Equity
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Starbucks reverses open-door policy as it pursues coffeehouse environment
Under the new policy, customers will have to make a purchase if they want to hang out in Starbucks coffee shops or use its bathrooms.
By Kristen Doerer • Jan. 15, 2025 -
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Q&AHow an Oklahoma City sales tax fuels the city’s ‘renaissance’
Mayor David Holt led the planning process for the fourth voter-approved renewal of a sales tax for public infrastructure focused on human needs.
By Dan Zukowski • Jan. 2, 2025 -
Explore the Trendline➔
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TrendlineTop 5 stories from Smart Cities Dive
From worsening climate change to a shifting transportation landscape and the housing affordability crisis, cities have their work cut out for them.
By Smart Cities Dive staff -
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9 predictions about what 2025 may hold for US cities
“Playground” cities will thrive, innovative housing programs will proliferate and technology will transform transit and municipal services, these sources say.
By Smart Cities Dive staff • Jan. 2, 2025 -
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US DOT issues final rule on accessibility standards for transit riders
The rule sets guidelines for state and local transportation departments and transit agencies to improve access for users with disabilities at transit stations.
By Dan Zukowski • Dec. 20, 2024 -
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California kicks off e-bike incentive program statewide
Income-qualified buyers can access vouchers of up to $2,000 each through the program, which is expected to fund the purchase of up to 1,500 e-bikes.
By Dan Zukowski • Dec. 17, 2024 -
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Transportation equity data available in newly updated US DOT online tool
The tool helps state and local governments prioritize transportation investments that benefit disadvantaged communities. U.S. DOT is seeking feedback on the update.
By Dan Zukowski • Dec. 16, 2024 -
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How 5 states are innovating SNAP
From produce-buying incentives to in-app discounts, new pilots and programs aim to help people stretch funds from the nation’s largest anti-hunger program.
By Catherine Douglas Moran • Dec. 12, 2024 -
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Lowest-income households face highest transportation cost burden: federal report
Motor vehicle costs, including purchase, insurance, fuel and maintenance, eat up the largest amount of transportation costs across all U.S. households.
By Dan Zukowski • Dec. 10, 2024 -
Daphne Howland/Smart Cities Dive
Washington, DC, sues Amazon over slow Prime deliveries in underserved areas
Prime members in two zip codes aren’t receiving promised benefits, D.C.’s attorney general alleges. The e-commerce giant defended its actions by citing concerns over driver safety.
By Daphne Howland • Dec. 5, 2024 -
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With a $2.5M direct cash assistance pilot, Ohio city aims to boost low-income residents’ economic mobility
Columbus, Ohio, is pairing monthly payments with career-building and wealth-building programs to give residents a “crucial stepping stone.”
By Ysabelle Kempe • Nov. 13, 2024 -
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Trump agenda has states, advocacy groups girding for legal battles
California, New York and Illinois are among states readying to sue the Trump administration over divisive issues such as reproductive rights, climate regulation and immigration.
By Justin Bachman • Nov. 11, 2024 -
Jacob Wallace/Smart Cities Dive
New York City official backs composting over codigestion, citing environmental justice concerns
Residents across New York City are now putting their organics into curbside bins for collection. But where those organics will be processed continues to be up for debate.
By Jacob Wallace • Nov. 8, 2024 -
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Transit agencies document equity efforts in APTA report
Hiring dedicated equity executives, requiring analyses prior to system changes and partnering on services for those experiencing homelessness are among the efforts named in the American Public Transportation Association report.
By Dan Zukowski • Oct. 15, 2024 -
Retrieved from Pixabay.
EPA requires lead pipes to be replaced nationwide within 10 years
The landmark rule imposes the strictest limits on lead in drinking water since federal standards were set 30 years ago.
By Julie Strupp • Oct. 8, 2024 -
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2025’s top smart city conferences
Smart city technology, housing, climate action, road safety and more will take center stage at events already announced for next year.
By Ysabelle Kempe , Dan Zukowski • Oct. 1, 2024 -
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Q&AThis former Olympian is bringing a 43-mile trail to life in Virginia
Jon Lugbill, ardent trail user and executive director of a nonprofit that encourages active living, tells how the Fall Line Trail came to be and what it means for the communities it reaches.
By Dan Zukowski • Sept. 30, 2024 -
Retrieved from Miami-Dade County Department of Solid Waste Management.
Miami-Dade County, Florida, postpones vote on new incinerator due to siting concerns
The decision should not be taken lightly given the history of a waste incinerator that polluted one neighborhood for decades, a commissioner said.
By Jacob Wallace • Sept. 24, 2024 -
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How one city plans to reconnect a historically Black neighborhood split by a 1950s interstate
New Rochelle, New York, is one of more than 130 projects using funds allocated this year from the Reconnecting Communities Pilot program.
By Dan Zukowski • Sept. 20, 2024 -
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Low-income families face high energy burden, prompting calls for more government action
One in four low-income U.S. households spends more than 15% of their income on energy bills, finds an analysis by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Sept. 13, 2024 -
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Q&ACincinnati mayor says zoning overhaul reflects ‘generational change’ in how people think of cities
Years of community engagement revealed Cincinnatians don’t support getting rid of single-family zoning altogether — but they were open to relaxing it in some areas, Mayor Aftab Pureval said.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Sept. 11, 2024 -
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OSHA sets late December comment deadline for extreme heat standard
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s proposed rule would require employers to develop heat injury and illness prevention plans, among other actions.
By Ryan Golden • Sept. 4, 2024 -
Brandon Bell/Getty Images via Getty Images
Cooling is expensive, and more federal assistance is needed, advocates say
The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program is “chronically underfunded,” argues a policy brief by the Natural Resources Defense Council and WE ACT for Environmental Justice.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 29, 2024 -
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Intercity bus operators won’t be forced out of Chicago’s main bus terminal just yet
As the owner of Chicago’s bus station gears up to sell the site, FlixBus and Greyhound have found a stopgap allowing them to continue using the terminal.
By Dan Zukowski • Updated Oct. 23, 2024 -
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Cities assert tenants’ right to cooling in a warming world
Grappling with fatal heat waves, local governments are passing laws that make landlords provide working air conditioning. Financial and other challenges remain, however.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 27, 2024 -
Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images
Q&AWill New York City make landlords provide air conditioning? Its climate chief is optimistic.
Coordinating any such mandate with the city's building decarbonization law requirements could reduce the burden it might create for building owners, Rohit Aggarwala explained.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 26, 2024
