Features

“The painful truth is that it’s less of a contradiction than just the system functioning the way it’s been designed. That sounds bleak, but in fact, it points to the possibility of different choices: If systems are designed, they can be redesigned.”

In recent months, the federal government has slashed funding to cities and states, warning that almost every federal funding stream is under review. While cities can’t stop these cuts completely, they can take steps to mitigate them.

“Displacement can happen across any income group,” says planner Karen Chapple, “and it can happen with benefits or with losses. The policy issue is, is the diversity of the neighborhood that you had before as sustained as the new transit improvement comes in?”

As congregations continue to dwindle, many churches and other houses of worship have found themselves with empty swaths of parking lots and land. Some are building affordable housing on the roughly 47,000 acres of potentially developable land. 

Elk Grove, Burbank, and San Pablo were some of the winners of the 2025 Outstanding Local Streets and Roads Project Awards. Elk Grove dramatically improved its streets thanks to a systemic, fix-it-first maintenance approach. Burbank and San Pablo both overhauled major traffic corridors. 

Many cities have long used artificial intelligence for routine tasks. Some are seizing on advances in AI to further automate everyday tasks. But as with any new tool or policy, there are benefits and costs to using AI. Experts say it’s crucial for cities to have guardrails over anything AI produces.

Being a council member is harder than it looks from the outside. Councils that get the most done have a clear vision, shared goals, and a collaborative relationship with the manager and staff based on respect, trust, communication, and accountability. 

California has lost one-third of its newspapers since 2005. One county has no local news outlets, while 18 have just one. City officials say the decline in reliable, local news coverage has hampered their mission, damaged community trust, and fueled misinformation.

Californians are struggling with skyrocketing fire insurance premiums and canceled policies. And it’s not clear if regulatory efforts to lower prices will have their intended effect. Fire departments can play a key role in lowering rates both now and in the future.