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Oregon DOT Studies Impact of Race and Income on Road Safety

The findings of a recent memo highlight the disproportionate effects of unsafe road conditions on low-income people and BIPOC communities.

Oregon-department-of-transportation , Oregon , United-states , Portland , Jonathan-maus , Community-economic-development , Infrastructure , Social-demographics , Urban-development , Traffic-safety , Transportation-equity , Odot

Oklahoma House Approves Protections for Drivers Who Hit Protestors

Oklahoma House Approves Protections for Drivers Who Hit Protestors
A heated debate and a party line vote in Oklahoma.
March 12, 2021, 7am PST | James Brasuell |
BLMMinneapolis
"In a rare, early-morning vote, Republican lawmakers in the Oklahoma House approved legislation to grant immunity to drivers who hit protesters," reports Carmen Forman.
On a party-line vote, with Republicans in favor, the Oklahoma House passed House Bill 1674, which "grants civil and criminal immunity for drivers who unintentionally injure or kill protesters while 'fleeing from a riot,'" according to Forman. The bill would also "allow prosecutors to charge with a misdemeanor protesters who 'unlawfully obstruct' streets or highways to a point that it hinders traffic. The legislation also outlines punishments and fines for organizations involved in the planning of a riot."

Charlottesville , Virginia , United-states , Oklahoma , North-carolina , Carmen-forman , Associated-press , Oklahoma-house , House-bill , Black-lives-matters , Community-economic-development , Social-demographics

Stories of Resilience From 2020

Stories of Resilience From 2020
A year of intense challenges also offers a chance to break from the unsustainable, inequitable status quo.
March 10, 2021, 8am PST | James Brasuell |
"2020 brought a deadly pandemic, crippling recession, protests against racial injustice, and bitter political division—all against a backdrop of unprecedented climate change impacts," according to the promotional material for the e-book. All of those disruptions and challenges allowed a new vantage point, however, and many people have used the new perspective to imagine a new kind of future. The book collects original articles and op-eds that do just that kind of productive work.
Authors included in the book include Angie Schmitt, Daniel Parolek, Mustafa Santiago Ali, Calvin Gladney, Jacqueline Patterson, Bechara Choucair, Corinne Kisner, and Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr. The entire work is edited by Laurie Mazur.

Daniel-parolek , Jacqueline-patterson , Calvin-gladney , Laurie-mazur , Lennox-yearwood-jr , Angie-schmitt , Bechara-choucair , Corinne-kisner , Island-press-urban-resilience , Island-press-urban-resilience-project , Resilience-matters , Mustafa-santiago-ali

Return to Normal: CDC Releases Initial Post-Vaccination Guidance

Return to Normal: CDC Releases Initial Post-Vaccination Guidance
Millions of fully vaccinated Americans who have been anxiously awaiting new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on what they can now do safely were given initial recommendations that apply only to private settings.
March 10, 2021, 9am PST | Irvin Dawid
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"As of today [March 8], 59 million people in the United States have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and approximately 31 million or 9.2 percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, putting us on a strong path to eventually end this pandemic," stated Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at the beginning of her presentation during Monday morning's White House COVID-19 Response Team press briefing (view the 37-minute video on YouTube).

New-york , United-states , White-house , District-of-columbia , Americans , Rochelle-walensky , Sam-fazeli , Mary-duenwald , Rochellep-walensky , Centers-for-disease , Bloomberg , Response-team

Where Have All the Metropolitan Statistical Areas Gone?

Where Have All the Metropolitan Statistical Areas Gone?
A total of 144 metropolitan statistical areas might lose their federal designation if a proposal under discussion at the Office of Management and Budget is approved.
March 9, 2021, 5am PST | James Brasuell |
Dragan Jovanovic
Mike Schneider, writing for the Associated Press, reveals the details of a plan under consideration at the federal Office of Management and Budget that would remove metropolitan statistical area (MSA) designations for 144 locations in the United States. The change would mean 144 MSAs with populations between 50,000 and 100,000 would be designated as micropolitan statistical areas instead. The 144 MSAs targeted for the change in designation represent a full third of the nation's total MSAs.

Alabama , United-states , Arkansas , Georgia , Louisiana , Tennessee , South-carolina , Mississippi , Americans , Lawrence-specker , Mike-schneider , Associated-press

Pandemic Watch: We've Been Here Before (but at Lower Case Levels)

Pandemic Watch: We've Been Here Before (but at Lower Case Levels)
The White House COVID-19 Response Team explains why governors are wrong to lift mask mandates and ease restrictions by putting the current level of coronavirus infections in the country in perspective, i.e., comparing it to the two prior surges.
March 8, 2021, 9am PST | Irvin Dawid
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White-house , District-of-columbia , United-states , New-york , Arizona , Texas , Washington , Florida , California , Russia , Brussels , Bruxelles-capitale

Newark Launches Land Bank to Revive Long-Vacant Properties

Newark Launches Land Bank to Revive Long-Vacant Properties
The land bank will assess proposals for the sale and redevelopment of 100 city-owned properties in neglected neighborhoods.
March 7, 2021, 7am PST | Diana Ionescu |
Following in the steps of other cities in the eastern United States, Newark has launched a land bank aimed at reducing blight and activating vacant and abandoned properties, writes Jared Brey in Next City. Managed by Invest Newark, the land bank is now accepting bids and proposals for "around 100 vacant lots and buildings" formerly under city ownership.
Generally managed by a non-profit or government agency, a land bank is designed to expedite the sale and redevelopment of vacant and blighted properties. Invest Newark "hopes the land bank will extend the revitalization of Newark’s downtown out into its neighborhoods, promote business ownership, create opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses and contractors, establish new parks and green spaces, and expand affordable housing, and help first-time homebuyers acquire houses." To avoid prior mistakes and encourage tangible development, the land bank is requiring "basic personal or business information, a feasible development plan for the property of interest where rehabilitation is required, and proof of financing for the purchase or proposed development."

United-states , Jared-brey , Annette-muhammad , Invest-newark , Community-economic-development , Government-politics , History-preservation , Housing , Landscape-architecture , Social-demographics , Urban-development , New-jersey

Opinion: Stop Paving Seattle Playgrounds for Parking Lots

Opinion: Stop Paving Seattle Playgrounds for Parking Lots
Seattle schools are often forced to reduce their playground space in favor of parking and circulation for private cars, but altering the city code could change that.
March 5, 2021, 7am PST | Diana Ionescu |
An analysis of recent retrofits at two Seattle schools shows that "if the Seattle School District had complied with the City requirement for private car storage in the recent retrofits at Magnolia and Queen Anne Elementaries it would have obliterated all outdoor play space and a significant amount of indoor education space." Margaret McCauley argues that city code requiring Seattle schools to replace playground and activity space with surface parking and car traffic doesn't address the needs of bike riders and pedestrians and takes away valuable outdoor space.

Queen-anne-elementaries , Margaret-mccauley , Seattle-school-district , Seattle-school-traffic-safety-committee , School-traffic-safety-committee , Education-amp-careers , Government-politics , Infrastructure , Land-use , Social-demographics , Transportation , Washington

L.A. Metro Will Pilot Free Fares for Most Riders

L.A. Metro Will Pilot Free Fares for Most Riders
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority will let low-income residents and K-12 students ride for free starting in January 2022.
March 4, 2021, 8am PST | Diana Ionescu |
In an attempt to study the potential for switching to a fare-free system, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is implementing a two-phase pilot program that will let low-income riders ride for free. Ryan Fonseca reports on the plan, which is projected to save commuters up to $1,200 per year. According to Metro, "about 70% of its current riders earn less than $35,000 annually and would qualify for free fares under the current proposal." The second phase of the proposed program, set to launch in August 2022, would extend free fares to K-12 students. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti praised the proposal, saying "it's time for us to treat public transit as a public good."

Los-angeles , Eric-garcetti , Ryan-fonseca , Councilmember-mike-bonin , Los-angeles-county-metropolitan-transportation-authority-metro , Angeles-mayor-eric-garcetti , Community-economic-development , Government-politics , Social-demographics , Transportation , California , Los-angeles-county-metropolitan-transportation-authority

Bozeman's 'Only Racially Diverse Neighborhood' at Risk

Bozeman's 'Only Racially Diverse Neighborhood' at Risk
Thanks in part to an influx of remote workers, the Montana town faces soaring housing costs and practically non-existent vacancy rates.
March 4, 2021, 9am PST | Diana Ionescu |
When Montana State University decided to reallocate its family and graduate student housing to undergraduates, they may have dealt a fatal blow to what one professor calls "Bozeman's only racially diverse neighborhood." The university-owned housing, writes Surya Milner in High Country News, was home to "custodians, researchers and tenure-track professors at the university," many of whom are now forced to relocate to more expensive housing in other parts of the city—or leave the city altogether.

Tracy-ellig , Anaya-paschal , Surya-milner , Human-resource-development-council , Montana-state-university , Student-union , High-country-news , History-preservation , Housing , Social-demographics , Urban-development , United-states