Cover Story
How Long Can a State Go Without Repairing Roads and Bridges?
BY Daniel C. Vock
Mississippi is about to find out. Decades of neglect have closed hundreds of bridges, putting the state at the forefront of America's infrastructure fight.
FEATURES
Urban
The Importance (and Neglect) of America's 'Middle Neighborhoods'
When a neighborhood isn't rich -- and isn't poor -- government tends to forget about it.
BY Alan Greenblatt
Education
With Shootings on the Rise, Schools Turn to 'Active Shooter' Insurance
Gun violence costs lives -- and money. The financial burden can overwhelm governments, especially when they're small or struggling.
BY Natalie Delgadillo
Finance
Scott Wiener Thinks He Knows How to Fix California's Housing Crisis
Other legislators aren't so sure.
BY Liz Farmer
Health & Human Services
Can Homelessness Programs Make Money -- and Should They?
"Pay for success" is changing the way cities confront the problem.
BY J.B. Wogan
OBSERVER
Public Safety & Justice
How Old Is Old Enough to Get Married?
States are raising the age of consent to protect children from forced marriage. No state has gone as far as Delaware.
BY Alan Greenblatt
Urban
White Flight Returns, This Time From the Suburbs
White residents are either moving back downtown -- or to farther-out exurbs.
BY Alan Greenblatt
Urban
The Architecture Critic Who Wants to Remake Los Angeles
The city's first chief design officer comes to the job from the Los Angeles Times.
BY Alan Greenblatt
Education
The Problem With School Takeovers
Studies show they're ineffective and may unequally impact black and Hispanic communities.
BY Alan Greenblatt
POLITICS + POLICY
Assessments
Is Government Corruption More Common, or Are We Just Better at Finding It?
Some of today's scandals would have gone unseen a couple decades ago.
BY Alan Ehrenhalt
Washington Watch
Programs Like D.A.R.E. and Scared Straight Don't Work. Why Do States Keep Funding Them?
There's a better way for governments to focus on effective initiatives.
BY Donald F. Kettl
Politics & Elections
Can the California GOP Stop Its 'Death Spiral'?
Republicans are split over whether they should move to the middle or embrace their right-wing base.
BY Alan Greenblatt
Health & Human Services
Amid Opioid Crisis, Drug Take-Backs Gain Popularity
A change in federal law lets more than just law enforcement agencies collect unused and unwanted pills.
BY Mattie Quinn
Infrastructure & Environment
As Storms Worsen, Many Coastal States Aren't Prepared
Lax building codes and poor enforcement are a big problem in some places.
BY Elizabeth Daigneau
Transportation & Infrastructure
How the Mutation of Main Street Is Reshaping Cities
Brick-and-mortar stores are surviving, but what they’re selling is changing.
BY Alex Marshall
Urban Notebook
In Fights Between States and Cities, It's Not Just Red vs. Blue
Preempting local laws is no longer a trend in just conservative states.
BY William Fulton
PROBLEM SOLVER
Health & Human Services
Where Evictions Are Most Common
A new database provides the first-ever national look at evictions. It shows that they happen more often than you think in places you might not expect.
BY Mike Maciag
Smart Management
See Public Records? Governments Are Making It Harder.
A growing number of states are limiting access to them.
BY Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene
On Leadership
The Truth About Racial Equity That Most White Leaders Don't See
Sometimes the morally right thing to do is also the economically smart thing to do.
BY Mark Funkhouser
Public Money
A Glimpse Into the Future of P3s
The real money isn't in roads and bridges. It's in people and services.
BY Justin Marlowe
Urban
Behind the Lens: In Detroit, Police Bring Neighborhood Baseball Back
Photos and musings from our photographer.
BY David Kidd
PUBLISHER'S DESK
Publisher's Desk
The Real Housing Issue
Despite what you might think given recent media coverage, the U.S. city with the worst affordable housing problem is not San Francisco.
BY Mark Funkhouser
