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 Court found that there is no constitutional right to sleep outdoors or in cars. In dissent, liberal justices argued that sleep is a necessity that's effectively being criminalized.
North Texas settlements from the 19th century have been threatened for decades by urban development. A group of university professors and students are working to preserve what’s left.
Prices increased last year in 97 of the nation’s 100 largest markets. Home insurance costs are soaring and rent is increasingly unaffordable, contributing to growth in homelessness.
The City Council passed a bill requiring “proactive” inspections for high-risk buildings, following two devastating collapses last year.
The vast majority of calls are about distress, not violent crime. Dispatching social workers and other professionals rather than law enforcement can improve outcomes in many cases.
The City Council has approved a plan to move individuals now living along waterways to sites throughout the city over the coming year. The idea is encountering pushback from community members.
The state is jailing 54 percent more individuals for immigration violations than last year, moving it to fifth most active among states. Last month, Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill that mandates greater cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration agencies.
Kentucky’s Republican-controlled Legislature is sending hundreds of millions of dollars to Louisville this year. Local leaders hope strong cross-partisan relationships will help the city over the long term.
Boston and Dallas have achieved success in bringing down murders and other violent crimes by deploying an array of promising programs and approaches.
This multipart investigation by St. Louis Public Radio, APM Reports and The Marshall Project explores how police in St. Louis — one of America’s deadliest cities — have struggled to solve killings, leaving thousands of family members without answers.
More than 200 children live on Skid Row, a majority of which stay in the only homeless shelter in the neighborhood that allows families. Advocates are urging the city to do more to help.
Local governments want to see empty and underused offices converted to housing, but that’s often difficult. An examination of office and housing markets reveals the specific cities where this approach is most promising.
Proposed legislation would allow for up to one-quarter of the state’s spending on homeless housing, assistance and prevention programs to go toward sober living environments. The bill would reverse a 2016 funding ban.
Lacey Beaty came into office as mayor of Beaverton, Ore., with less power than her predecessor. That hasn't stopped her from taking on the city's biggest issue.
There are powerful arguments against cities spending lots of money on professional sports. On the other hand, the prestige of having home teams carries some tangible benefits.
The movement to build tiny houses has gotten a lot of attention, but it hasn’t gained much traction in the market. Still, there may be some applications for homes of just a few hundred square feet.
Proposed legislation would allow homeless people displaying mental health issues to be taken to a behavioral center against their will for assessment.
The 3,150 square-foot home recently hit the market in Burton, Texas, for $760,000. The printing company, Hive3D, is working on other 3D-printed housing options, including short-term rental “casitas” in Round Top.
The numbers don’t seem to support the need for new state laws cracking down on illegal occupancy. There are better things policymakers could do to deal with the larger issues around housing.
A new report shows foot traffic in downtown Philadelphia has reached 85 percent of pre-pandemic levels. Office occupancy is still down, but local leaders say it’s time to think differently about the future of downtown.
Colorado is the latest state to take a big swing at housing policy, with half a dozen housing-related bills approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jared Polis over the last few weeks.
Many immigrants to the U.S. are fleeing violence and persecution. They are motivated to put down roots and become part of their new communities, but they need support.
A new city office focused on homeless services has given a boost to programs to help the unhoused in New Orleans.
An independent study found that more than 62,000 people received temporary housing under the program that moved medically vulnerable people from the streets and congregant shelters to empty hotel and motel rooms.
Proposed legislation would prohibit data center development along the 22-mile Beltline trail loop and from within a half mile of transit centers, including MARTA stations and BRT stops. Existing data centers would be unaffected.
Inside Winnie’s Wagon is a mobile classroom with learning tools, games and books all designed to provide the state’s homeless children, whose number has dramatically increased since the pandemic, with individualized academic support.
Lawmakers in Mountain West seek to provide permanent tax relief without harming local revenue.
Rural America’s population grew by 108,000 last year. Ninety percent of that growth was in the South.
There’s a reason why we have trouble solving crucial community problems. It’s not an easy one to deal with.
It’s a problem in urban and rural areas alike, but the greatest impact is in cities where it amounts to “food apartheid.” Our best chance of solving it is to get our communities engaged in creating solutions.
The court is considering whether criminal penalties for sleeping in public places amount to cruel and unusual punishment. But no ruling on the issues before the high court will change the nature or scope of the problem.
