City Government

The Reparations Movement: Flourishing Amid Backlash

October 21, 2025 Peter Certo, Institute for Policy Studies. Organize! City Government, Racism, Reparations, State Legislatures

Across the United States, the demand for reparations has moved from the margins of debate to the center of local and state politics. While federal legislation has stalled for decades, cities like Evanston, Illinois, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, as well as states like California, are pioneering concrete steps to repair the harms of slavery, segregation, and systemic racism. From housing initiatives and educational funds to community development projects, these efforts are reshaping how justice can be pursued in practice. In his new report for the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung New York Office, author John Feffer examines the resurgence of the reparations movement at a time when national politics are marked by backlash and regression on civil rights.

Cities Say They Store Property Taken From Homeless Encampments

November 21, 2024 Nicole Santa Cruz, Asia Fields and Ruth Talbot, Pro Publica. Educate! City Government, Homeless Camps, Homelessness, State Repression

When Stephenie came upon workers in Portland, Oregon, who had bagged up all of her belongings in a homeless encampment sweep, she desperately pleaded to get one item back: her purse. It contained her cash and food stamp card — what she needed to survive. The crew refused to look for it, she said. The items workers had put in clear bags were headed to a city warehouse. Those in black bags were headed to a landfill. They handed her a card with a phone number to call if she wanted to pick up her things.

In Philly, The People’s Budget Increases Civic Engagement And Moves Money

June 24, 2024 Ryan Moser, Next City. Create! City Government, Participatory budgeting, Pennsylvania, People's budget, Philadelphia

If you’ve walked through LOVE Park during May and June the last two years, you have undoubtedly seen a long shipping container anchored in the northwest corner of JFK Plaza, a cherry-red beacon sitting in the shadow of Philadelphia’s historic City Hall. Part public art installation and part information center, the corten steel box is the temporary office of The People’s Budget, one piece of an initiative led by artist Phoebe Bachman of Mural Arts of Philadelphia, and funded by the City of Philadelphia. Founded in 2020, The People’s Budget empowers Philadelphians to participate in the city’s yearly budget process and join the conversation to decide where city funds are spent.

What Sunrise El Paso Learned From Its Youth-Led Climate Charter Campaign

October 2, 2023 Christian Betancourt, Next City. Organize! City Government, climate crisis, Texas, Youth Activism

First, she stumbled across Sunrise El Paso’s Instagram account. Then, stuck at home during the pandemic, she began using her free time to organize for local environmental justice initiatives with them. Before she knew it, 25-year-old El Paso resident Ana Fuentes was leading the grassroots campaign for Sunrise El Paso — part of the national youth movement demanding urgent action on climate change — to radically overhaul the city’s policymaking to put climate impact first. “This was a time when we were feeling very isolated, but for me, it was a time when I found my community,” says Fuentes.

Food Not Bombs displaced from Santa Cruz lot

February 24, 2021 Jessica A. York, Santa Cruz Sentinel. Educate! California, City Government, Food and Agriculture, Food Not Bombs

Santa Cruz, CA - An activist group on the brink of celebrating a consecutive year of coronavirus pandemic-era free meal service was summarily ejected from a private downtown parking lot Thursday. Potentially setting the stage for the latest standoff with the City of Santa Cruz, organizer Keith McHenry then moved Food Not Bombs’ distribution effort into an adjacent “Lot 27” public parking area just across Front Street, the same one the group was locked out of last year due to what officials cited as “public nuisance” complaints. “We’re like, just keep moving and doing what needs to happen,” McHenry said of consistently serving as many as 200 free vegan meals a day since Marcy 14.

Louisville Is Failing Homeless People This Winter

February 15, 2021 Emma Austin, Louisville Courier Journal. Resist! City Government, Homeless, Housing, Kentucky

As much of Louisville remains under a layer of ice and with another winter storm on the way, the city is doing nothing to keep alive its homeless population, several advocates contended Saturday evening. Leaders from local homeless outreach organizations spoke in front of Hotel Louisville Saturday night, demanding city leaders address what they called a humanitarian crisis. Donny Greene, co-founder of Feed Louisville, said the city has given excuses for not helping people left outside in the below-freezing temperatures, contending there is no shelter space available. "The truth of the matter is the city is currently housing homeless people … in hotels in the city, and they have the ability to do that for everyone," Greene said.

Minneapolis Reneging On George Floyd Promises

August 14, 2020 Glen Ford, Black Agenda Report. Create! City Government, Defund the police, Minneapolis, Police abuse

At the height of the Minneapolis rebellion, a majority of the city council announced they would move towards “disbanding” their police force, in response to Black Lives Matter “abolition” demands. It turned out that what the councilpersons were actually proposing was a name change, retaining a force of armed cops in a new “Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention” with a “holistic, public health-oriented” mission. But even this palliative was too much for the Minneapolis Charter Commission, which voted to delay putting the police reorganization question on the November ballot, effectively killing the measure. The city is currently required to maintain a set ratio in the number of cops per resident.

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