German cities subsidize taxis for women amid waves of violence
German cities are offering vouchers or subsidies to ride taxis in the wake of widespread violence against women, reports Marilen Martin of Bloomberg. “In 2023, crime against women rose in all categories, sexual offences surged by over 6%, reaching 52,330 reported cases nationwide.” Cities such as Mannheim and Munich (issuing more than 100,000 vouchers this […]
New Atlanta law requires a “cool roof”
Atlanta is the latest US city to mandate “cool roof” treatments in new buildings, Matt Simon reports in a story of Grist, which was reissued in the next city. Requiring a reflective roof is “a simple, relatively inexpensive and effective way to save people from extreme heat,” and improves the energy efficiency of a building. […]
The MTA is poised to break on time service records, ridership
All New York City’s public transport system is poised to break the record for ridership in 2025, with the first half of the year showing strong growth in ridership, on-time service and customer satisfaction. City buses and subways carried over 850 million riders in the first half of the year. As Aaron Ginsberg explains at […]
Make corrections to the street environment
Some states have a constitutional “green amendment” that declares that state residents have a right to a healthy environment. Can these modifications be used to challenge policies that increase car-related pollution? The seven state constitutions include the “green amendment,” which states that citizens of the state have the right to a healthy environment. For example, […]
The Great Lakes city is advertised as a climate shelter. The reality is much more complicated.
The Great Lakes Region generally rated it as at the top of the list of the most climate-resilient regions in the United States. The locations in the northern inland, mitigating climates and abundant freshwater supply give a great advantage over the rest of the country where extreme heat and droughts quickly lead to regular havoc. […]
Amtrak cuts, funding for high-speed rail
Amtrak has begun cutting costs in response to pressure from the Trump administration. According to an article by Dan Zukowski of Smart Cities Dive, the agency carried 15% more customers than last year in 2023, and its new St. Paul-to-Chicago line exceeded ridership forecasts. Amtrak is currently reorganizing its priorities. The CEO resigned in March […]
LA denies basic services for non-resident residents
Los Angeles officials report that Los Angeles officials have not responded to inappropriate requests from residents to provide garbage services and toilets for the camp, according to Elizabethu of the Los Angeles Spabrick Press. Meanwhile, law enforcement is cracking down on camps. This is a move that says supporters will only push farther away from […]
Alabama community is complaining more of the state dot than flooding
Residents of Shiro, Alabama, are suing the state Department of Transportation, claiming that the agency’s expansion of highways has led to repeated flooding of their homes. As Lee Hedgepeth explains in Inside Climate News, “The lawsuit filed in federal court on July 1 alleges that Shiro’s flooding continues to worsen as rainwater erodes land around […]
The link between public transport and justice
In city and state opinion, Katayun I. Yafari, Prime Minister of the Philadelphia Bar Association, argues that public transport is an integral part of the functional judicial system and that the Southeast Pennsylvania Transportation Agency (SEPTA) budget could have a negative impact on criminal and civil courts. As Septa prepares to cut services by 45%, […]
Congress kills office conversion tax credit
Federal tax incentives for energy efficiency upgrades are no longer available, reports Robert Freedman of Smart Cities Dive. The Republican Domestic Policy Bill eliminated the energy-efficient commercial buildings deduction, funding building owners to exchange HVAC systems, lights and building envelopes, and encouraged adaptive reuse of office and other commercial buildings. According to Paul Williams, who […]