Poverty

View down California Street in San Francisco, California with Chinatown pagoda buildings and golden hour sky in background.

Is Inequality Destroying American Cities?

A recent video claimed that high income inequality is the “Thing That Will Destroy Our Cities.” Is this true?

March 13, 2024 - Michael Lewyn

View of grocery store aisle.

Rural Areas Experience Higher Food Insecurity

As pandemic-era assistance programs expire, the rate of food insecurity for rural households is rising higher than in their urban counterparts.

November 14, 2023 - The Daily Yonder

Aerial view of small town of Hiawatha, Kansas

New Book Analyzes America’s Poorest Communities

The similarities between the nation’s most disadvantaged areas, often rural, reveal the economic patterns that lead to chronic poverty.

October 6, 2023 - The Daily Yonder

Aerial view of freeway cutting through green forest in Clayton County, Georgia

Study: Transit Cuts Can Increase Poverty, Unemployment

An analysis of Clayton County, Georgia, which lost access to public transit for five years, shows a significant increase in unemployment rates and poverty during that timeframe.

April 19, 2023 - Governing

Food bank worker carries box of food in front of outdoor table filled with food items

Redlined Neighborhoods Experience High Food Insecurity

A study from Des Moines found that households in historically redlined parts of town are more likely to have to seek help from food pantries.

August 9, 2022 - Axios

Gas Pump

Easing the Burden of High Gas and Housing Costs for Low-Income Households

Low-income families suffer most from dramatic spikes in housing and transportation costs, but governments can soften the impact through a series of actions.

March 22, 2022 - Urban Institute

Pedestrian Infrastructure

Census Data: Black Americans Leaving Cities for Suburbs

The trend of Black Americans leaving urban areas for suburban communities mirrors the White Flight of the mid-20th century but for vastly different reasons and with vastly different consequences.

March 18, 2022 - Associated Press via Los Angeles Times

The downtown of Mancheste, New Hampshire is nestled against the Merrimack River in the final light of day.

Exclusionary Zoning and Poverty: A New Hampshire Case Study

A deep dive into the history of zoning and development in Manchester, New Hampshire.

February 23, 2022 - New Hampshire Public Radio

Cash

Guaranteed Income Program Launched in Arlington, Virginia

The 18-month pilot program will provide $500 to 200 low-income families in the county.

October 8, 2021 - WTOP

Auto-Dependency

Pandemic Relief Programs Reduced Poverty, Census Finds

Robust assistance programs kept millions of households out of poverty last year.

September 21, 2021 - Mercury News

Gentrification

What We Really Mean When We Say Gentrification

The focus on gentrifying communities has, in many cases, eclipsed the similar problems facing more stagnant neighborhoods.

September 14, 2021 - Vox

Pandemic Protest

Columnist: New York City Needs Economic Recovery Strategies Other Than Gentrification

It's a tale of two cities as New York starts to emerge from the pandemic.

June 10, 2021 - The New York Times

Fresno Portal

The Nation's Fastest-Rising Rents Are in California's Central Valley

Fresno's skyrocketing housing costs and inadequate supply are putting strain on the city's low-income households.

April 13, 2021 - Los Angeles Times

COVID-19 Eviction Crisis

Fixing the Harms of the Eviction System

Emily Benfer talks about what needs to change in our housing and eviction systems—not just now, but once the pandemic is past, the connections between health and housing, and how she came to be a go-to voice on the eviction crisis.

March 17, 2021 - Shelterforce Magazine

Suburbs

What Trump Gets Wrong About America’s Suburbs

The Trump administration’s talk about protecting the suburbs is based on misrepresentations of who really lives in suburbs and what these communities need.

August 30, 2020 - The Avenue (Brookings)

Vacant Properties

Poverty Concentrating in Already High-Poverty Neighborhoods

A pair of reports analyzing U.S. Census Bureau poverty data from the last two decades show that high-poverty neighborhoods have become further impoverished.

June 3, 2020 - CityLab

Coronavirus Volunteering

100 Million 'New Poor' Predicted as a Result of the Pandemic

The fiscal effects of the pandemic are likely to make it very difficult for governments to invest in economic and quality of life improvements for people on the edge of poverty.

May 6, 2020 - Thomson Reuters Foundation

Walking the Dog

The Suburbs, Reimagined

Eight experts produce a "manifesto for a new suburbia."

November 14, 2019 - Curbed

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto's Poverty Plan Meets the Budget Process

Toronto approved a ten-year poverty reduction strategy in 2015, but the policies and programs included in that plan still require budgetary commitments.

November 8, 2019 - The Star

Mumbai Slum

Are U.S. Homeless Worse Off Than India's Poor?

In photographs and written observations of a recent trip to Mumbai, India, former SPUR Director Jim Chappell queries how the lives of the poorest people there compare to the lives of low-income Americans.

May 24, 2019 - UrbDeZine

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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

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