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 fallout from a strike by prison guards continues to paralyze prisons, forcing officials to suspend programs and rely on emergency deployments.
Approximately 710,000 Ohio households don’t have any Internet service at home, leaving them unable to connect to work, school, health care or shopping during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Ann Arbor, Mich., company, Voxel51, is using data from street cameras to measure social distancing across the world. The company hopes the data gets put to good use, “even if it's only public awareness.”
We have a loose consensus in America on factors that drive costs and time up and quality down. What we don't have is consensus on how to get those factors under control.
Work to bridge the digital divide has gained momentum in recent years in state and local government, and the case to close the gap may get a further boost by the novel coronavirus reinforcing the importance of having the Internet at home.
Pittsburgh is looking to implement a hyperloop to speed up transportation. But even smaller counties, like Beaver County, are starting to think about their futures and “how they want to propel [themselves] into the mid-21st century.”
The decisions governments are making to cope with the spread of the coronavirus will disproportionately impact low-income communities. These decisions need to be made through an equity lens.
A new book's exploration of how places that have been battered by powerful forces have succeeded or failed has much to teach us about our own communities.
Ridership on buses and light rail has taken a nosedive since the coronavirus outbreak as people are social distancing and remote work has become the norm, at least temporarily. Many wonder if ridership will revive post-coronavirus.
Transportation agencies know that policies prioritizing single-occupancy vehicles are bad for their cities. Yet in too many cases those agencies are the ones standing in the way of needed changes.
Indiana is among the many states that have switched to e-learning during the coronavirus outbreak. While education leaders concede it’s not ideal, “I think once people get more adjusted to it… I think it’ll be really good for the kids.”
Census invitations have been sent out and officials want everyone to participate so they’re making the information clear, accurate, accessible, short and safe. “We highly encourage people to fill out the questionnaire.”
Could the pandemic help end or mute the modern era of cities? Probably not, but it's likely that we will see some permanent changes, both predictable and unexpected.
The Department of Labor will temporarily suspend the in-person requirement to access its services and is working to make other necessary accommodations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic is creating new burdens and exacerbating existing ones for Americans at the economic margins. Government has the obligation and the opportunity to ease those burdens.
Yesterday's reporting and compliance mechanisms aren't dynamic enough. Today's evolving transportation marketplace calls for nuanced, citizen-centric control driven by actionable real-time data.
Wisconsin’s capital city saw more trips and 64 percent more users in 2019, which they believe to be due to their all-electric fleet. Some are using this as a basis to reimagine what city transportation should be.
Mid-twentieth century modern buildings once flourished in two Southern cities. Thanks to its location in Miami Beach, art deco has prospered in recent decades. But modernism faces a sadder fate in Montgomery, Ala.
A safety testing company recommended that carmakers install ways to ensure drivers stay engaged. “Unfortunately, the more sophisticated and reliable automation becomes, the more difficult it is for drivers to stay focused.”
An Austin neighborhood is designed for formerly homeless and includes some 3-D-printed houses. While it reduces price and time of construction, not all are convinced 3-D-printing is the solution to the housing crisis.
Gov. Cuomo announced that by 2023 the fairgrounds would be run entirely on renewable energy, but there have been no plans or progress since. Many wonder if the promise is even feasible.
To reduce carbon emissions and vehicles on the road, Minneapolis wants to make other forms of transportation more appealing. But officials know: “If you make it easier for people … people will catch on to that.”
A study ranked Missouri 32nd of all states for Internet coverage, speed and cost. The state’s third largest city is also the 70th-most connected. The state needs a “real partnership between public and private interests.”
The coronavirus is more dangerous for those over the age of 80, the population that also tends to be less tech-savvy. Without technology access, they could be missing important information, medication access or doctor appointments.
Sacred Wind Communications has partnered with the Navajo Housing Authority in New Mexico to establish high-speed Internet for a Navajo community. Many are eager for the opportunities that Internet access opens.
President Trump wants federal architecture to return to its classical past. Meanwhile, many local governments have been going in the opposite direction, providing a public forum for new, modern building designs.
The pilot shuttle will drive a 1.5 mile route in downtown Rochester, Minn., operating daily from 9 am until 3 pm. Officials are trying to ensure the shuttle is as safe as possible for its passengers and other vehicles.
San Diego has over 3,000 smart streetlights that collect city data. While distribution of the tech is fairly even, police access streetlight data more frequently when it’s from neighborhoods of color, which raises concerns.
Tennessee has put millions of dollars into efforts to expand broadband and digital literacy in its rural communities and the state is still coming up short. “This isn’t something seen as a ‘nice to have’ anymore.”
Duluth, Minn., has very little, and its mayor would like to see more minorities among its residents. But the city's strong homegrown civic culture seems to be serving it well.
Collecting census data online creates new risks to the accuracy and integrity of the information. Here's what you need to know.
