Trees are a hallmark of vibrant neighborhoods. So why did nearly one-quarter of eligible residents in Detroit, Michigan, turn down free street trees? That’s the mystery University of Vermont researcher Christine Carmichael solves in one of the first studies to explore opposition to city tree planting programs. As cities from New York to L.A. embark...
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Media Portrayals of Black Men Contribute to Police Violence, Rutgers Study Says
Negative portrayals in the news media affect how police treat black men in the United States, according to a Rutgers School of Public Health study. The study appears in the book Research in Race and Ethnic Relations. The study was based on the premise that public perceptions of male dangerousness are a factor in influencing police...
Why Politicians Are the Real Winners in Amazon’s HQ2 Bidding War
Now that Amazon has announced the winners of its competition to host its second headquarters, a question on many minds is whether it’ll be worth the incentives offered. We have a different question: Why did so many cities play Amazon’s billion-dollar bidding game in the first place? One media narrative has portrayed the leaders of...
Food Systems Planning Experts Say It’s Time to Reflect on Local Governments’ Efforts
Governments across the U.S. and Canada have made strides in their food systems planning efforts, with many recognizing within the past decade that the issue of food insecurity is just as important as maintaining other public infrastructure like roads and water systems. Still, questions remain: How are local governments engaging in the food system? Who...
Fatal Police Shootings More Frequent in U.S. States with High Household Gun Ownership
U.S. states with high levels of household gun ownership have higher rates of fatal shootings of civilians by police than states with lower gun prevalence, according to a new study led by researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Northeastern University. The study found that there was a link between rates...
Food Prices for Consumers in Ethnic Enclaves Could Explain Difference in Assimilation Rates
In ethnic enclaves, Mexican immigrants tend to spend less on food per week while East Asian immigrants spend more, which could explain the difference in assimilation rates and contrast in ethnic population density among the two groups, according to a University of Kansas study. The findings address questions on consumer behavior in the ethnically dense...
Police Killings of Unarmed Black Americans Affect Mental Health of Black Community
Black Americans are nearly three times more likely to be killed by police than their white counterparts, with even larger disparities among those who are unarmed. The trend is also harming the mental health of the black community, according to new research published in The Lancet from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania...
Will Silicon Valley’s New Company Towns End Up as Failed Utopias
Willow Village is a community planned for a 59-acre site in California’s Silicon Valley, between Menlo Park and East Palo Alto. It will have housing, offices, a grocery store, a pharmacy, and its developers say, maybe even its own cultural center. There’s one notable thing about Willow Village that makes it different from other new...
Under Age 13, Suicide Rates Are Roughly Double for Black Children Vs. White Children
Suicide rates in the United States have traditionally been higher among whites than blacks across all age groups. However, a new study published in JAMA Pediatrics shows that racial disparities in suicide rates are age-related. Specifically, suicide rates for black children aged 5-12 were roughly two times higher than those of similarly aged white children. “Our findings...
Many Airbnb Venues Lack Basic Safety Protections, New Study Suggests
Many Airbnb venues in the United States fail to provide the critical carbon monoxide and fire safety protections that are legally required of hotels and motels, suggests new research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The analysis, published May 7 in the journal Injury Prevention, revealed that while the majority of rental properties–80...