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.
They help a lot of individuals and their communities. The proposed cuts would just shift the burden to emergency rooms, shelters and already overwhelmed local systems.
The city spent hundreds of hours and $130,000 on contracting services with FLO Analytics before eventually abandoning it for a free, easy-to-use app to draft the redistricting maps. Many of the committee members are unhappy with the wasted time and money.
The Boring Company has proposed to build a pair of tunnels that would shuttle riders to the city’s beachfront in self-driving Teslas. But there are still cost and environmental concerns that need to be resolved before approval.
The city of Lansing, Mich., modernized the process of marijuana business licensing through a new online records management system. The changes have simplified the process for city staff and end users.
When Jesus Garza first moved to Arcola, Ill., he didn’t speak any English and now he’s mayor of the predominantly white, conservative town. His election represents a disconnect between local community and national politics.
With 34.4 percent of its households lacking a broadband connection, Harlingen is one of the worst connected cities in the nation. The broadband expansion project will begin next year, but the service won’t be free.
To combat threats of rising sea levels, officials have decided to raise roads to protect existing infrastructure. But some homeowners claim the elevated roads sent floodwaters into their property, making them unrentable.
Dense, often dilapidated neighborhoods were routes to prosperity for an earlier generation of low-income urbanites. Their destruction has hurt us all.
The state’s experiment with decriminalizing hard drugs has connected few people with treatment options. But officials urge patience for results as COVID-19 may have impacted participation so far.
It’s gospel among economists that regulating rents is a bad idea. But there’s evidence that the burdens it imposes might be an acceptable price for society to pay.
Small cities can offer equal or better qualities of life than large cities for many people and the pandemic only further reinforced that trend. A report evaluates 1,322 of America’s small cities to determine which ones are best.
The sanctioned tent encampment for roughly 60 homeless seniors will have bathrooms, showers, security, food, water and potentially dental services. The goal is to find permanent housing for the residents before 90 days.
Improving public transit, whether it’s for subways, buses, light rail or trolleys, is very tricky. But some enhancements turn out to be surprisingly simple. Here’s what we can learn from one of the best transit systems.
A proposed 25-mile bike path that would stretch from Portland to Auburn using a retired railway has run into complications as transit officials are working to draft a new agreement with the rail company.
Critics of the smart city movement raise some valid concerns that local officials should pay attention to, but it’s not a case for antiquated municipal systems and procedures.
State transit officials look to invest in transportation infrastructure to assist economic development and a growing population, including more than $400 million for various transportation projects in Cobb County.
The nine-member panel was created a year ago to study reparations for Black residents but is still grappling with who should qualify and what the compensation will look like. The council has until 2022 to report their findings.
Despite having less bike infrastructure than other neighborhoods, Chicago police issued citations for biking on the sidewalk eight and three times more often in Black and Latino neighborhoods, respectively.
The state is one of 33 across the nation in which a driver’s license may be suspended if you cannot pay traffic-related fines or fees. Research shows that this disproportionately impacts vulnerable populations.
The partnership will develop strategies and landing pads in preparation for future electric oversized drone technologies. But some argue that the city’s resources would be better spent on existing transportation infrastructure.
The Central Ohio Transit Authority will stop running diesel-powered buses by 2025 and will implement eight more electric buses next summer. There are approximately 700 electric transit vehicles currently operating in the U.S.
A two-person kidnapping situation reinforced the need for Tucson to develop a co-response model in which mental health professionals and 911 dispatchers would be able to share information and respond to incidents together.
Many small businesses rely on social media to develop their community of customers and a five-hour outage across Facebook’s sites can be detrimental. It is unclear what caused the global outage on Monday.
The city has launched Vision Zero Action Plan, a yearlong, $110,000 effort to collect and disseminate data on crashes, lower speed limits and redesign streets to calm traffic. Last year, 74 people died from car crashes.
Residents of Sun Belt metros rate quality of life higher than residents of other fast-growing regions. But common concerns suggest that local leaders should pay more attention to the basics of governance.
The 2020 Census places the state near dead last in the country for population growth, but Michigan added 201,218 new immigrants in the last decade, helping it to eke out a net increase of 193,691 people since 2010.
The Wisconsin People’s Maps Commission proposed three versions of Assembly, Senate and congressional maps as alternatives to the Republican-authored ones. Republicans would likely still maintain a legislative majority.
In addition to increasing the minimum age for police officers from 18 to 21, the new law will also work to establish a college education requirement, involving courses in psychology, ethnic studies, law and others.
A new law allows single-family homes to be transformed into a property with up to four homes, which could result in much denser neighborhoods. Many San Diego residents worry this will drastically change suburbs.
The proposal could draw up to 200 high-wage remote workers to the area over the next two years by offering $10,000 in moving allowances. The program is based on one that Tusla and other cities have enacted.
A survey of transit riders illustrates some of their concerns around the cleanliness of vehicles, on-time performance and the technology that seeks to improve engagement and the overall experience.
