Green infrastructure (GI) refers to a system of interconnected ecosystems, ecological–technological hybrids, and built infrastructures providing contextual social, environmental, and technological functions and benefits. As a planning concept, GI brings attention to how diverse types of urban ecosystems and built infrastructures function in relation to one another to meet socially negotiated goals. Green infrastructure has been...
Local
Post
Study Explores Pandemic-Related Shifts in Alcohol Sales Across 16 U.S. States
An analysis of data from 16 U.S. states suggests that the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic saw increases in wine and spirit sales, accompanied by notable changes in the relationship between alcohol sales and people’s visits to businesses that sell alcohol. University at Buffalo researchers Yingjie Hu, Brian M. Quigley and Dane Taylor...
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69819076/GettyImages_497765130_copy.0.jpg "‘Gentrification’ Changes the Personality Make-Up of Cities in Just a Few Years, Study Suggests")
Post
‘Gentrification’ Changes the Personality Make-Up of Cities in Just a Few Years, Study Suggests
Rising house prices may change the personality make-up of US cities within a few years, with residents becoming increasingly open-minded – not just as wealthier people move in, but also among longer-term locals. This is according to a University of Cambridge-led study of almost two million people in the US living across 199 cities. Psychologists...
Post
As the Mercury Rises, the Urban Heat Penalty Grows, Especially at Night
City living has its perks: Live music, museums, trendy cafés and much more. But urban living isn’t so cool when it comes to summer weather. Living in a city translates to an extra two to six hours of uncomfortable weather per day in the summer for people in the eastern and central United States, according...
Post
Community Policing May Not Improve Police-Community Relations, Study in Six Countries Shows
Contrary to prior evidence, a new field study in six developing countries finds that community policing did not improve trust between citizens and the police, nor did it reduce crime. The results reveal that community policing – a widely lauded form of police reform – may not improve police-community relations in all contexts. The findings...
Post
The First Thanksgiving Is a Key Chapter in America’s Origin Story – but What Happened in Virginia Four Months Later Mattered Much More
This year marks the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving in New England. Remembered and retold as an allegory for perseverance and cooperation, the story of that first Thanksgiving has become an important part of how Americans think about the founding of their country. But what happened four months later, starting in March 1622 about...
Post
Jury Finds Rittenhouse Not Guilty in Kenosha Shootings
Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges Friday after pleading self-defense in the deadly Kenosha shootings that became a flashpoint in the debate over guns, vigilantism and racial injustice in the U.S. Rittenhouse, 18, began to choke up, fell forward toward the defense table and then hugged one of his attorneys as he heard a court clerk recite “not...
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69990426/merlin_2879964.0.jpg "More Than Half of Utah’s Households Unable to Afford Median Home Price, Report Shows")
Post
More Than Half of Utah’s Households Unable to Afford Median Home Price, Report Shows
The State of the State’s Housing Market report, released last week by the Gardner Policy Institute, shows that more than half of Utah’s households are now unable to afford the median-home priced home in 2021. For renters, the path to ownership narrowed further. In 2019, approximately 63.1% of renter households were priced out of the median...
Post
Drought-Stricken California Doused by Major Storm
A powerful storm barreled toward Southern California after flooding highways, toppling trees and causing mud flows in areas burned bare by recent fires across the northern part of the state. Drenching showers and strong winds accompanied the weekend’s arrival of an atmospheric river — a long and wide plume of moisture pulled in from the...
Post
Missing White Women: Why Racial Bias Dominates Coverage of Missing Person Cases
The high-profile disappearances of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa in England and Gabby Petito in the US have brought renewed attention to media bias in coverage of missing person cases. In 2019-2020, over 150,000 people were reported missing to police in England and Wales. Of those whose ethnicity was known, about 80% were white, and 14% were black. The rate of black...
