Equity


  • A woman using a tablet in a cafe.
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    SDI Productions/E+ via Getty Images

    NYC launches online portal for city services, benefits

    Mayor Eric Adams said the online portal, dubbed MyCity, would make it easier for residents to apply for benefits by reducing bureaucracy and red tape.

    By March 31, 2023
  • Crowds of people walk across a busy crosswalk at the intersection of 23rd Street and 5th Avenue in Manhattan New York City.
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    deberarr via Getty Images

    Which US cities showed ‘inclusive growth’ during the pandemic?

    Some of the largest cities were “tested” while slightly smaller cities were more resilient or emergent, according to measures of growth used in a new report.

    By Kalena Thomhave • March 30, 2023
  • The music district of Beale Street in downtown Memphis, Tennessee.
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    FangXiaNuo/iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

    Building music ecosystems can strengthen local economies and tourism, advocates say

    Efforts in Huntsville, Alabama, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, demonstrate “the external benefit of music on everything else,” said one speaker at a Brookings webinar on music’s role in transformative placemaking.

    By Robyn Griggs Lawrence • March 29, 2023
  • A woman charging her electric car and holding her baby.
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    Brothers91/E+ via Getty Images

    How cities can center equity in EV charging

    “Focus more on the people than on the hardware” to implement EV charging equitably, one electric transportation advocate said, such as by talking to residents and listening to their needs.

    By Kalena Thomhave • March 28, 2023
  • A woman rides her bicycle past a series of electric scooters of the Dutch scooter rental company DOTT on Piazza San Babila on September 23, 2020 in Milan, Italy.
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    Emanuele Cremaschi via Getty Images

    E-scooter bans, restrictions can leave some riders behind

    Micromobility companies like Lime and Bird urge cities to think beyond “blunt” policies that ban e-scooters.

    By Maylin Tu • March 22, 2023
  • A sunny San Antonio, Texas skyline with several very tall buildings in frame.
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    Hal Bergman via Getty Images

    Cities see hyperlocal ‘activity centers’ as key to sustainable growth, less car dependency

    Most metropolitan area residents live within three miles of an activity center, according to Brookings Institution research. Officials are planning around such centers to help residents meet their everyday needs while driving less.

    By Gaby Galvin • March 21, 2023
  • portrait of Climate Mayors Executive Director Kate Wright outdoors
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    Permission granted by Climate Mayors
    Q&A

    On climate change, this group of mayors thinks globally and acts locally

    Climate Mayors Executive Director Kate Wright discusses how the organization is helping mayors lead on climate policy and implement provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act and 2021 infrastructure law.

    By March 17, 2023
  • No parking and loading zone signs.
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    smodj/iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

    Chicago tests new parking enforcement tech, smart loading zones

    Mayor Lightfoot asked the city council to consider the pilot projects to increase road safety in January, after the parents of a young girl killed in a traffic collision filed a lawsuit alleging the city allowed unsafe road conditions.

    By March 16, 2023
  • A bike courier with a red delivery bag.
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    Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images

    California court defends independent contractor status for gig workers

    A California court upheld the independent contractor provision of Prop 22 but struck down portions that would’ve made it almost impossible to amend the law. 

    By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • March 14, 2023
  • Woman in red shirt speaking before Congress.
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images

    HUD chief targets rental fees, tenant screening

    Secretary Marcia Fudge says landlords should eliminate “duplicative, excessive and undisclosed fees” and identify “bottom-line” amounts tenants will pay.

    By Leslie Shaver • March 13, 2023
  • President Biden delivers remarks on 2024 budget plan In Philadelphia.
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images

    Biden proposed budget boosts funding for clean energy, permitting, efficiency programs

    The budget released Thursday includes $11.9 billion for the Department of Energy climate and clean energy research, development, demonstration and deployment, a 20% hike over the FY 23 enacted amount.

    By Ethan Howland • March 10, 2023
  • A bus driver wearing a mask looks toward the camera as the driver is driving a white NJ Transit bus.
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    Arturo Holmes via Getty Images

    New transit workforce dashboard can help agencies tackle labor shortages

    The dashboard creates a one-stop shop for “visualizations and digestible information about the transit workforce” that will be continually updated, the Transit Workforce Center said.

    By March 9, 2023
  • Philadelphia's Chinatown neighborhood.
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    peeterv/E+ via Getty Images

    Philadelphia kicks off project to reconnect Chinatown neighborhood divided by expressway

    The Chinatown Stitch project will develop a plan to “cap” a less than one-mile stretch of Interstate 676, called the Vine Street Expressway, that split the community more than 30 years ago.

    By March 9, 2023
  • An image of a delivery courier in New York City
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    Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images

    NYC cuts proposed delivery worker wage floor by almost $4

    Grubhub, Uber Eats and DoorDash persuaded the city to reduce its 2025 target base pay by $3.86 an hour, arguing workers would be compensated by “multi-apping.”

    By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • March 8, 2023
  • A view of downtown Austin, Texas.
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    Joe Raedle/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images

    US DOT and Austin, Texas, launch first-of-its-kind $22 billion transportation partnership

    It’s the first time the Transportation Department has entered an emerging projects agreement with a city to fast-track networks of related projects rather than using a piecemeal approach.

    By March 7, 2023
  • A new multifamily housing development.
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    agil73/iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

    Affordable houses were scarce in 2022 due to mortgage rates, supply: Redfin

    The number of affordable homes listed for sale in the U.S. fell 53% from 2021 to 2022, according to a Redfin report. Black and Hispanic households struggled with affordability more than White and Asian households.

    By March 6, 2023
  • A woman ride an e-scooter in a protected bike lane.
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    Extreme Media/iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

    New Mexico considering bill to mandate, fund protected bike lanes in some roadway improvement projects

    The requirement would apply to roadway improvement projects in municipalities with 10,000 or more residents.

    By March 3, 2023
  • A sign on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency building in Washington, D.C.
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    Gromit702/iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

    $250M for curbing climate pollution, advancing environmental justice available from US EPA

    Each of the 67 most-populated U.S. metropolitan areas is eligible for $1 million in planning grants, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will follow with $4.6 billion to help cities and states implement their plans later this year.

    By March 1, 2023
  • A Welcome to Alaska sign stands beside a highway.
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    Ingo Dörenberg via Getty Images

    Alaska drops 4-year degree requirements for state jobs

    “At present, there are not enough qualified applicants to fill all the state’s job vacancies,” the administrative order said.

    By Kathryn Moody • Feb. 27, 2023
  • Seattle skyline.
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    Philip Kramer/DigitalVision via Getty Images

    Seattle voters poised to approve public development authority for affordable housing

    Initiative 135 creates a publicly-owned organization to develop, own and maintain housing for those earning up to 120% of the area's median income.

    By Feb. 24, 2023
  • A standing man in a blue sport coat and a sitting woman wait at a bus shelter surrounded by green bushes and trees.
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    SolStock via Getty Images

    Most Los Angeles County bus stops lack protection from extreme heat

    Low-income people of color “are chronically underserved and exposed to heat while waiting for transit," according to the authors of a UCLA study.

    By Feb. 23, 2023
  • Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer speaks at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on March 10, 2021, in Washington, D.C.
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    Tasos Katopodis/Stringer/Getty Images News via Getty Images

    ARPA fund spending shows regional differences in local government priorities, researchers say

    Large cities and counties have spent the largest share of state and local fiscal recovery funds from the American Rescue Plan Act on government operations. But their spending on other priorities diverges from there, researchers found.

    By Feb. 23, 2023
  • Aerial view with Lower Manhattan skyline at sunset viewed from above Hudson River.
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    Ultima_Gaina via Getty Images

    New York City aims to improve access for people with disabilities to homeless shelters, affordable housing

    Mayor Eric Adams signed four bills to create an accessibility advisory board, mandate signage for power-operated doors, and require new city-funded housing developments to use universal design principles, among other efforts.

    By Feb. 22, 2023