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 plug was pulled five years ago on a Google plan to build a digitally connected neighborhood in Toronto. The innovative opportunities it suggested — and the privacy questions it raised — have not gone away.
The Internet law may be the first of its kind and aims to connect the 40 percent of households that have incomes of less than $30,000 a year and the 34 percent of Black households that don’t have Internet at home.
A report from WalletHub ranked the diversity of 501 cities using 13 different metrics. Houston, Texas, was the most diverse while Provo, Utah, was the least.
While research shows that more diverse juries come to fairer decisions than homogenous ones, a survey found that most Washington juries lacked diversity. Officials are working to change that.
We miss the locally owned shops that once sustained community on our Main Streets. We need to try to sustain them in a radically different economic world.
After complaints from a county employee of racial discrimination in the workplace, Black faith and political leaders want county officials to address a growing culture of anti-Blackness.
The City Council expanded regulations on where micromobility devices are allowed and where they can be dismounted. E-scooters received the biggest change and are now allowed on streets, bike lanes and multi-use paths.
Once an overlooked part of the urban landscape, the curb is now considered hot real estate in many cities. The demands of delivery services, ridesharing and micromobility have cities re-examining how they manage their assets.
Residents complain about every two days of bad odors, so the city is now requiring 330 industrial facilities to submit odor control plans as well as installing e-nose sensors to detect and mitigate the stenches.
Washington has proposed the new tax and fee increases to help expand, replace and maintain transportation routes across the state. With the proposed revenue boost, the state could raise $15.3 billion.
While the Miami-Dade region has been ranked one of the most-diverse tech hubs in the nation, local officials want to continue striving for diversity in the area’s tech and venture ecosystem.
Across the country, houses of worship are shuttering by the thousands. Municipalities have a role in finding new uses for abandoned buildings that have long anchored communities and neighborhoods.
A variety of public-private partnerships will fund broadband expansion to East Cleveland, one of the least connected cities in the nation. Households will get 4G service with 50 mbps download speeds for just $15 a month.
The SpaceX chief executive wants to create a city that encompasses the community of Boca Chica Village, Texas, to help the space company prosper. But creating an incorporated city is complicated and difficult.
Just about everybody agrees that we need more affordable housing, and there are lots of ideas for making it happen. So far, though, none of them have come to much.
COVID-19 has underscored the value of parks and public spaces. A new survey shows that US mayors have gotten the message, but post-pandemic plans for public spaces remain largely undefined.
Congress has filed a bill that would provide $205 billion for high-speed rail projects across the nation. But skeptics don’t think a bullet train will ever come to Texas after a decade of empty promises.
These powerful tools of artificial intelligence can reflect a history of systemic bias. But they could be used to promote equity and help close the nation's yawning racial wealth gap.
The Boston transit authority will give free passes to 1,000 city workers in five neighborhoods in a pilot program that aims to boost economic recovery through reliable transportation.
With adaptive design, infrastructure is ready to be expanded in the future. It’s working for the Dutch.
The California county unanimously approved trial of a guaranteed minimum wage program. The first cohort of 125 low-income, non-white mothers will receive $1,000 monthly payments for the next two years.
Electric vehicle incentive programs, like the Clean Air Vehicle decal program, which gives access to carpool lanes, can encourage some consumers to make the switch, yet EVs are still out of reach financially for many.
Seven pedestrians were hit by trains at rail crossings and eight were hit while walking along rail tracks in New Jersey in 2020; five died. Transit officials are working to understand what’s causing the incidents.
The state has filed two lawsuits against San Diego County over two large housing projects that will put residents at extraordinary fire danger. There have been 68 fires within 5 miles of one of the planned sites.
In examining six older industrial cities, two urbanists raise a lot of good questions, though they don’t provide any definitive solutions.
Two new measures would change the way that public transportation fares are collected by establishing a $35 administrative citation and hiring safety officials, not police officers, to collect fares, answer questions.
Despite statewide efforts to establish better broadband coverage, one in six Maine households still don’t have Internet access. While officials work to expand access, progress is slow.
Almost no one disputes the need for America to repair and expand its physical infrastructure. But there’s a right way to do it, and there’s a wrong way.
Beckley, W.Va., wants to welcome remote workers to the city as a part of the downtown redevelopment plans by leveraging collaborative work spaces, affordable cost of living and other lifestyle amenities.
Even as transit authorities expect $70 million from federal COVID relief funds, the interim CEO sees no easy way to finish the final segment of rail. The project was supposed to be entirely finished by Jan. 2020.
Some cities are paving the way to getting beyond outdated governance and funding structures, creating viable alternatives to our antiquated institutions for distributing transportation resources.
