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.
Gov. Ned Lamont announced that six more express trains would be added to the New Haven line and seven new weekday trains to the Waterbury branch. The additions come as $5 billion in federal infrastructure funds are headed to the state.
New York City’s newest mayor has made several key moves to speed up bus service and open lanes to more bicycles. But transit advocates are asking for bolder policies while reckless driving becomes a serious problem.
The state’s plan to toll nine bridges across the state to help fund their replacement and maintenance has collapsed amid court rulings and negotiations between Gov. Tom Wolf and Republican lawmakers.
Elected and other officials gathered in Birmingham, Ala., to announce a new U.S. Department of Transportation pilot program aimed at addressing past infrastructure projects that have harmed and divided communities.
Gov. Chris Sununu announced the federally funded program on Tuesday, July 5, that could develop thousands of new housing units and will begin accepting applications on Monday, July 11.
Several cities across the state are considering pilot scooter programs. Ensuring the safe use of micromobile vehicles requires analysis of driver behaviors, road infrastructure and local regulation.
Neighborhood change is unsettling. Whose fault is that? Maybe nobody’s.
Highly detailed data around cycling and pedestrian activity has not always been easy to come by. Public officials and micromobility advocates stress the need for better data to make the case for more and better infrastructure.
The median age in Maine dropped to 44.7 in 2021, a slight drop from 44.8 the year prior, marking the first time in more than two decades that the median age has dropped. Still, the state ranks as the oldest in the nation.
So far, the city is 25,000 trees shy of its 2019 goal. To continue, Los Angeles will need community buy-in. But concerns have been raised about the equitable distribution of the trees.
The U.S. National Bridge Inventory maps the location and other details of all bridges in the nation 100 years old or older. The interactive map offers data around the age of the bridge, its condition and daily traffic.
Gentrification’s pressure on homeownership is threatening a rich history and culture while worsening the racial wealth gap. There are some steps governments should take to preserve as much of it as we can.
Despite input from two advisory groups, the state’s Gulf Coast Restoration Fund is failing to meet any conventional measure of success for an economic development program funded by the money BP paid following its massive 2010 oil spill.
By making producers responsible for the recycling of their products, Colorado is showing the way toward improving recycling rates, reducing unnecessary packaging and lightening the burden on local governments.
The City Council Finance Committee voted to increase the speeding ticket threshold for automated speed cameras to 10 miles per hour above the limit. Mayor Lori Lightfoot calls the move “unconscionable.”
Corporate investment can be an economic boon to low-income communities. It can also be a cultural threat.
Cities have been struggling with the question for decades. Some are welcoming the murals and other street painting they used to deplore. Others call it vandalism and are erasing it.
Frances Haugen, Timnit Gebru and Janneke Parrish are at the forefront of a group of high-profile women calling out big tech. Is there a connection between their gender and their role as whistleblowers?
Mayor Ron Nirenberg and other city council members have lauded the maps for their independence and transparency. The new districts will go into effect for the May 2023 city elections.
The street vendors who sell food to downtown customers are a boon to urban life. Cities ought to have more of them.
The U.S. is losing 36 million trees every year. Several organizations have stepped up with creative solutions to save the wood, reduce carbon emissions and create jobs.
Local governments are eyeing spaceports as a way to boost economic development within their regions. But environmentalists are concerned about the ports' impacts on sensitive habitats, public safety and drinking water.
Curtailing parking minimums represents a sweeping shift in American attitudes, swapping a glorified car culture for climate-friendly and affordable housing options.
The New Orleans City Council voted unanimously on June 9 to hold two of Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s top aides in contempt for missing a deadline to turn over documents relating to the failed “smart city” broadband deal.
After some delay, four electric scooter companies may soon receive authorization to deploy their vehicles. The rollout will mark the beginning of the city’s full-fledged scooter program, which was announced in April.
A study found that Democratic-voting counties had an overall 15 percent lower death rate than Republican counties in 2019, a mortality gap that’s widened by six times since 2001. Experts fear the pandemic has only expanded the divide.
As electric-powered bicycles continue to gain popularity, not everyone agrees on whether e-bikes should have the same access to trails and parks as non-motorized bicycles. Many worry that e-bikes will cause extra damage to nature trails.
Single-room occupancy units have largely disappeared from American cities. But a Philadelphia councilmember has introduced legislation to legalize one of the most affordable forms of housing for low-income people.
The regulation is a result of the environmental justice law that Gov. Phil Murphy signed in 2021 to protect low-income, Black and brown communities from further pollution.
MARTA spent more than half of its sales tax proceeds on bus service and other operations, a rate that critics fear will imperil future plans for 29 miles of light rail, 13 miles of bus rapid transit and other improvements.
