Equity: Page 6
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8 cities to install public art projects with Bloomberg Philanthropies grants
The winners include Houston, which aims to “disrupt perceptions of homelessness,” and Phoenix, which will commission artists to create shading and cooling installations.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Oct. 20, 2023 -
Washington, DC’s ban on cashless businesses, explained
As contactless, digital and card transactions become more common, the district has joined state and local governments preserving residents' right to pay cash.
By Paige Gross • Oct. 19, 2023 -
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 -
NYC plans greenway expansion amid concern about cycling deaths
Supporters of the expansion called it “historic," but other street safety decisions have left advocates feeling betrayed by the mayor, reports news organization Gothamist.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Oct. 18, 2023 -
Opinion
Colleges can take steps to address the affordable housing crisis
From contributing underutilized land to tapping government support, institutions can help alleviate the problem — and get a return on their investment.
By Eric Maribojoc • Oct. 17, 2023 -
Why Los Angeles’ climate plan has ‘outlived its usefulness’: city controller
The new report says the plan has the same shortcoming as those in many other cities: a lack of meaningful metrics. What should the California city do now?
By Ysabelle Kempe • Oct. 16, 2023 -
FEMA makes ‘key changes’ to $1.8B climate resilience grant programs
Amid concerns that some communities struggle to access federal climate resilience funding, the agency moved to lower the administrative and financial burden for certain applicants.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Oct. 13, 2023 -
Vermont utility wants to give all customers battery storage to prevent outages
Green Mountain Power aims to shift the state’s grid to a distributed system — a future the utility’s CEO envisions for the entire U.S.
By Diana DiGangi • Oct. 11, 2023 -
New alliance aims to turn this Rust Belt city into a ‘Green Belt’ hub
The Chicagoland Climate Investment Alliance wants $1 billion in federal funding for a “Rust Belt to Green Belt Initiative,” indicating the region is ready to move past its nickname from the 1970s.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Oct. 10, 2023 -
MTA lags on NYC subway flooding prevention plan
A new audit shows severe weather amplified by climate change poses a huge risk to the city’s transit system, which was swamped by a tropical rainstorm last week.
By Julie Strupp • Oct. 5, 2023 -
Will LA hotels be required to house homeless people alongside their guests?
The Responsible Hotels Ordinance, if enacted, would require every hotel in Los Angeles to report its vacancies to the municipal government.
By Noelle Mateer • Oct. 4, 2023 -
Building a bike-friendly city
Smart Cities Dive looked at the bike-friendly features of the top large, medium and small cities for bike riders in the U.S., as named by nonprofit People for Bikes.
By Karen Kroll • Oct. 2, 2023 -
FEMA climate resilience grants unevenly distributed among communities
Coastal states with more “high-capacity” local governments tend to win more of the competitive BRIC grants, a Headwaters Economics analysis finds.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Sept. 27, 2023 -
Deep Dive
Baltimore faces expensive road ahead for waste infrastructure
Despite pressure from advocacy groups, the city's 10-year waste plan anticipates landfill and incineration will continue to serve a key role as the city works to increase recycling.
By Jacob Wallace • Sept. 19, 2023 -
Forest Service unveils 385 urban forestry projects to get over $1B in grants
The Inflation Reduction Act bolstered the program's funding to more than 27 times its 2022 appropriation. Explore which states received the largest investments with our map.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Sept. 15, 2023 -
Extreme heat disproportionately threatens Black renters, experts say
Black renters disproportionately experience energy insecurity, which stems from an inability to pay energy bills, and federal policy falls short in addressing it, a Brookings Metro report says.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Sept. 13, 2023 -
Broadband affordability program enrolls 20M+ US households, most in urban areas
Some cities are advancing their own plans to bridge the digital divide using American Rescue Plan Act and other funding sources.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • Sept. 12, 2023 -
EPA seeks advisers on ‘critical’ local government issues
The Environmental Protection Agency will pick up to five officials who represent local, state, tribal or territorial governments to serve one-year terms.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Sept. 8, 2023 -
How 2 big US transit agencies approach equity
Community members, small businesses and the agency's own workforce can provide crucial input to programs and projects, agency executives said.
By Dan Zukowski • Sept. 8, 2023 -
FEMA selects ‘disaster resilience zones’ to get priority access to federal funds
The 483 census tracts span D.C. and all 50 states. More communities will be designated as community disaster resilience zones in the coming months.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Sept. 7, 2023 -
Cool pavement covers this LA neighborhood. Does it make a difference?
Project partners released their findings a year into what they described as “one of the most comprehensive studies of an urban cooling intervention.”
By Ysabelle Kempe • Sept. 5, 2023 -
Heat-related illness: New federal tool reveals highest-risk communities
Officials can use the online dashboard, updated weekly, to prioritize where to focus on outreach, cooling centers, street trees, parks and cool roofs, according to the Transportation Department.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 31, 2023 -
California clean vehicle rebate program expands statewide
The state's rebate incentives will help lower-income consumers access electric and fuel-cell vehicles.
By Dan Zukowski • Aug. 24, 2023 -
4 communities to build anti-racist data ecosystems with $5M from foundations
Pittsburgh will use the grant to include Black communities “at the point where data is first discussed, before, sometimes, even the point of data collection,” said the city’s chief data officer.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 23, 2023 -
Q&A
What managed retreat around the world can teach US cities
In a future where managed retreat relocations “become more and more popular,” a Stanford University researcher’s work may hold crucial lessons.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 21, 2023 -
For emergency preparedness, Houston looks to teens
The city launched an educational campaign after identifying emergency preparedness as a top youth need in a process that led to it being named the nation’s first UNICEF-designated child-friendly city.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 18, 2023