(Photo by Casey Horner / Unsplash+)
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.
Economic Loss From Deadly Los Angeles Wildfires Could Exceed $50 Billion
Officials say that the Palisades and Eaton fires devastating Los Angeles have so far killed five people, destroyed close to 10,000 structures, forced over 130,000 residents to evacuate, and are expected to leave hundreds of thousands in the region without power for days to come. Fueled by extreme winds, the fires have burned through well over 30,000 acres already.
Before-and-after satellite imagery reveals the extent of the dramatic damage, affecting historic parks, apartment complexes, million-dollar homes and highways alike. Preliminary estimates by AccuWeather and J.P. Morgan suggest that the total economic loss caused by the L.A. wildfires could top $50 billion, which would make it the costliest U.S. wildfire.
President Biden has pledged that the federal government will cover 100% of disaster aid costs to the state for the next 180 days. Meanwhile, many homeowners say that their insurance had been dropped, the L.A. Times reports, part of an ongoing home insurance crisis in high-risk coastal and fire-prone areas.
At Long Last, NYC Congestion Pricing Gets Moving
New York City’s MTA has finally launched its historic congestion pricing program, the first of its kind in North America. The scheme, which launched Sunday following years of political and legal squabbles, imposes a $9 toll on most drivers entering Manhattan south of 60th Street during MTA’s peak periods. Read more about the tolls in Gothamist’s explainer.
The aims: reducing traffic (the MTA predicts the new tolls will reduce the number of cars entering Manhattan every day by roughly 11%) and raising $15 billion for the city’s beleagured subway system. Gridlock, at least, seems to be improving already: “We’re shocked. I never expected to see this,” one traffic director told Gothamist. “It’s a pleasure to not have to explain to the drivers that you have to wait your turn.”
Meanwhile, in his State of the City address, Mayor Eric Adams has committed $650 million to address street homelessness and announced a goal of building 100,000 housing units through zoning updates.
Justice Department Sues Six Major Landlords for Algorithmic Rent Price-Fixing
The Department of Justice has expanded its anti-trust lawsuit against property management software company RealPage Inc. to include six top landlords, accusing them of illegally colluding in an algorithmic price-fixing scheme to set rental costs. Federal prosecutors says RealPage controls 80% of the market for commercial revenue management software.
Some major cities, including San Francisco and Philadelphia, have also banned landlords from setting rents using rental algorithms, like the one used by RealPage’s YieldStar. Several cities and states, including New Jersey, are considering similar bans.
Medical Debt To Be Blocked From Credit Scores
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued new rules to ban credit agencies from including medical debts on Americans’ credit reports. According to the federal consumer watchdog agency’s estimates, the measure will remove an estimated $49 billion in bills from about 15 million credit reports; increase these consumers’ credit scores by an average of 20 points; and lead to the approval of about 22,000 affordable mortgages annually.
These regulations could potentially be reversed by the incoming administration, KFF Health News reports, but “by finalizing the regulations now, the CFPB effectively dared the incoming Trump administration and its Republican allies in Congress to undue rules that are broadly popular and could help millions of people who are burdened by medical debt.”
Baltimore Wins $85 Million To Cap Its ‘Highway To Nowhere’
Back in 2022, we reported on how new federal funding could finally spell the end of Baltimore’s so-called Highway to Nowhere, a 1.4-mile stretch of recessed highway that was never completed – but whose construction devastated West Baltimore and displaced thousands of Black residents.
Through the Biden administration’s Reconnecting Communities pilot, the city is now set to receive $85.5 million to construct a one-block cap over the highway, transforming it into a new “civic space” that reconnects north to south, The Baltimore Banner reports.
Abortion Bans Are Driving Young People Out of State
New research from the nonprofit National Bureau of Economic Research finds that young Americans, especially single people, have been moving out of anti-abortion states in larger numbers.
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, 13 states with near-total abortion bans lost about 36,000 people per quarter, The 19th notes, and states perceived to have “abortion-hostile” policies also saw their populations decrease. “These population flows and demographic shifts could affect a wide range of economic factors from tax bases to housing markets to the availability of workers in key industries,” researchers say.
MORE NEWS
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EPA report finds that formaldehyde presents an “unreasonable risk” to public health. ProPublica
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Major legal brawl may decide what types of cars Americans can buy. Stateline
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Schools and city governments rely on property taxes. What happens when homeowners revolt? Slate
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Planned Parenthood workers revolted over Gaza – and the nonprofit industrial complex. Yes! Magazine
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Climate change is killing buildings in slow motion. Bloomberg
OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES
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Project for Public Spaces is considering applications for its Community Placemaking Grants. Nonprofits, public agencies and municipalities in Georgia, Michigan, New York, Ohio, and Texas can apply for funding to transform outdoor public spaces into lively community hubs that improve street safety and mobility. Apply by Jan. 31.
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Los Angeles Public Library’s Creators in Residence program is considering applications from “creators from a wide range of disciplines.” Apply by Jan. 17.
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The Out(sider) Preservation Initiative is considering grant proposals for descendant-led projects that lead to diasporic return and increased public interest in historically Black settlements. Apply by Jan. 17.
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The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is awarding grants to organizations and communities who are actively reimagining land use and zoning as tools to advance health equity. (Disclosure: RWJF is a current funder of Next City.) Apply by Feb. 6.
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Check out Next City’s jobs board for new opportunities.
EVENTS
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Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 11 a.m. Eastern: Urban Institute is hosting a panel discussion to consider the potential economic and budgetary implications of the incoming Trump administration restructuring government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
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Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 6 p.m. Eastern: The Black Planners Collective, organized by planner Desiree Powell, is hosting another virtual gathering space for Black urban planners to build community.
This article is part of The Weekly Wrap, a newsletter rounding up stories that explain the problems oppressing people in cities and elevate the solutions bringing us closer to economic, environmental and social justice. Click here to subscribe to The Weekly Wrap newsletter.