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.
As the city weighs renewing its multimillion-dollar ShotSpotter contract, officials acknowledge they can’t verify sensor locations, raising oversight and transparency concerns.
A new examination of 100 U.S. metros during the nationwide stay-at-home orders shows that small changes to societal norms, like daily commutes, could have significant impacts for air quality.
Lawmakers are withdrawing their support from the high-speed rail project as many become skeptical of the plans and costs. “I personally have lost all confidence in this group to develop and deliver what they promised.”
In the 2010 Census, nearly 9 percent of minority groups were uncounted, resulting in lost funding for communities of color. But officials and advocates are determined to ensure that doesn’t happen in the count for 2020.
In 2016 Columbus, Ohio, won a national competition to become America’s Smart City. But four years and an extension later, the city still has several projects to complete before the upcoming 2021 deadline.
White blue-collar families and their racial fears defined the urban landscape of 50 years ago, as Black Americans struggled through destabilizing change. The cities of today are very different places.
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation's collection of trip data for shared e-scooters and similar on-demand devices is being challenged as a government overreach in federal district court.
Sacramento approved a $2.5 million contract extension for the gunshot detection technology ShotSpotter. For many of the anti-police movement, the action feels like a betrayal. The mayor believes the tech can help.
The parks, trails and other outdoor amenities that make up our civic commons are crucial to building stronger, more equitable communities. Transforming them calls for a collaborative effort.
COVID-19 has transformed telemedicine into a widely utilized option for patients to receive safe health services. However, if patients don’t have computers, Internet or don’t speak English, it doesn’t work.
Once a playground for the rich and famous, Adirondack Park today relies heavily on middle-class visitors for business and sustainability. But now, uncertainty reigns, as COVID-19 puts lives and livelihoods on hold.
There's a good chance that midsize cities and smaller towns in the heartland will see renewed interest from companies looking for places that combine desirable amenities with sparser populations.
After decades of revival, they've been dealt severe blows across multiple dimensions by the coronavirus pandemic, putting them in danger of a period of extended decline.
The Census Bureau claims to have improved its ability to provide accurate data without risking the privacy of its responses, but experts are concerned there isn’t time to test the method before the data is published.
For low-income, immigrant and senior households, having at-home Internet is often too expensive. This digital divide has been highlighted as the coronavirus has shifted work and school online.
U.S. Senator Roger Wicker asked the Federal Communications Commission to accelerate the broadband funding program so that more Americans have access to the Internet during the global pandemic.
The large population of Los Angeles County makes it hard to gather representative data of confirmed COVID-19 cases. However, most officials believe that a majority of residents are still susceptible to the virus.
Absentee ballots made up 99 percent of the votes from Michigan’s May election and there were zero reports of fraud. Election officials now work to assure voters across the state that mail-in ballots are secure.
While not all medical services can be administered remotely, many expect certain services to continue post-pandemic. But telehealth still requires broadband, which is inaccessible for many in rural Indiana.
Baltimore City Council members and advocates are calling on Comcast to expand its Internet availability to low-income residents and to extend the company’s current offer through 60 days after schools return to classrooms.
The city has endorsed a $2 billion plan to wall off the historic downtown from rising seas and surging storms. It is the latest in a growing number of expensive seawalls and barriers being proposed to defend U.S. coastal cities.
The first overland fiber-optic cable is finally completed, connecting Alaska to the lower 48 states. The 480-mile, international cable is expected to provide more dependable high-speed Internet and phone service.
Despite their very different attitudes toward the role of government, California and Texas have both found success. But the Lone Star State's small-government/low-tax model gives it an edge.
Collin County used a mundane civil case to test the feasibility of video conferencing future trials where the jury worked entirely from home. However, lawyers are concerned that a video wouldn’t yield a fair trial.
The figure personifies the moral force of our judicial systems and has been represented as blind since the 16th century. But that’s not the case with the Storey County Courthouse, located in Virginia City.
The factors that led to the revival of our city centers will still be there in the aftermath of the coronavirus shutdown: low crime, a craving for entertainment and the desire for physical proximity.
From July 1, 2018, to July 1, 2019, the city saw its population grow just 1.5 percent. Seattle is now sixth for growth among the 50 most-populous cities; previously it had been in the top two for the last six years.
Company president Brad Smith urges lawmakers to include broadband expansion funding as part of a coronavirus stimulus package. As millions are working and studying from home, Internet connectivity is no longer an option.
Without Internet access, Viriginians can’t work from home, participate in online learning or even order necessities from online retailers. “Government officials have to wake up and realize the Internet is not a luxury.”
Social distancing has discouraged riders from using public transit, so officials are hoping to encourage alternative transportation methods. But even still, riders need to be reassured that public transit is virus free.
Rockdale, once home to one of the largest aluminum processing operations in the country, is now the location of what could be one of the world’s biggest bitcoin computing mines. But nothing is guaranteed.
