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.
The landmark environmental bill, CEQA, has been credited with preventing irreversible damage to natural habitats. But it’s also provided an avenue for resistant neighbors to block new housing in urban areas.
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.
NJ Transit and state and local officials unveiled an experimental bus stop in Cherry Hill that has high-intensity LED lighting and a two-port USB charging outlet that is solar-powered. The station cost $11,900.
Edward Glaeser got a lot of attention with his argument that cities succeed in a deregulated environment. His new book embraces a broader role for government.
But improving healthy and affordable food access goes beyond what’s in the name.
The city has proposed bills that would require landlords to notify tenants of rent increases 180 days in advance and provide relocation assistance for low-income renters. Some worry this could devastate small landlords.
Five cities are leading the way with programs to nurture these homegrown entrepreneurs and fill storefronts emptied by the pandemic.
