A Next City article argues that investing in job programs and other public goods would do more to make those communities safe than investing in police departments.
It's often said that budgets reveal what people, governments or companies really care about. Kumar Rao argues that the budgets for cities often reveal garbled priorities. "Most of the cities we profiled devote 25 percent to 40 percent of their general fund expenditures towards policing and criminalization, while shortchanging community investments," Rao writes in Next City.
He pulls numerous examples of cities with well-funded police departments that have histories of bad behavior or cities that need investment elsewhere. "New York City spends nearly $5 billion on a police force that still prioritizes discriminatory and ineffective broken windows policing, even as its decaying public transit system calls out for investment," Rao writes.
FULL STORY: Why Rising Police Budgets Aren’t Making Cities Safer
Investment in Public Transit Could Reduce the Need for Police Traffic Enforcement
In Nick Demarsh and Rick Banks' opinion, defunding the police requires cities to reconsider car culture.
Making Space for the 'Invisible Cyclists' in Post-Pandemic Transportation Planning
As biking gains popularity as a transportation mode during the pandemic, planners are called on to elevate the role of "invisible cyclists"—people of color on bikes—in the process of redesigning and re-engineering streets.
'Biking While Black?' You're More Likely to Get a Ticket in Chicago
Majority-white neighborhoods like West Town and Lincoln Park are among the most popular for biking in Chicago, but they’re not in the top ten neighborhoods for bike tickets.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.
Seattle's Plan for Adopting Driverless Cars
Equity, safety, accessibility and affordability are front of mind as the city prepares for robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles.
As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.
With Protected Lanes, 460% More People Commute by Bike
For those needing more ammo, more data proving what we already knew is here.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)