Equity: Page 2


  • A person in a coat rides a bicycle holding a red DoorDash bag.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    NYC delivery worker earnings up 22%

    The city says workers’ earnings shot up after it began enforcing its new $17.96 per hour app-based delivery wage. DoorDash, however, called the city’s report “misleading and blatantly biased.”

    By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • July 16, 2024
  • Eviction notice on door of house with brass door knob.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Bill Oxford via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Opinion

    The White House just took steps to combat housing discrimination. States and local governments should follow.

    As the country’s eviction epidemic grows, lawmakers must take aim at tenant screening practices locking millions out of affordable housing.

    By Jasmine Rangel • July 9, 2024
  • smart city, smart cities Explore the Trendline
    Image attribution tooltip
    jamesteohart via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Trendline

    Top 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
  • A person ina black puffy jacket, black beanie and backpack walks along a street with residential brick buildings and parked cars.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Anna Kapustina via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Boston was the first major city to pair fair housing with zoning. How’s it going?

    Community input was key to the policy’s passage but should be a larger part of the review process it created, advocates say. 

    By Kalena Thomhave • July 8, 2024
  • A team of workers installing solar panels on a home in California.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Adamkaz via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Sponsored by What’s Possible

    Frontline communities can’t wait: A blueprint for building sustainable neighborhoods now

    We cannot allow climate change to continue to overburden under-resourced communities. Discover how cross-sector partnerships and equitable investment can advance a more resilient, prosperous and sustainable future for everyone.

    By Shaun Donovan, Enterprise Community Partners and Michael T. Pugh, LISC • July 8, 2024
  • People hold signs that read "Housing not handcuffs" in front of a courthouse.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    US Supreme Court rules Oregon city’s homelessness laws not ‘cruel and unusual’

    The decision elicited swift reactions from stakeholders across the country, including officials in the city where the case began: Grants Pass, Oregon.

    By Updated June 28, 2024
  • People in coats and masks stand in line against a building behind a metal fence. Many have large backpacks and bags.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Spencer Platt/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    What US mayors want from the next president, Congress

    The creation of a first-ever city mental health block grant, affordable housing investments and gun safety legislation are among the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ requests.

    By June 27, 2024
  • A worker in a hard hat and vest smiles as they work.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by ACI
    Image attribution tooltip
    Column

    New York nonprofit develops hundreds of trade careers annually

    The Andromeda Community Initiative helps train, place and develop careers for underrepresented groups, especially communities of color, in New York City.

    By Zachary Phillips • June 21, 2024
  • An HVAC worker is seen to perform heat pump maintenance
    Image attribution tooltip
    welcomia via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Electrifying neighborhoods could save California billions on gas line replacements

    Utilities could save around $20 billion in gas pipeline replacement costs by 2045 while only affecting about 3% of current gas customers, says a new analysis prepared for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

    By June 20, 2024
  • A person in a gray suit stands at a podium
    Image attribution tooltip
    Scott Olson/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Chicago creates Black reparations task force with $500K budget

    Chicago joins a growing list of U.S. cities studying reparations programs, although few have come to fruition thus far. Meanwhile, some conservative groups and lawmakers are pushing back on such efforts.

    By June 18, 2024
  • A person in hats and eyeglasses holds a device. Another person stands behind and
    Image attribution tooltip
    Lathan Goumas | Virginia Sea Grant. (2023). "VASG Commonwealth Fellow Clay Ferguson" [Photograph]. Retrieved from Virginia Sea Grant.
    Image attribution tooltip

    9 climate resilience job training programs to launch with $60M from NOAA

    They will train workers for jobs in conservation, renewable energy, urban agriculture, green infrastructure, emergency preparedness and more, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said.

    By June 12, 2024
  • A person sits in the grass with a laptop on their lap and hands rested on the keyboard
    Image attribution tooltip
    Prostock-Studio via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Chicago tackles digital divide with $8M parks initiative

    Sixty parks will be outfitted with new infrastructure, city officials announced. The effort comes on the heels of the termination of the federal Affordable Connectivity Program.

    By June 11, 2024
  • A shot of three construction workers mid sections.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Deep Dive

    The heat is on. Contractors say they’re ready.

    Commercial construction firms aren’t waiting on OSHA’s much-anticipated heat standard to protect their workers.

    By Zachary Phillips • June 7, 2024
  • A person wearing a tee shirt, sneakers and shorts walks out of a public toilet.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Stephen Chernin/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Finding public bathrooms in New York City just got easier

    The city this week unveiled a Google Maps layer showing the locations of its public restrooms. 

    By June 7, 2024
  • A construction worker atop a steel beam drinks from a bottle of water.
    Image attribution tooltip

    Brian Snyder/Reuters

    Image attribution tooltip
    Deep Dive

    Heat safety laws for workers in Texas, Florida, Phoenix to be put to the test

    As summer begins, some states prevent cities from mandating water breaks. Still, there are commonsense practices to protect workers from soaring temperatures, safety officials say.

    By Zachary Phillips • May 28, 2024
  • A close up of Michael Regan
    Image attribution tooltip
    Win McNamee via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Brownfield clean-up job training programs can get $14M from EPA

    The federal agency also awarded over $300 million in grants to clean up polluted sites so communities can repurpose them into assets such as affordable housing and green space.

    By May 28, 2024
  • A person pushing a cart with cleaning supplies down a hall
    Image attribution tooltip
    freemixer via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Q&A

    This universal basic employment pilot aims to reduce poverty

    The CEO of the group spearheading the effort envisions running similar programs nationwide and, eventually, at the federal level. 

    By May 21, 2024
  • A piggy bank with a bill folded in the slot stands on a table next to a row of books, a cup of colorful pens and pencils and highlighters laying on the table.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Svitlana Unuchko via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    How wide are funding gaps in some large metro school districts?

    The per-student funding disparity between wealthy and less wealthy districts in one community was more than $11,000. To reduce or eliminate funding inequities, a new study recommends ambitious policy changes.

    By Kara Arundel • May 21, 2024
  • A person holds a piece of cardboard over their head while looking across a crowded beach.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Mario Tama/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Heat resilience research centers unveiled by Biden administration

    Most governments have historically lacked “a comprehensive or coordinated set of strategies to deal with heat and its impacts,” a center lead said. Applications for communities to get involved will open later this year. 

    By May 21, 2024
  • Two workers in yellow vests and hard hats ride on the back of a truck spraying gray liquid onto a city street
    Image attribution tooltip
    Retrieved from City of San Antonio on YouTube on May 20, 2024
    Image attribution tooltip

    How cool pavement, heat risk data are helping a Texas city prep for summer

    With heat-related illness on the rise in San Antonio, “it’s critical that we direct resources to those most in need of relief,” said the city’s chief sustainability officer.

    By May 20, 2024
  • Workers on a roof on a sunny day.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Mario Tama via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    OSHA heat standard clears regulatory hurdle

    A committee has unanimously recommended that the agency advance a rule to protect construction workers from high temperatures.

    By Zachary Phillips • May 14, 2024
  • A person in tall rain boots walks in shin-deep water on a street lined by houses and power lines.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    FEMA alters how it calculates costs, benefits of disaster resilience projects

    The changes will address longstanding barriers that underserved communities have faced in accessing grants, the agency says.

    By May 14, 2024
  • Tents lined up underneath a bridge. A person walks by, silhouetted by the sun.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    How tracking homelessness in real time ‘by name’ can guide local action

    Federally mandated annual “point-in-time” counts paint a picture of homelessness in broad strokes. But some communities are collecting information to understand what happens in between.

    By May 3, 2024
  • The flag of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hangs outside the agency building in Washington, D.C.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    EPA unveils environmental justice ‘clearinghouse’ with hundreds of resources

    The online library is an "excellent start" for municipal leaders looking to center environmental justice in their work, the National League of Cities’ sustainability director said.

    By May 2, 2024
  • A New York City transit bus turns a corner.
    Image attribution tooltip
    THEPALMER via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    NYC fare-free bus experiment to end

    Although funding to continue the program was not included in the recently passed state budget, two lawmakers are looking to expand the program with new legislation.

    By Updated April 30, 2024
  • A close-up of the creamy exterior of the Department of Labor building.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Caroline Colvin/Smart Cities Dive
    Image attribution tooltip

    Labor Department will raise overtime salary threshold to $44K in July, $59K next year

    The final rule expands overtime pay eligibility to millions of U.S. workers, the department said.

    By Ryan Golden • April 25, 2024