The legislation “directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development to create a new grant and loan program for qualifying homeowners and small landlords to address home repairs and health hazards, develop best practice frameworks for zoning and land-use policies and create a pilot program to incentivize housing development of all kinds in Community Development Block Grant participating jurisdictions, among other actions,” Politico reports.

Los Angeles Wants to Stop Law Enforcement From Hiding Their Identities

Officials and leaders in Los Angeles County want to stop law enforcement officers from hiding their identities while on duty, the Associated Press reports. The county’s Board of Supervisors has voted unanimously to direct the counsel to draft an ordinance that stops officers — including federal agents — from wearing masks to veil their identities.

Through this ordinance, law enforcement would also be required to display identification and agency affiliation when working in public. Exceptions would be made for officers who need to use masks for medical protection or agents conducting undercover operations.

Federal agents have increasingly refused to identify themselves or show their faces when detaining immigrants during raids. Advocates and elected officials have pointed out that the public has a right to know who is detaining people and the agency that they work for.

“People are being pulled out of their cars, beaten, and ripped from their families by men in tactical gear with balaclavas, no badges, and no names,” Supervisor Janice Hahn, a co-author of the motion, told the Associated Press. “That’s not how law enforcement in a democracy should operate.”

Harlem Families Facing Eviction as MTA Moves To Expand Train Line

Some families in Manhattan’s Spanish Harlem are facing eviction as the MTA moves to continue expanding the Q train line in the borough, Gothamist reports.

Tenants in a building on East 116th street and 2nd avenue received letters from the transit agency stating that they had a “90-Day Residential Vacancy Notice.” The MTA is seizing the building through eminent domain to build a new train station on 116th street, and current tenants must be out by mid October. And though they were offered support to relocate by the MTA, residents told Gothamist that they are struggling to find alternative housing at the same price of their current units.

This building is one of at least 19 that will be taken over for the Q train line expansion. Adding more stations will improve transit access areas that are considered transit deserts with historically working-class communities, but it’s leaving existing residents in the lurch.

ICE Arrests on Church Property Are Unconstitutional, Lawsuit Says

A coalition of faith-based organizations is suing the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Kristi Noem over the arrest and detainment of immigrants in religious locations, Truthout reports, with plaintiffs arguing the arrests violate the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

This lawsuit comes months after the Trump administration rescinded a Biden-era policy that banned ICE from arresting immigrants in sensitive locations like schools, houses of worship and hospitals, CNN reports. Since rolling back this protection, immigrants have been detained at places of worship, at medical facilities, and at schools throughout the country. Church attendance is down in some congregations as a result, with some programs going underground.

This Michigan Program Gives Cash to New Moms

The Associated Press spotlights Rx Kids, a program in Michigan that gives money to pregnant mothers and to parents in the first year of their children’s lives, easing the financial burden of parenthood. It began in Flint and has expanded to Pontiac, Kalamazoo and five counties, but it will soon be implemented in one rural county and several cities near Detroit.

Rx Kids was launched in 2024 and gives mothers with newborn babies up to $7,500 — with no rules on how the money is spent and no income requirements. Officials and advocates believe this could become a model to support parents who are struggling with the high cost of having and raising children in the U.S. As Next City reported last year, it’s one of several guaranteed income programs that’s helping protect against the economic, social and public health costs of post-partum mood disorders.

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MORE NEWS

• Ohio city whose Haitian migrants were disparaged by Trump braces to defend them against deportation. AP

• Missouri’s oldest Black bookstore just closed. The Kansas City Defender plans to reopen it as a newsroom and public archive. Nieman Lab

• Meet the Californian who pushed Texas lawmakers to help fix the state’s housing crisis. The Texas Tribune

• New proposed legislation aims to protect Pennsylvania homebuyers in flood-prone areas. WHYY

• Gaza’s cash crisis is another painful reminder of how powerless we’ve become. Prism

• Hundreds of old EV batteries are helping stabilize Texas’ shaky electrical grid. Inside Climate News

• California is training more firefighters to boost their numbers on the ground. Los Angeles Times

• Memphis residents protested xAI’s arrival. Now the company is funding upgrades for four schools. Chalkbeat

• 20 years after Katrina, Louisiana residents are most vulnerable to ‘die of despair.’ Capital B News

• Chicago moves to make its bike and scooter share system better and cheaper. Smart Cities Dive

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

• DEADLINE TODAY: The Lululemon Community Wellbeing Grant is open to applications from community-led nonprofits around the globe that are creating equitable access to movement and mindful programming. Apply by Aug. 1.

• The Impact Project launched a new public health map to track federal policy changes and their local effects on the U.S. health system.

• 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.

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

EVENTS

• Aug. 6 at noon Eastern: The Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing is hosting a webinar on social prescribing connectors’ role in addressing social determinants of health.

• Aug. 6 at 5:30 p.m. Eastern: The Columbia Climate School is hosting a discussion with researchers and community leaders about the climate risks in Harlem.

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

This post was originally published on Next City.

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.

If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe.

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Trump Signs Order to Remove Unhoused People From the Streets and Forcibly Hospitalize Them

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that would make it easier for city and state governments to remove unhoused people from streets and encampments throughout the country, USA Today reports.

The order directs the attorney general to undo judicial precedents and consent decrees that restrict local and state-level governments’ ability to place unhoused individuals into long-term treatment centers. The attorney general is also required to work with the Departments of Health and Human Services; Housing and Urban Development; and Transportation to prioritize federal funds to state and local governments that “enforce prohibitions on open illicit drug use, urban camping and loitering, and urban squatting, and track the location of sex offenders,” USA Today reports.

Homeless advocacy groups say the move is unlawful and counterproductive to public safety. “Forced treatment is unethical, ineffective and illegal,” National Homelessness Law Center represents Jesse Rabinowitz says. “Trump’s actions will force more people into homelessness, divert taxpayer money away from people in need, and make it harder for local communities to solve homelessness.”

This order also follows Trump’s March executive orders to remove all homeless encampments on federal lands and to dismantle the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness.

EPA Is Drafting a Plan To Stop the Country’s Ability To Fight Climate Change

The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency has drafted a plan to repeal a critical scientific finding that gives the federal government the authority to regulate harmful greenhouse-gas emissions in the hopes of fighting the climate crisis, the New York Times reports.

This change seeks to undermine the 2009 “endangerment finding” which explained that pollutants from burning fossil fuels can be regulated by the government, NPR reports. It’s one of many devastating environmental rollbacks in the U.S. since the Trump administration took power.

Rents Are Actually Falling in Some Cities, Thanks to Pro-Housing Policy

Cities throughout the U.S. have seen alarming rent increases since 2020, but in several locations throughout the country, rental prices are actually decreasing. Data from real estate investment firm Five Star Cash Offer shows cities that have enacted pro-housing policies have experienced a significant decline in rental prices, Reason reports.

Data compiled from Redfin and Realtor found that Sarasota, Florida, saw a significant decrease in rent prices year-over-year. The city experienced a more than 40% drop in average rents: $3,290 to $1,886 from January 2024 to January 2025. This decrease likely represents policies like relaxing density restrictions and allocating about $40 million for affordable housing projects, the Herald-Tribune reports. Providence, Rhode Island, saw the second-largest decline in rental prices year-over-year, and Cape Coral, Florida, saw the third-largest decline in rental prices.

USDA Ends Federal Support For Black Farmers

One of the Trump administration’s latest victims in its ongoing vendetta against diversity, equity and inclusion programs: a bill supporting Black farmers.

This month, the Department of Agriculture removed the phrase “socially disadvantaged,” which described farmers or ranchers who had been subjected racial and ethnic discrimination, from a 35-year-old policy, Capital B reports.

The designation was created for the 1990 Farm Bill, which sought to direct some resources to communities and farmers that were historically excluded from loans and grants. Lawmakers warn that change will make it harder to level the playing field for ranchers and farmers that have been historically underrepresented.

Investors Own Almost 20% of California Homes

About a fifth of the housing stock across California is owned by investors, per an analysis of BatchData figures by the Orange County Register. The data shows that investors own 19% of homes throughout the state, but that rate of investor ownership is several times higher in some counties.

In Sierra County, 83% of homes were owned by investors. Investors owned more than 50% of homes in several other counties, including Plumas, Alpine and Calaveras. These areas are more likely to be the site of second homeownership due to smaller populations and seasonal recreation-based tourism, SF Gate reports. This represents a trend where companies are outcompeting families and individuals in purchasing homes, which has caused housing prices to increase. Home prices in California have increased by about 60% in the last six years, The Guardian reports.

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MORE NEWS

• New Jersey is offering millions in grants to communities tackling the heat urban island effect. WHYY

• UCLA has launched 20 air quality monitors in L.A. county to track pollution from the Palisades Fire burn area. Los Angeles Times

• Traffic signals that give pedestrians a head start have lowered intersection injuries in NYC, study finds. Smart Cities Dive

• The new forest growing in Ukraine’s bombed reservoir has reclaimed the land, but it faces an uncertain future. The Guardian

• Homicides and other violent crimes have declined across 42 U.S. cities, study finds. Stateline

• Here’s how the Trump administration has devastated farmers, workers and communities. Grist

The U.S. is building an enormous 5,000-person detention center in Texas. Associated Press

• Mexico’s president asks the U.S. to repatriate the Mexican nationals held at the ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention center. Reuters

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

• Main Street America is accepting applications for its Backing Small Businesses grant program. Apply by July 31.

• The Lululemon Community Wellbeing Grant is open to applications from community-led nonprofits around the globe that are creating equitable access to movement and mindful programming. Apply by Aug. 1.

• 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.

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

EVENTS

• July 31 at 11 a.m. Eastern: EIT Urban Mobility and #CitiesFirst are holding a webinar on the future of shared micromobility in cities.

• Aug. 6 at noon Eastern: The Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing is hosting a webinar on social prescribing connectors’ role in addressing social determinants of health.

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

This post was originally published on Next City.

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.

If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe.

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ICE Raids Are Pushing Child Care Services to the Brink

A new survey from the Associated Press shows that three-quarters of American adults see child care costs as a “major problem.” But the country’s fragile child care systems, which rely on immigrant women’s labor and already face acute staffing shortages, are now even more vulnerable with the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration raids.

The Hechinger Report reports that some daycare centers have noticed immigrant parents have been less likely to drop their children off. Out of fear of being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, many immigrant parents have been less likely to leave their homes. The Trump administration has upended long-held policies that prevented ICE from entering child care facilities.

The 19th reports that a Seattle child care worker set to open her own day care for disabled children was detained last month. Nannies for individual families are also afraid for their safety; the Los Angeles Times reports that Southern California nannies feared going to public spaces with the children they care for out of fear of being stopped by ICE.

20 States Sue Trump Administration Over Disaster Prevention Cuts

A group of states filed a lawsuit this week against the government in hopes of blocking the Trump administration from cutting billions of grant dollars that were supposed to fund infrastructural upgrades to protect against extreme weather events.

In the lawsuit, the group of 20 mostly Democratic-led states claim that the Federal Emergency Management Agency lacks the power to cancel funding from the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities after it was approved by Congress, Reuters reports.

This lawsuit comes right after a series of disasters have rocked several regions across the United States. Earlier this month, flash floods resulted in the deaths of more than 130 people and overwhelmed emergency response systems. Another series of floods across New York and New Jersey killed another two people this week.

Mexico City Announces Affordable Housing Plan To Combat Gentrification

Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada Molina has announced a new initiative to create thousands of affordable housing units to offset the impacts of gentrification for residents.

The mayor’s Public Rental Housing program will add about 20,000 new rental homes to improve the long-term housing deficit, Mexico News Daily reports. Rent prices for these homes will take up no more than 30% of the tenants’ income.

This comes after recent protests showed many locals’ frustration at how businesses and housing prices seem to be catering to monied foreigners who can afford the rapidly rising housing costs. Mexicans chanted and held signs telling Americans to ‘go home’ and to speak Spanish in their city, the New York Times reports.

Native Florida Tribe Sues ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detention Center in the Everglades

The Florida Miccosukee Tribe has joined environmental groups’ lawsuit against state and federal agencies that allowed the construction of the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” immigrant detention center in the state’s Everglades National Park.

The group’s case argues that the agencies involved did not seek an environmental review before opening the center in a park that is home to several endangered species, Grist reports. The tribe’s filing also says the controversial detention center is near the community’s villages, traditional hunting grounds and ceremonial sites.

Los Angeles Offers Cash to Immigrants Affected By Mass Raids

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has announced plans to provide direct cash assistance for residents affected by the immigration raids, which have disrupted immigrant-run small businesses across the region. The support is aimed at preventing families from facing eviction in the high-cost-of-living city, the L.A. Times reports.

Cash cards, expected to be available sometime this month, will be funded by philanthropic partners with the city and will be distributed to those in need by immigrant rights groups. It is not yet clear who will qualify.

In a press conference, Mayor Bass recounted how she had spoken to a family facing eviction after one of the breadwinners was detained by ICE during an immigration raid. The aid announcement comes as the children of immigrants who may not feel safe leaving their homes are taking over their parents’ small businesses, including family taco stands, to stop them from shutting down, NBC Los Angeles reports.

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MORE NEWS

• More cities are joining a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s attempts to withhold federal funding. Stateline

  Food banks in Texas are rationing food for flood victims thanks to the Trump admin’s budget cuts. Grist

  The Pentagon has ended the deployment of thousands of troops in Los Angeles. NPR

  Climate change is making the intense rainstorms that flooded NYC more common. The Guardian

  Most of the immigrants detained in Southern California last month had no criminal convictions. L.A. Times

  The Trump administration has handed over personal data from Medicaid recipients to ICE. Associated Press

  The U.S. DOT has cancelled $4 billion of unspent grant money slates for a high-speed rail project in California. Smart Cities Dive

  Office spaces could create more than 17,000 new homes for NYC, comptroller’s report says. 6sqft.com

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

• Open Society Foundations is accepting applications for its Leadership in Government Fellowship. Apply by July 24. (Disclosure: Next City board chairman Eric Shaw is a current fellow.)

• Main Street America is accepting applications for its Backing Small Businesses grant program. Apply by July 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.

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

EVENTS

• July 22 at 11:30 a.m. Pacific: The Terner Center is hosting a webinar on strategies to decarbonize and increase the climate resilience of subsidized housing.

• July 23 at 1 p.m. Pacific: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is hosting a webinar on the effects of eviction on Black women’s health and on entire communities. (Disclosure: RWJF currently funds Next City.)

• July 24 at 3 p.m. Eastern: Urban Institute is hosting a virtual and in-person discussion on the past, present and future of credit scores in the housing finance ecosystem.

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

This post was originally published on Next City.

Angely Mercado

The post Meet the Climate Kids Who Are Mobilizing a Generation of Parents appeared first on The Nation.

This post was originally published on Article – The Nation.