Government / Politics

Baltimore Could Reallocate Police Funding to Public Transit
Baltimore is taking steps to divest from policing and makes decisions about where to invest $22 million in reallocated funds. One proposal: use the money to support public transit.

Model Predicts Next U.S. Coronavirus Epicenter
For the third consecutive day, COVID-19 cases in the Sunshine State have set records, exceeding 4,000 for the first time. PolicyLab in Philadelphia now predicts Florida will be the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S. by mid-July.

City vs. State: Mayors Want Power to Require Mask Wearing to Slow Coronavirus Spread
Coronavirus cases are surging in the Lone Star State's urban areas, so mayors of nine of its largest cities asked Greg Abbott for the power to mandate the wearing of masks or facial coverings, prohibited by executive order, to slow viral spread.

Prioritizing Open Air Spaces in Pandemic Recovery Efforts
Businesses and public health officials are working together to develop guidelines to provide goods and services to the public safely. They're visioning creative ways to bring businesses outdoors and promoting al fresco spaces.

Property Tax Disparities Grow as Housing Prices Grow
The authoritative report on the state of property taxes in the United States was released earlier this month.

Regulatory Considerations for Online Public Engagement: Ensuring the Viability of Projects
As online engagement becomes increasingly important during COVID-19, so does understanding compliance with legal requirements.

Community Park Addresses Open Space, Air Quality Disparities in L.A.
Lou Calanche and Esther Feldman discuss the Natural Park at Ramona Gardens, a green solution project to improve air quality and community health in one of the most polluted neighborhoods in Los Angeles.

Pandemic Data for Planners
The right data will be critical in crafting effective responses to the threats posed by the coronavirus.

The Bike as a Symbol of Freedom
It's no geographic accident that so many of the images emerging from nationwide protests have featured numerous protestors on bikes. These forces have been coalescing for years.

What's So Special About Oregon and Utah?
These two Western states did something that none of the 20 other states in the nation going the wrong way in the pandemic have yet to do: they paused their reopening plans due to rising coronavirus infections and hospitalizations.

Lack of Progress on Racial Justice Is Blocking Progress on Climate Justice
Climate justice and social justice are closely linked. Black climate expert Ayana Johnson explains why racial justice strides are required to make leeway for climate change issues.

Academic Studies: Staying at Home Saved Millions of Lives Globally
Separate coronavirus studies from the University of California at Berkeley and Imperial College London published June 8 in the journal Nature show the life and health-saving value of domestic stay-at-home orders, global lockdowns, and other measures.

Can it Happen Here? Is it Happening Here?
An urban planning scholar of foreign conflict shares insights into how recent political unrest in the United States resembles and distinguishes from the ethnic and nationalistic conflict experienced in other countries in recent decades.

Vision Zero...Without the Enforcement
As a leading bicycle advocacy organization withdraws support for police enforcement of Vision Zero plans, the discretionary practices of traffic enforcement come under rejuvenated scrutiny.

Housing Programs on the Chopping Block in Philadelphia
The city of Philadelphia is facing a $649 million budget shortfall, and Mayor Jim Kenney is proposing to cut deeply from the city's housing budget to make up the difference.

The Pandemic's New Epicenter
On May 22, the World Health Organization declared Latin America the new epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. Brazil is second in the world in reported cases after the U.S., and Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Mexico are also suffering disproportionately.

The Singapore Exception
Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong were credited early in the pandemic with having successfully contained the coronavirus without resorting to lockdowns. However, Singapore lost its standing in that elite group. Crowding vs. density may explain why.

Coronavirus Success Stories
While the U.S. leads the world in COVID-19 infections and deaths, a small group of nations defied the odds and has shown remarkable success in containing the coronavirus. NPR investigates what they share in common, with a focus on New Zealand.

New York City Reopens Today. How Will People Travel?
The last of the ten economic regions in the Empire State opened for Phase One on June 8. Transportation planners fear massive traffic congestion as residents and workers may abandon the subway due to concerns about being infected by the coronavirus.

The Shifting Geography of Protest
Compared to 1992 in Los Angeles, the protest and civil unrest of 2020 have relocated to neighborhoods farther north, and further entrenched by white wealth.
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