Housing and Urban Issues
Stresses on urban communities continue to affect housing, food security, child services, homelessness, business development and crime. Coverage includes stories about new solutions to how cities are run, how they develop as urban centers and about the people who live there.
A survey shows that more than half of manufactured homeowners on rented land have no lease.
Three cities, Compton, San Gabriel and Motebello, were placed in the high risk category, according to the California State Auditor, while Torrance moved to the moderate risk zone. Several other cities ranked in the top 20 most at-risk.
Even though mental illness is just as pervasive in rural communities, crisis response teams have been slow to grow beyond cities partly due to a lack of resources. Unfortunately, there's not a simple solution.
The success of remote work could revitalize the economies of America’s small communities. But there are things they need to do to maximize their economic growth.
Renewed efforts to develop the 20-acre Caltrain site has increased excitement surrounding the transformation of regional transit, but also the potential to develop housing or commercial buildings if Caltrain moves its railyards underground.
While Washington state saw a 16 percent increase in road deaths between 2020 and 2021, Pierce County saw a 34 percent year-to-year jump, alerting officials of the dire need for road safety reform.
The Inflation Reduction Act has funding to help states and localities implement better energy codes. Energy-efficient buildings can save their owners a lot of money while dramatically reducing emissions.
California’s shift away from gas-powered vehicles could mean as many as 80 percent of gas stations would be unprofitable by 2035. The state has some 250,000 station owners and employees.
For 30 days, the city made dozens of changes to its streets and saw bike-share use soar. For Boston’s chief of streets, it was a reminder that “there’s no substitute for trying something and learning from it.”
Policy decisions that seem to make sense at the national or regional levels should not sacrifice the environmental quality and economic future of communities directly impacted by them.
The annual census found that chronic homelessness rose 43 percent since 2020, even as the county and city of Santa Rosa spent an unprecedented $4 million on housing homeless people through the first 15 months of the pandemic.
The decision of the world’s fifth-largest city to shift road space from cars to other uses has produced increasingly vibrant urban neighborhoods.
More than 300,000 DTE and Consumers Energy customers across the state lost power during August as the grid failed to keep up with a growing demand. To prevent future shutdowns, utilities will need to increase their reliability.
As Prince of Wales, Charles had a lot to say about architecture and planning. But there are things that princes can do that monarchs might not be able to.
Residential, commercial and industrial buildings account for significant portions of state and local greenhouse gases, including one-third of Seattle’s and nearly 25 percent of Washington state’s emissions.
As broadband expansion efforts increase nationwide, digital equity advocates are working to ensure that urban communities are included. New federal funding opportunities are adding fuel to these efforts.
We focus on people leaving cities, but we tend to ignore where they came from and what they take with them.
With its recent $105 million purchase of the State of Illinois Center in downtown Chicago, the tech giant reimagines the future for an unappreciated government complex.
Abandoned vehicles have long been a problem in Oakland. The city has increased resources and manpower to address not just cars but the illegal activity they encourage.
Ensuring that billions of dollars of federal funding for broadband service are well spent – and that consumers get what they pay for – comes down to knowing the actual speeds internet users experience.
Two rulings, one in Wisconsin and the other in Texas, this summer have provided big legal victories to voters with disabilities, which advocates hope can set legal precedents for other states to help navigate new restrictive voting laws.
New York City has data showing substantial reductions in serious injuries and fatalities resulting from road diets, pedestrian islands and sidewalk extensions. Advocates say it's a rare kind of accountability for roadway designers.
The Iowa county’s ARPA committee has said the money would be allotted for bike trail repairs, an environmental education center project and Mariposa Park campgrounds. The final decision will fall to the Board of Supervisors.
Efforts to improve the city’s streets for bikers and pedestrians are being held up by the Texas Department of Transportation, which has reasserted its ownership of state roads and is focused on prioritizing traffic flow for drivers.
They have a long history, and they have been our "public living room." Some cities and towns that have lost their central gathering places are trying to re-create them.
With the help of city school kids, an organization is restoring long-depleted oyster beds that once flourished in the waters that surround New York City. The bivalves are cleaning the water and protecting shorelines.
Rules that mandate excess parking in new development projects have added to the overlapping crises of housing affordability, urban sprawl and climate change, advocates say. California could soon bar cities from imposing them.
It deals with very different urban issues than the West. Its population is exploding, with all 20 of the world’s fastest-growing cities based in Africa or Asia. I’m taking a long trip through the region to find out more.
The Washington county’s population dropped 4.9 percent between 2010 and 2020 and officials attribute the loss, at least partially, to the geography and the shrinking gold mining industry which the county once relied upon.
COVID led to historic high enrollments. But as the emergency comes to an end, millions are expected to lose their insurance, including people who meet the requirements for Medicaid but get lost in its labyrinthine bureaucracy.
A monthlong shutdown of the Orange Line in Boston has riders scrambling for other transportation options. And many are choosing Bluebikes.
