Cities can be undersold or oversold in equal measure, but they never fail to present a shortage of data. With its #citydata series, This Big City explores the sometimes surprising facts about cities that emerge from the din of urban life.
The latest installment of the #citydata series presents ten data vignettes about the facts of life in and around the city. Below are listed some of the more revelatory of the statistics, with some recent coverage thrown in for good measure:
- “30 cities across the United States engaged in planning or building street car systems.” (Although at least one city planned its system on the back of a napkin.)
- “10-12 passengers die each day on Mumbai Trains.” (But developing countries have a serious road death problem.)
- “7.1 million Americans moved to a different state in 2012.” (A recently produced infographic provides a beautiful visualization of the country’s migration patterns.)
FULL STORY: #citydata: Ten Facts About Cities (Part 6)

Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.

HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands
The agency will identify federally owned parcels appropriate for housing development and streamline the regulatory process to lease or transfer land to housing authorities and nonprofit developers.

Has President Trump Met His Match?
Doug Ford, the no-nonsense premier of Canada's most populous province, Ontario, is taking on Trump where it hurts — making American energy more expensive.

OKC Approves 7.2 Miles of New Bike Lanes
The city council is implementing its BikeWalkOKC plan, which recommends new bike lanes on key east-west corridors.

Preserving Houston’s ‘Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing’
Unsubsidized, low-cost rental housing is a significant source of affordable housing for Houston households, but the supply is declining as units fall into disrepair or are redeveloped into more expensive units.

The Most Popular Tree on Google?
Meet Rodney: the Toronto tree getting rave reviews.
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