How President Obama's Budget Proposal Would Affect Cities

President Obama’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2014, released this morning, focuses on economic growth and a strong middle class. Better urban development isn’t the first item on that agenda, but it’s an important part of the administration’s priorities for the coming year.

Three agencies in particular are at the core of that work, with offices dedicated to making sure community development contributes to regional and national economic growth. The president’s 2014 budget would change how each of these agencies invest in community development. Here’s how it breaks down:

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would see a significant increase in funds for neighborhood revitalization through $400 million in funding for the Choice Neighborhoods program (up from $120 million appropriated in 2012). The budget cuts funding for the Community Development Block Grant program to $2.8 billion (down from $3.241 billion in 2012), but includes $200 million in new competitive funding to reduce and repurpose vacant and blighted properties and create jobs in communities hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis.

HUD’s former Office of Sustainable Communities would combine forces with the Office of Community Planning and Development to improve the agency’s focus on economic resilience. The budget requests $75 million for new Integrated Planning and Investment Grants, designed to encourage regions and communities to comprehensively plan for new development. The grants would include incentives to align planning efforts across municipalities, invest public funds to attract private dollars, modernize land use and building codes, and sponsor robust community engagement efforts.