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North Dakota's Mask Mandate Expires as Infections Plummet

North Dakota's Mask Mandate Expires as Infections Plummet
North Dakota led the nation in COVID cases for months before Gov. Doug Burgum issued a mask mandate last November. Since then, active cases have dropped by 80 percent. The mandate was extended last month but was allowed to expire on Jan. 18.
January 24, 2021, 9am PST | Irvin Dawid
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North Dakota and the Midwest had led the nation in daily COVID infections since late August. Despite pleas from the medical community to mandate the use of masks where appropriate, Gov. Doug Burgum insisted on allowing North Dakotans to exercise personal responsibility. On Nov. 13, the governor relented and announced four measures to mitigate viral spread, including "a State Health Officer order [pdf] requiring face coverings to be worn in indoor businesses and indoor public settings as well as outdoor public settings where physical distancing isn’t possible."

Puerto-rico , Arizona , United-states , Mount-rushmore , South-dakota , Tennessee , Minnesota , California , Northern-mariana-islands , Oregon , North-dakota , Hawaii

How Widespread Is the Coronavirus in Your Metro Area?

How Widespread Is the Coronavirus in Your Metro Area?
Do you know the COVID risk level where you live, work and play? Many COVID data trackers provide county and state-level data, but metropolitan area data had been more difficult to find until now, thanks to Covid Act Now.
January 19, 2021, 8am PST | Irvin Dawid
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"We heard your feedback and recognize that COVID spread does not end at the county line," states the Jan. 12 edition of their newsletter entitled, "New tools to track and understand COVID."
With our new metros feature, you can now explore aggregated COVID risk for 384 metro areas across the U.S.

New-york , United-states , Puerto-rico , Texas , Washington , Stanford-university , California , Northern-mariana-islands , San-antonio , Georgetown-university , District-of-columbia , Los-angeles

The Slow Streets Reckoning

The Slow Streets Reckoning
Slow streets programs provided a quick short-term solution and paved the way for some permanent street closures and realignments. Now, these programs are getting a second look as community groups react to the changes.
January 19, 2021, 10am PST | Diana Ionescu |
In a piece for Bloomberg CityLab, Laura Bliss assesses the explosive growth of Slow Streets in 2020 and the impacts of the quick rollout of street closure programs on communities of color.
When Oakland implemented a Slow Streets program in April, many planners and residents lauded its quick rollout and positive effects on walking and biking safety. But a survey showed that "while affluent, white and non-disabled residents were overwhelmingly proponents of the program, people of color, people with lower incomes, and people with disabilities reported much lower levels of awareness, use and support." Some residents felt confused and taken by surprise, claiming the city didn't engage in thorough outreach to the residents on the affected streets. Others pointed to the deaths of Black men and women in the public right-of-way at the hands of police as a reminder that safety on public streets often looks different for people of color.

Bloomberg-citylab , Warren-logan , Laura-bliss , Slow-streets , East-oakland , Community-economic-development , Government-politics , Infrastructure , Land-use , Social-demographics , Transportation

19 of 1,036 Majority-Black ZIP Codes Are 'Prosperous,' Report Says

19 of 1,036 Majority-Black ZIP Codes Are 'Prosperous,' Report Says
The Economic Innovation Group has released its 2020 Distressed Communities Index.
January 18, 2021, 8am PST | James Brasuell |
SevenMaps
"A shocking 70% of the nation’s 1,036 majority-Black ZIP codes are considered 'distressed,' while only 19 — 1.8% — rank as 'prosperous,'" according to an article by Andy Olin.
Olin cites the most recent Distressed Communities Index (DCI) from the Economic Innovation Group (EIG), in addition to focusing on the fact that two of the prosperous zip codes are located in Fort Bend County, Texas.
"Distressed communities are characterized by widespread poverty, high rates of unemployment and low levels of educational attainment. They also face stagnant or negative economic growth, which means little to no change in the prospects of those who live there," according to Olin's explanation.

Maryland , United-states , Texas , Fort-bend-county , Americans , Andy-olin , Economic-innovation-group , Distressed-communities-index , Community-economic-development , Social-demographics , California , Distressed-neighborhoods

More Cities Legalizing 'Granny Flats'

More Cities Legalizing 'Granny Flats'
Accessory Dwelling Units continue to gain steam as one approach for increasing affordability, but experts caution that housing affordability requires broader solutions.
January 15, 2021, 6am PST | Diana Ionescu |
Cities and states across the country are realizing the potential of legalized Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) as an inexpensive way to increase density and available housing units without drastically changing a neighborhood's character. According to Kol Peterson, author of
Backdoor Revolution: The Definitive Guide to ADU Development, "there has been a dramatic uptick in ADU regulatory relaxation over the last few years." In a piece for the Washington Post, Haisten Willis assesses the benefits of ADU construction, which is experiencing a resurgence, particularly in high-cost, low-density neighborhoods on the West Coast.

California , United-states , Oregon , Chicago , Illinois , Washington , Los-angeles , Haisten-willis , Kol-peterson , Washington-post , Accessory-dwelling-units

How Working From Home Is Changing Where We Live

Remote workers are flocking to small, amenity-rich towns in the West, changing their social and economic landscape.

United-states , Americans , Jonathan-thompson , High-country-news , Community-economic-development , Government-politics , Housing , Social-demographics , Urban-development , California , Colorado

City of Compton Introduces Two-Year UBI Pilot

Proponents of Universal Basic Income say direct cash payments to low-income residents would reduce inequality and alleviate poverty.

United-states , Americans , Aja-brown , Madeleine-brand , Universal-basic-income , Mayor-brown , Community-economic-development , Government-politics , Social-demographics , Urban-development , California

Fifth Ward Residents Oppose Houston's Interstate Expansion

Fifth Ward Residents Oppose Houston's Interstate Expansion
The downtown freeway expansion will displace thousands of housed and unhoused residents and hundreds of small businesses.
January 13, 2021, 11am PST | Diana Ionescu |
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is planning an expansion of Interstate 45 in downtown Houston, causing concern among residents and people experiencing homelessness who live in the path of the proposed road expansion, writes Schaefer Edwards in the Houston Press.
The North Houston Highway Improvement Project calls for the demolition and displacement of close to 1,000 apartment units, 160 single-family homes, and hundreds of small businesses in the Fifth Ward, in addition to the patch of land where many unhoused people take shelter. The $7 billion road project would add traffic lanes, remove the Pierce Elevated section of the interstate, and bury a portion of the highway in East Downtown.

Houston , Texas , United-states , Schaefer-edwards , Justin-hodge , Texas-department-of-transportation-tx , Texas-department , North-houston-highway-improvement-project , Fifth-ward , Pierce-elevated , Community-economic-development

Study Reveals the Insights of Children in the Planning Process

Study Reveals the Insights of Children in the Planning Process
A recent study of preschoolers shows that small children are intuitive urban planners—if anyone ever listens.
January 11, 2021, 12pm PST | James Brasuell |
Christina Ergler shares news of new research from New Zealand into the intuitive powers of planning and design found among the lives and opinions of preschoolers and calls for small children to be included among the voices contributing to public planning and design processes.
Ergler explains the methodology of the study, which involved 27 children participating in a variety of activities, including mapping and neighborhood walks. The researchers identified among the children priorities on health services and facilities, public safety, and a concern for non-human lives.

New-zealand , Christina-ergler , Land-use , Landscape-architecture , Social-demographics , Urban-development , Asia-pacific , Academic-research , Planning , Children , புதியது-ஜீலாந்து

Is Anti-Growth the Wrong Approach to Fighting Gentrification?

Is Anti-Growth the Wrong Approach to Fighting Gentrification?
Limiting development has been a powerful tool for anti-gentrification activists, but have these policies had counter-productive effects?
January 10, 2021, 11am PST | Diana Ionescu |
In a piece for The Atlantic, Jacob Anbinder challenges the popular thesis that new housing construction in historic neighborhoods causes gentrification, calling the concept misguided and pointing to declining rents during 2020 as proof.
Since the mid-20th century, housing activists and politicians have painted development as broadly detrimental to affordable housing, arguing that this "gentrification-industrial complex" is a key driver of displacement and rising housing costs. This "growth revolt" brought together stakeholders from across the political spectrum, pitting wealthy homeowners and low-income renters against developers. For once, "nature enthusiasts, architectural historians, homeowners, and rock-ribbed socialists" could all agree on something.

Jacob-anbinder , Architecture , Community-economic-development , Government-politics , History-preservation , Housing , Land-use , Social-demographics , Urban-development , United-states , Gentrification