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 Montana Legislature passed housing policies that have eluded other jurisdictions, including increasing height limits, reducing parking requirements and permitting single-stair apartment buildings.
The state Legislature rejected AEP Ohio’s plan to have solar-power projects in southwest Ohio funded by customer dollars. The utility now must look to other funding sources for the 300-megawatt and 100-megawatt plans.
Launching in D.C., the “Helmet Selfie” initiative will encourage riders to wear helmets in exchange for credits towards their next ride, which will, hopefully, prevent injuries. Austin wants to join in on the campaign.
When Switch first moved to Michigan four years ago, it promised the area jobs, growth, and a big future. Many exemptions and not many jobs later, officials are growing weary of giving more breaks.
The Los Angeles City Controller, Ron Galperin, reported that the Department of Water and Power has 49,000 power poles in high fire risk locations. The LADWP says they’ve done a lot to reduce risk, but Galperin suggests more.
The state’s new voting system encountered 45 issues in six counties during the November election. But officials are optimistic as “problems are mainly human-based” and can be trained away before March’s presidential election.
A once-desolate stretch of waterfront has become home to DC Water, a futuristic hub for managing water treatment in the nation’s capital and an architectural symbol of environmental sustainability.
The three-year agreement will help Charlotte incorporate technology into everyday city life to benefit the community. This is Microsoft’s second smart city deal — the first was the May partnership with Houston, Texas.
The referendum passed with 68 percent of the vote, allowing for $3.5 billion in borrowing by Houston’s Metro, based on future transit agency revenues from the 1 percent sales tax it controls.
