Office of Community Planning and Development CPD

The Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, signed on August 22, 1974, replaced a tangle of urban renewal, Model Cities, and other categorical programs with the Community Development Block Grant, giving cities, counties, and states flexible money to spend on local priorities. The Office of Community Planning and Development administers that grant and programs added since, and is led by an Assistant Secretary.

CDBG funds go by formula to more than a thousand cities, counties, and states for projects such as housing rehabilitation, water lines, sidewalks, and public services that mainly benefit low- and moderate-income residents. The HOME program, created in 1990, funds affordable housing construction and rental help. CPD also distributes disaster recovery grants that Congress appropriates after major hurricanes and floods, and runs homelessness programs that grew from the McKinney-Vento Act of 1987, including Continuum of Care grants to local networks of shelters and housing providers.

The national count of people experiencing homelessness reached a record of about 771,000 in January 2024, driven by high rents and new arrivals of migrants in some cities. In 2025 the administration shifted homelessness policy away from the Housing First approach, which offers housing without preconditions, toward requirements for treatment and work, and its budget proposed eliminating CDBG and HOME. Supporters said the changes would promote recovery and local responsibility, while mayors of both parties and housing advocates warned they would cut funding that communities rely on.