New Search Engine Tries to Make Recycling Easier for Philadelphians

Philadelphia has launched a new online tool to allow residents to conveniently search for places to donate, recycle, or repair items that don’t qualify for curbside recycling.

Backed by the Green Family Foundation, resourcePhilly covers solutions for hard to dispose of materials such as batteries, bubble wrap, and metal items such as instruments.

This platform aims to reduce the region’s waste rate, which results in over one million tons of materials in landfills and incinerators annually. 

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New PA Program Would Provide $50 Million for Home Repairs

Pennsylvania lawmakers are working on bipartisan legislation to create the Pennsylvania Home Preservation Grant Program.

This program would allocate $50 million to assist low- and moderate-income homeowners to fix habitability issues and improve energy efficiency.

The program comes after the 2022 Whole-Home Repairs Program, a federally-funded initiative to support repairs for more than 2,600 homes.

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Grant will help NEPA Farmers Upgrade Operations

A USDA Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure grant will support 77 farms and food manufacturers across Pennsylvania, including five in NEPA.

Partnering with the nonprofit Food Dignity, the funds will help farms build or expand cold storage infrastructure, install washing and packing stations, and conduct more efficiency-related operations.

These funds address limited space and energy concerns for local farms and agricultural bodies. 



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Downtowns Like Chicago’s Loop Could Stage a Residential Revival 

Chicago’s Loop is launching the LaSalle Street Reimagined initiative, which is converting aging office towers into new affordable homes.

Backed by $150 million in city subsidies, this initiative aims to bolster urban regrowth, which was affected by office and business vacancies during the pandemic.

This article discusses how office space revival may contribute to downtown rebirth. 

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A New Model Linking Industry Growth to Economic Mobility

Recent place-based initiatives such as the American Rescue Plan, CHIPS, and the Build Back Better programs have successfully seeded regional industry clusters, according to new data.

However, concerns remain on these programs’ long-term economic transformation.

This article explores how federal investment in industrial growth may allow for local economic mobility.

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Six Deregulatory Proposals to Improve Housing Affordability

Excessive regulatory costs can account for up to 25 percent of a single-family home’s cost, and over 40 percent for multifamily developments.

Legislators are exploring how to improve long-term housing affordability in effective ways.

The Bipartisan Policy Center explains six proposals to ease cost-based strains on homes. 



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