All articles by jake blumgart
jake blumgart
The promise and peril of the United States' affordable housing vouchers
The United States suffers from a profound affordable housing shortage. Of the tens of millions of Americans who are poor…
‘They rely on you being intimidated’: Local elected officials in the US describe how police unions bully them
Current and former elected officials say they’ve met a unique kind of resistance when negotiating with police unions.
How the rise of anti-crime politics caused lasting harm to black Americans
Law professor James Forman Jr discusses the dangers of overreacting to an uptick in violent crime.
How China’s urban-rural divide undermines its economic success
Restrictions on rural citizens reinforce discrimination and a persistent wealth gap, the writer Dexter Roberts says.
US policing never adjusted to the decades-long decline in urban violence
US cities are about as safe as ever, but police practices don’t reflect that, says sociologist Patrick Sharkey.
Camden, New Jersey, isn’t really a model for police reform
Beneath the hype, the city’s experience is much more complicated.
A looming fiscal crisis raises another fear for US cities: State oversight and financial control boards
Municipal finance experts worry the pandemic economy may revive some fraught methods for cutting city budgets.
How America became over-policed and under-policed at the same time
Author and journalist Jill Leovy explains how the United States has failed to extend state protection equally to all citizens.
American renters need a lot more help to keep a roof over their heads
Several cities are considering ways to offer rental assistance to prevent evictions during the coronavirus pandemic.
There’s no real evidence that curfews work
American cities imposed nightly curfews to tame protests after the killing of George Floyd. It’s a controversial and possibly ineffective decision.