Zoning, production, homelessness, tenant protection, permitting, and urban planning.
The path to ruin is paved with good intentions. In an effort to rein in the burden of environmental review standards, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed major CEQA reforms in June 2025. A year later, how is the program doing?
Albuquerque's 311 van drives around the city all day, picking up panhandlers and taking them to work. But is that really a viable way to reduce homelessness?
A first phase of permitting reforms — virtual inspections, an online tracker, and an 'EZ Permits' fast lane — targets low-risk residential and commercial work.
A public-private fund seeded with leftover federal pandemic aid and matched by three banks has raised $53 million toward a $100 million goal, financing construction of housing for residents earning under 80% of area median income.
Cities are putting automated completeness checks in front of human plan reviewers, and the reporting finds real time savings in Honolulu alongside a pilot Seattle judged not ready to adopt.
Every one of roughly 100 city-funded affordable buildings surveyed in an eight-year civil rights case failed federal accessibility standards, and the settlement now requires 2,800 accessible units.
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