Slate

Brick high-rise apartment buildings in New York City

Opinion: It's Time to Destigmatize ‘Public Housing’

Upzoning efforts, while hugely controversial, often make only a small impact on housing supply, particularly in the short term. Could a return to government-built housing be the solution?

May 25, 2023 - Slate

Rendering of California high-speed rail train viaduct with arches

How Consultants Drive Up Transit Construction Costs

A new report suggests that an overreliance on external consultants by U.S. transit agencies and other government entities is hollowing out the public sector and raising the costs of transit projects.

February 27, 2023 - Slate

Pharmacy

Chain Drugstores Are Closing, But Not Because of Shoplifting

Massive chain drug stores have become integral members of the urban fabric, for better or worse, but widespread store closures and security practices have come to symbolize urban decline. The dynamic must be monitored.

November 10, 2022 - Slate

Stoplight with green light and "no right turn on red" pictograph on overhead signal

How Right Turns on Red Became the Norm

Born out of the oil crisis of the 1970s, the practice of turning right on red lights is a uniquely American—and uniquely dangerous—custom.

October 20, 2022 - Slate

Children in Halloween costumes at a crosswalk with officer offering bowl of candy

Opinion: Make Halloween Car-Free

Forget razor blades in apples. Henry Grabar argues the biggest threat on Halloween is much more mundane.

October 17, 2022 - Slate

Driver reaching for chagne at drive-through window

Faster Food

Responding to pandemic-era shifts in customer demand, fast food and fast-casual chains are stripping away dining rooms, restrooms, and human cashiers in favor of drive-through and automated pickup options.

September 13, 2022 - Slate

Line of colorful golf carts parked outside restaurant in The Villages, Florida

Why Golf Carts Could Quietly Revolutionize Transportation

More communities are catching on to the benefits of golf carts as a safe, low-emissions mode of transport for neighborhood trips.

August 16, 2022 - Slate

Cars parked at a beachfront building in Miami, Florida

Miami’s Return to Parking Minimums a Mystery to Housing Advocates

The city’s decision to reinstate parking requirements for housing developments will likely slow the recent boom of ‘missing middle housing’ construction.

May 11, 2022 - Slate

Toddler walking on street

How Japanese Cities Enable Toddlers To Roam Independently

A TV show featuring young Japanese children going on errands on their own highlights the differences between Japanese and American urban design that enable even toddlers to safely navigate big cities.

April 13, 2022 - Slate

Boston Skyline with Dome

Massachusetts Gets Serious About Upzoning

A Massachusetts law aimed at reducing the state's housing shortage mandates zoning for multi-family housing in most eastern Massachusetts jurisdictions.

January 26, 2022 - Slate

Apartment staircase, Washington, D.C.

In Praise of Single-Staircase Construction

U.S. building codes mandate two staircases in multi-story buildings, but some argue this requirement reduces affordability and encourages wasteful, uninspired design.

January 2, 2022 - Slate

Highway Speed

Can't Drive 55: America's Dangerous Love of Speeding

While most Americans agree that speeding is a threat to public safety, dysfunctional laws and inadequate enforcement perpetuate a culture of tacitly sanctioned high-speed driving.

December 26, 2021 - Slate

Orenco Station

Opinion: Upzoning Isn't Just for Major Streets

The practice of limiting high-density development to busy arterial streets puts renters and low-income households at higher risk for the effects of air and noise pollution created on major roads.

December 15, 2021 - Slate

EV charging station with cars at TNB Research, Kajang, Hulu Langat, Selangor, Malaysia

Making The Switch To EVs Requires Robust Charging Infrastructure

With more states outlawing the sales of gas-powered vehicles and the federal government setting ambitious electrification goals, now is the time to invest in critical charging infrastructure.

November 5, 2021 - Slate

Interstate 35 in Austin, Texas

Austin Leaders Denounce 20-Lane Freeway Project

TxDOT is pushing ahead with plans for a massive freeway expansion project through downtown Austin despite opposition from virtually all local leaders.

October 27, 2021 - Slate

California Houses

Eliminating Single-Family Zoning Alone Won't Solve California's Housing Crisis

While zoning reforms can help reduce barriers to building more housing, high construction costs and local opposition mean that the state won't see an immediate boom in density.

October 1, 2021 - Slate

Seine

The Car-Free Revolution Continues in Paris

The city continues to reclaim space for pedestrians and cyclists.

September 22, 2021 - Slate

Superstorm Sandy

How New York City Can Prepare for the Next Catastrophic Floods–Now

The city must take urgent action to mitigate the effects of increasingly damaging rainstorms.

September 6, 2021 - Slate

Highway Construction

How the Environmental Review Process Privileges Highway Construction Over Transit

U.S. transit projects have a much harder time getting environmental approval than road projects, perpetuating the dominance of cars in U.S. transportation policy.

August 25, 2021 - Slate

Coronavirus Testing

COVID-19, AIDS, and CDC Guidance

Music critic Joel Rozen pens a unique perspective for Slate's "Coronavirus Diaries" on the Provincetown, Massachusetts cluster that prompted the CDC on July 27 to reverse its masking guidance for the fully vaccinated issued a month earlier.

August 10, 2021 - Slate

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