Local

Home Local
Scoot Over! Study Reveals E-Scooter Use in Washington D.C.
Post

Scoot Over! Study Reveals E-Scooter Use in Washington D.C.

Electric scooters or “e-scooters” are taking over cities worldwide and have broad appeal with tourists. Although e-scooter use declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, its popularity could rebound rapidly, especially if travelers start to substitute scooters for transit on some shorter trips. Shared e-scooters in particular, are a rapidly emerging mode of transportation, but present a...

To Sustain a Thriving Café Culture, We Must Ditch the Disposable Cup.
Post

To Sustain a Thriving Café Culture, We Must Ditch the Disposable Cup.

Takeaway coffees – they’re a convenient start for millions of people each day, but while the caffeine perks us up, the disposable cups drag us down, with nearly 300 billion ending up in landfill each year. While most coffee drinkers are happy to make a switch to sustainable practices, new research from the University of...

Study Aims to Break the Chains of Incarceration in African American Males
Post

Study Aims to Break the Chains of Incarceration in African American Males

Over the last three decades, the United States prison population has exploded from 300,000 to more than 2 million. More than 1.1 million are African American men – the vast number of whom have returned within one to three years of their release. In fact, according to the World Prison Brief, America boasts the highest...

Sudden Police Layoffs in One American City Associated with Increases in Crime
Post

Sudden Police Layoffs in One American City Associated with Increases in Crime

Amid a sharp economic downturn in 2008, police departments around the United States experienced budget shortfalls that required them to enact cutbacks. A new study examined the effects on crime of budget shortfalls in two New Jersey cities–one of which laid off more than 10 percent of its police force while the other averted layoffs....

Historically Redlined Neighborhoods Are More Likely to Lack Greenspace Today
Post

Historically Redlined Neighborhoods Are More Likely to Lack Greenspace Today

Historically redlined neighborhoods are more likely to have a paucity of greenspace today compared to other neighborhoods. The study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco, demonstrates the lasting effects of redlining, a racist mortgage appraisal practice of the 1930s that established and...

New COVID-19 Model Shows Little Benefit in Vaccinating High-Risk Individuals First
Post

New COVID-19 Model Shows Little Benefit in Vaccinating High-Risk Individuals First

The World Health Organization reports that as of January 19, 2021, there are approximately 94 million cases of COVID-19 globally, with over 2 million deaths. In the face of these numbers — driven in part by an aggressive resurgence of the virus in the U.S. — health authorities face a tenuous balancing act: how to enact policies...

Wives Bore the Brunt of Child Care During the Shutdown
Post

Wives Bore the Brunt of Child Care During the Shutdown

Traditional gendered patterns of child care persisted during the COVID-19 shutdown, with more than a third of couples relying on women to provide most or all of it, according to a study from University of Georgia researcher Kristen Shockley. Some previous research has found that typical familial patterns may get upended during crises, but that’s...

Density of Marijuana Retailers Linked to Higher Use Among Young Adults
Post

Density of Marijuana Retailers Linked to Higher Use Among Young Adults

As marijuana outlets open after the drug is legalized, the density of those recreational retailers is associated with more use and a greater intensity of use among young adults, according to a new RAND Corporation study. The study is among the first to examine associations between the density of marijuana outlets and marijuana use over...

Restricting Malt Liquor Sales is Linked to Reductions in Neighborhood Crime
Post

Restricting Malt Liquor Sales is Linked to Reductions in Neighborhood Crime

Restricting the sale of malt liquor beer can help reduce crime in some communities, according to a new study. Malt liquor beer — high in alcohol content, low cost, and widely sold in liquor stores and convenience stores — is linked to heavy drinking, public inebriation, disorderly conduct, drug activity and other crimes. Consequently, since...