Cities and Communities

BY VANESSA CALDER The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has promulgated a new rule that requires equal housing outcomes in an attempt to clarify and give teeth to the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which requires racial groups be given equal access to housing. HUD’s “Duty to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing” requires […]

BY SAM SALKIN Cities differ vastly from one another. That’s probably too obvious of a statement. During the summer of 2015, I worked for a non-profit consulting firm advising cities around the world on how to solve the nasty issues plaguing their citizen’s quality of life. One of our clients, a major European city, came […]

BY ANDREA BLINKHORN AND JONATHAN HUI Driving down Puritan Avenue in the Martin Park neighborhood in northwest Detroit, it’s hard not to feel a sense of emptiness. Many houses are boarded up and crumbling, lying in a state of long-time disrepair that belies the ornate architectural styles that used to define the city. A short […]

BY MICHAEL GOOD How does one measure urban revitalization? For the Kresge Foundation in midtown Detroit, it is the sound of hammers clanking on steel beams as formerly empty lots surrounding its offices finally undergo construction. It’s bulldozers and work crews tearing up Woodward Avenue to install tracks for the new M-1 line, a light […]

In the past, the Bronx was often dismissed by outsiders, largely because of a reputation rooted in the infamous phrase “The Bronx is burning.” But many believe that both the borough and its reputation are changing.  Camilo Caballero, Senior Editor for Digital Content, visited The Bronx to learn directly from The President of The Bronx Borough, Ruben […]

BY ADITI KUMAR Donald Trump declared last week that he “doesn’t mind” starting a trade war with Mexico “when we’re losing $58 billion a year.” Not only is this a gross mischaracterization of our trade relationship, it also suggests a trade policy that will harm U.S. economic and political interests. Clearly, many aspects of U.S. […]

BY WILL EBERLE When the water started turning brownish-black, residents of Flint, Michigan knew they had a problem. But it would take months before they learned the truth; a truth which should serve as a wake-up call to communities across America. And just this week, Flint’s newly-elected mayor Karen Weaver declared a state of emergency […]

Growing up in the 80’s, it was common for low-income households to visit the city once a month to buy their supply of groceries. The corner stores catered for their grocery needs throughout the month. For the business owner, your typical customer was not the most sophisticated. You knew your customers by name and you […]

Time and again, experts have warned that oil and gas deposits will soon be depleted. Although the jury is still out on whose opinion regarding when this may happen will eventually prevail, the inevitability of this event is not in question. In any case, coal supplies will last humanity for centuries. It thus appears that […]

The Role of White Evangelical Churches in Urban Renewal BY EUGENE SCOTT This piece appeared in our 2015 print journal. You can order your copy here.  Over the past decade, cities have increased significantly in popularity. While the mid-twentieth century saw the rise of the suburb—due in part to white flight— the early twenty-first century is […]

Abstract The shooting and killing of Mike Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, drew national attention to issues of discrimination, police brutality, and the growing divide between communities and their local law enforcement agencies. Compounding this with the grand jury’s decision not to indict the officer responsible, the need for police reform became […]

BY CROSBY BURNS A preliminary version of this post originally appeared on the Ash Center’s Challenges to Democracy blog Last year the City of Boston unveiled its plans to devote a portion of its capital budget towards a participatory budget, a social innovation that aims to reimagine citizen engagement, the appropriations process, and democratic participation. […]