A morning roundup of the day’s news.
What mayors told Washington: Members of the bipartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors took a simple message to lawmakers in Washington this week: “We’re not a special interest group.” Instead, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu says, “we’re the best partner that they have to deliver to our identical taxpayers services that are much, much needed.” The group focused that message on three top priorities for cities and the federal government alike: tax reform, infrastructure and health care. Politico reports:
But the conference has seen some promising signs in recent weeks. The failure of the GOP “skinny repeal” was cheered by the conference, and the mayors and Trump administration both agree on the necessity to rebuild the country’s infrastructure. …
Mayors also pushed for the federal government to entrust more resources and support directly to cities to combat national problems like the opioid crisis, because they say cities are better suited to adapt to the specific concerns of their community than a slower moving federal program.
Say what?: The U.S. Department of Justice stirred some confusion Thursday by singling out four cities with threats of withholding crime-fighting funds if they don’t give the feds access to illegal immigrants in jails. But those cities—Baltimore, Albuquerque, Stockton, and San Bernardino—don’t operate their jails (their counties and states do) and none has declared itself a “sanctuary city.” (Los Angeles Times, AP)
Fair housing 2.0: Though explicit race-based segregation has been chipped away by law in America, class-based segregation remains alive and well, via zoning that blocks apartment and townhomes from wealthy communities. Scholar Richard Kahlenberg argues for an “economic fair housing act” to halt policies that exclude people from entire neighborhoods and schools. (New York Times)
London’s hollowing: For the first time in five years, more residents are leaving London than moving into it. The Guardian attributes this trend of “deurbanization” to “the increasing hollowing out of the social and cultural vibrancy of the city,” as affordable housing depletes and the cultural scene sterilizes.
What happened to the streetcar? After tons of neighborhood meetings last year on the BQX—New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s planned $2.5 billion streetcar from Brooklyn and Queens—why is no one really talking about it anymore? (Village Voice)
The urban lens:
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