Cal Fire Chatbot can’t answer basic questions
The California state fire prevention agency has launched an AI chatbot to improve efficiency. The outcome is troubling, reports Markup Marena Carolo. “Chatbots generate answers using the CAL Fire website and agency ReadyForwildFire.org. They can communicate to users about topics such as active wildfires, agents, Fire Prepartness tips, and Cal Fire programs.” Calmatters has discovered […]
Sean Duffy targets rainbow crossings in his road safety efforts
In an effort to reduce traffic lethality, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has directed the state to remove “rainbow crossings.” Kea Wilson, who writes for Streetsblog USA, points out that Duffy’s letter to the governor tried to deal with traffic deaths on arterial roads. “Furthermore, supporters pointed out that many American arteries are incredibly lacking […]
‘Architectural Epidemiology: ‘The centre of public health in urban design
“What if you plan your buildings and neighborhoods with health and climate risks in mind, just as a company uses financial data to guide decisions?” Liz York raises this question in sales for the next city, leaning against the findings of Adele Horton and Carlos Castillo Salgado’s new book, Architectural Epidemiology. Just as doctors may […]
Dorm Style Housing: Solutions for DC’s vacant office buildings
Could do dorm-style housing be the solution to the housing crisis? Written in Greater Washington, Alex Horowitz claims it can offer a more affordable and efficient option to convert parts of Washington, DC office buildings into homes at a lower cost than full apartments. “Dorm-style homes are different from regular apartments because they consist of […]
How Trump’s HUD budget proposal will harm the homeless response
This article examines the broad results of the 2026 budget proposed by President Trump. It seeks to integrate three major homelessness assistance programs, nursing grants, AIDS (HOPWA) housing opportunities, and emergency solutions (ESG) housing opportunities. The move would eliminate specialized housing and services for vulnerable populations such as people with HIV/AIDS and those with chronic […]
Florida seniors face an increased risk of homelessness
Florida seniors are making up the growing portion of the state’s unpopulated population as the housing crisis continues, David Jones reports for WESH. “664 homeless people were counted in January, according to data from the Central Florida Homeless Services Network, an umbrella organisation of homeless advocacy groups in Orange, Osceola and Seminole Counties. Residents of […]
Milwaukee launches Vision Zero Plan
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson has announced the city’s new Vision Zero Action Plan, which reduced traffic deaths by 7% between 2023 and 2024. As Jeramey Jannene reports in Urban Milwaukee’s report, “The new action plan adopted unanimously at the Common Council last week will build a safe path for all users by prioritizing the most […]
Mayor Houston kills another bike lane
Houston Mayor John Whitmire has defeated another proposed bike lane in an apparent war with cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, reports Dominique Anthony Walsh of public media in Houston. As Walsh explains, “The 1.6-mile West Alabama Street reconstruction project spread between Shepherd Drive and Spur 527, from Upper Kirby to Montrose to Midtown. However, Whitmire rejected […]
Florida home insurance companies disproportionately drop low-income households
Home insurance companies have refused to update policies for many Florida homeowners, claiming some of the state’s poorest residents at high risk of loss. Amy Green and Peter Aldhous’ Inside Climate News report that increasingly violent storms have urged insurers to raise fees sharply and to halt coverage in some states. A budget analysis by […]
Will the Reconnected Community Program survive Trump?
This work was originally published in a city state. Over the past year, I have been reporting on a Longform article in the Places Journal about the Rose Quarter Project in Portland, Oregon, the Biden administration’s most ambitious highway revision. The Marquee Project of the Reconnect Community Program places a four-acre cap on I-5 in […]