CHICAGO—Council Approves Coach House Legislation with Restrictions -
The Chicago City Council approved coach houses citywide with ward-specific restrictions allowing aldermen to opt in for single-family areas. The compromise...more
10/8/2025
/ Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) ,
Affordable Housing ,
Local Ordinance ,
Minimum Wage ,
Municipalities ,
Project Labor Agreements ,
Property Owners ,
Property Tax ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Sanctuary Cities ,
Small Business ,
State and Local Government ,
Strike ,
Student Housing ,
Taxation ,
Unions ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Laws
BOSTON—City Tests AI Traffic System to Speed Up School Buses-
Boston is piloting an AI-driven traffic management system that uses GPS data to extend green lights for school buses, reducing travel times by 8% in early tests,...more
9/25/2025
/ Affordable Housing ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Community Development ,
Due Process ,
First Amendment ,
Law Enforcement ,
Local Elections ,
Minimum Wage ,
Public Health ,
Public Transit ,
Real Estate Development ,
State and Local Government ,
Transportation Industry ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Wage and Hour ,
Zoning Laws
BALTIMORE—City Opens First-of-its-Kind Public AI Lab to Expand Access -Baltimore Recreation and Parks, in partnership with tech companies NWN and Intel, launched Greenmount Recreation Center, a free, community-centered...more
9/11/2025
/ Affordable Housing ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Community Development ,
Executive Orders ,
Gig Economy ,
Information Technology ,
Innovative Technology ,
Local Ordinance ,
Municipalities ,
Property Tax ,
Public Health ,
Public Transit ,
Public Transportation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Rental Assistance Programs ,
State and Local Government ,
Technology Sector ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Laws
BOSTON—City Deploys Sensors to Combat Rat Infestations -
Boston officials announced the implementation of a new rodent-tracking sensor system throughout the city to provide data on hotspots and measure the effectiveness of...more
8/21/2025
/ Affordable Housing ,
City Councils ,
Data Collection ,
Housing Market ,
HUD ,
Immigration ,
Innovative Technology ,
Mayors ,
Opioid ,
Pest Infestation ,
Property Tax ,
Public Transit ,
Real Estate Development ,
State and Local Government ,
Tenants ,
Unions ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Vacant Properties ,
Zero-Emission Vehicles ,
Zoning Laws
BOSTON—City Joins Data Alliance to Boost Services -
Boston is partnering with the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance to improve resident services using AI and analytics. The City aims to modernize 311 notifications...more
8/7/2025
/ Affordable Housing ,
Arenas and Stadiums ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
City Councils ,
Economic Development ,
Labor Reform ,
Mayors ,
Municipalities ,
Public Safety ,
Public Transit ,
Sports Betting ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Policy ,
Zoning Laws
BOSTON—City’s First Office-to-Residential Conversion Project Begins -Construction has officially begun on Boston’s first office-to-residential apartment conversions. This effort is a part of a City pilot program aimed at...more
7/24/2025
/ Affordable Housing ,
Apartments ,
City Councils ,
Crime Statistics ,
Housing Market ,
Local Elections ,
Minimum Wage ,
Mixed-Use Zoning ,
Office Space ,
Opioid ,
Public Schools ,
Public Transportation ,
Real Estate Development ,
State Budgets ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Laws
PHILADELPHIA—Waymo to Begin Testing Driverless Cars This Summer -Waymo is launching manual test drives of its autonomous vehicles in Philadelphia to familiarize its technology with the city. While public rides are not yet...more
7/10/2025
/ Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) ,
Affordable Housing ,
Automotive Industry ,
Driverless Cars ,
Gig Economy ,
Housing Market ,
Minimum Wage ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Public Transit ,
Sales Tax ,
Sanctuary Cities ,
State Funding ,
Unions
NEW YORK—Waymo Applies for NYC Permit -
Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving car unit, plans to begin manually operating vehicles in Manhattan as a first step toward launching autonomous ride-hailing in New York City. The company...more
6/26/2025
/ Affordable Housing ,
Curfews ,
Driverless Cars ,
Gig Economy ,
Housing Market ,
Minimum Wage ,
New York ,
Property Tax ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Transportation ,
Real Estate Development ,
State and Local Government ,
Technology Sector ,
Transportation Industry ,
Unions ,
Urban Planning & Development
BOSTON—City Receives $7.4M for Office-to-Residential Conversions -Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey (D) allocated $7.4 million to support two office-to-residential conversion projects in downtown Boston, part of a broader...more
6/12/2025
/ Affordable Housing ,
Housing Market ,
Mayors ,
Minimum Wage ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Health ,
Public Transportation ,
Real Estate Development ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
Tax Reform
BALTIMORE—City Seeks Return of Sports Betting Lawsuit to Local Court -
The City of Baltimore is requesting that its consumer protection lawsuit against DraftKings and FanDuel be moved back to Baltimore City Circuit Court,...more
5/29/2025
/ Affordable Housing ,
Algorithms ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Housing Market ,
Investigations ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Safety ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sports Betting ,
State and Local Government ,
Zoning Laws
BALTIMORE—Bill Introduced to Address Housing Shortage-
On Monday, Mayor Brandon Scott (D) introduced his Housing Options & Opportunity Act, which aims to expand zoning laws for multi-family homes and provide more housing...more
NEW YORK—Mayor Adams, CTO Announce City’s First Crypto Summit-
New York Mayor Eric Adams (D) and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Matthew Fraser will host New York City’s first Crypto Summit next month, bringing together...more
BALTIMORE—City Files Lawsuit Against DraftKings, FanDuel -
The City of Baltimore filed a lawsuit against DraftKings and FanDuel, alleging that the sports betting companies exploit vulnerable gamblers through promotional...more
4/17/2025
/ Affordable Housing ,
New York ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Public Transportation ,
Sports Betting ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
State Taxes ,
Wage and Hour
CHICAGO—City Begins Converting Loop Office Buildings to Housing -Chicago’s La Salle Corridor Revitalization Initiative kicked off last week, beginning with the transformation of a historic 14-story Loop office building into...more
CHICAGO—City Incentives Aim to Attract Data Centers -
Chicago is positioning itself to capitalize on the data center boom, with the City Council adopting an ordinance offering incentives for developers to store municipal...more
3/20/2025
/ Affordable Housing ,
Data Centers ,
Employment Policies ,
Gig Economy ,
Labor Reform ,
Minimum Wage ,
Property Tax ,
Public Health ,
Real Estate Development ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Incentives ,
Technology
BALTIMORE—City Moves Closer to Creating Consumer Protection Agency -The Baltimore City Council advanced a bill to establish its own consumer protection agency, modeled after similar agencies in nearby Howard and Montgomery...more
3/6/2025
/ Consumer Protection Laws ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Housing Market ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Reform
CHICAGO — Restaurant Workers Prepare as ICE Arrests Cast Uncertainty -Chicago restaurant workers are bracing for possible U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests, despite no confirmed raids. Fears have led...more
2/20/2025
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Eviction ,
Foreign Workers ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Reform ,
Labor Reform ,
Real Estate Development ,
School Districts ,
State Funding ,
Trump Administration ,
Undocumented Immigrants ,
Worker Protection Standard ,
Workplace Safety
CHICAGO — Restaurants on Guard Against ICE -
Immigrants comprise roughly 40% of Chicago's restaurant workforce. Some restaurant owners have begun educating employees on their rights, providing required paperwork, and...more
2/5/2025
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Reform ,
Minimum Wage ,
Real Estate Development ,
Union Elections ,
Unions
CHICAGO — Data Shows City’s Labor Market Stabilizing -
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee said the latest jobs report suggests the labor market is stabilizing at full employment and is not a sign of an...more
1/23/2025
/ Affordable Housing ,
City Planning Departments ,
Economic Development ,
Housing Developers ,
Immigration ,
Infrastructure ,
Local Ordinance ,
Public Policy ,
Public Safety ,
Public Transportation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rent Control ,
Sanctuary Cities ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Policy ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Wildfires ,
Zoning Laws
CHICAGO — Jobs Slightly Down Since Last Year, State Data Shows -
The Chicago metro area experienced a 0.2% drop in non-farm jobs between November 2023 and November 2024. While private education, health services, and...more
1/9/2025
/ Affordable Housing ,
Arenas and Stadiums ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Funding ,
Homeless Issues ,
Labor Reform ,
Low Income Housing ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Property Tax ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Public Transportation ,
Real Estate Development ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
Baltimore nonprofit Waves received a $2 million grant from Baltimore’s Office of Information and Technology to deploy fiber-optic networks in low-income residential buildings, aiming to bridge the city’s digital divide...more
12/19/2024
/ Affordable Housing ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Broadband Internet Access Services (BIAS) ,
City Councils ,
Cloud Computing ,
Fiber Optic Cables ,
Homeless Issues ,
Housing Developers ,
Mayors ,
Migrants ,
Nonprofits ,
Property Tax ,
Public Schools ,
Public Transit ,
Remote Working ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Sanctuary Cities ,
Startups ,
State Budgets ,
Taxation ,
Wages ,
Zoning Laws
CHICAGO — Teachers Union Narrows Contract Demands-
After eight months of increasingly tense contract negotiations, the Chicago Teachers Union has now narrowed its number of demands to land a deal in the next month, the...more
12/5/2024
/ Affordable Housing ,
Commercial Leases ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Local Elections ,
Mayors ,
Minimum Wage ,
Public Health ,
Public Schools ,
Public Transit ,
Public Transportation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Small Business ,
State Taxes ,
Teachers ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
DETROIT — City Becomes Largest U.S. City to Accept Cryptocurrency Payments -
Detroit residents will have the option beginning in mid-2025 to make payments with the digital currency through a secure platform managed by...more
11/21/2024
/ Affordable Housing ,
Arenas and Stadiums ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Debt Relief ,
Deportation ,
Donald Trump ,
Drones ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Mayors ,
Mediation ,
Medical Debt ,
NAACP ,
Property Tax ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Public Transit ,
Strike ,
Traffic Laws ,
Trump Administration ,
Unions
PHILADELPHIA — City Council Moves to Ban AI Rent “Price-Fixing” -
The Philadelphia City Council advanced legislation that would empower the City to sue landlords for alleged “price-fixing” of rental rates, particularly...more
11/7/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Price-Fixing ,
Property Tax ,
Public Health ,
Public Transit ,
Real Estate Development ,
Rental Property ,
Surveillance
LOS ANGELES — L.A. Metro Testing AI Weapons Detection System-
L.A. Metro is considering implementing a weapons detections system being tested in Chicago that uses existing security cameras to scan the transit passengers...more
10/10/2024
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Commercial Property Owners ,
Food Safety ,
Landlords ,
Local Elections ,
Mayors ,
Property Tax ,
Public Health ,
Public Transit ,
Real Estate Development ,
State Elections ,
Tax Increment Financing ,
Urban Planning & Development