Zach Patton

Recent Articles

• State Treasurers Caught in Politics’ Crosshairs
• Oct 1, 2013
• As finances grow tighter and pension liabilities stay in the spotlight, treasurers in several states have been clashing with their peers about how best to manage the money.
• 1 Comments

• Hoopla: It's Like Netflix for Libraries
• Oct 1, 2013
• Library systems in cities across the country are debuting Hoopla, a free and unlimited streaming service for music and movies -- though the selection won’t be quite the same as Netflix or Hulu.

• Does Puerto Rico Really Want to be the 51st State?
• Jun 28, 2013
• For the first time ever, a majority of the island's voters favor statehood. But while many think it's the answer to the territory's economic woes, others disagree.
• 23 Comments

• Puerto Ricans Choose Statehood
• Nov 7, 2012
• Residents of the territory voted affirmatively to become the 51st U.S. state, but the island's political future remains unclear.
• 2 Comments

• New York Apartments Go Micro
• Aug 31, 2012
• The city is looking to develop apartments the size of a couple parking spaces to accommodate its 1.8 million one- and two-person households.

• More Trees Equals Less Crime
• Jun 29, 2012
• In Baltimore, a new study showed that a 10 percent increase in tree cover yielded at least a 12 percent decrease in crime.

• Chatype: The Nation’s First Municipal Font
• Jun 29, 2012
• Chattanooga, Tennessee raised more than $10,000 to support its efforts to become the first U.S. city with its own font.

• David Walker’s Plan to Fix America
• Jun 29, 2012
• After stepping down as head of the Government Accountability Office, David Walker started drawing the nation’s roadmap to fiscal sustainability that’s also applicable to states and cities.
• 1 Comments

• Parklets: The Next Big Tiny Idea in Urban Planning
• May 31, 2012
• Cities from coast to coast are giving up parking spaces (and the revenue that comes from them) to create green public places for people to sit.
• 3 Comments

• San Francisco Parking Program Eases Congestion
• Apr 30, 2012
• San Francisco hopes that by raising some prices based on supply and demand, it can ensure there’s always at least one open spot on every block. According to a New York Times analysis, it may be working.

• 50-State Legislation Now Searchable by Smartphone
• Apr 30, 2012
• The new Open States app lets users identify and contact their state reps, scroll through voting records and follow bills through the legislative process.
• 1 Comments

• New Orleans’ Latino Population Boom
• Feb 29, 2012
• After Hurricane Katrina, Latinos moved into the city in record numbers and have transformed the disaster-struck town.
• 7 Comments

• Promoting Road Safety in New York City via Haiku and Pop Art
• Feb 1, 2012
• New York City streets are getting a little more literary. The city Transportation Department has partnered with an artist, John Morse, to create a series of graphic, pop-art signs encouraging drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to be more careful.

• Dearborn, Mich. Sells Florida Apartment Building
• Jan 1, 2012
• In what may have been the only arrangement of its kind, the Midwestern city owned waterfront vacation property in Florida. The sale of it added $6 million to this year’s budget.

• The Boss of Boston: Mayor Thomas Menino
• Jan 1, 2012
• Boston's longest-serving mayor has started to think big. (But he still sweats the small stuff.)
• 4 Comments