• Seeking equitable redevelopment in southeast DC

    The rapid change in the District has fueled concerns that investment will leave existing residents high and dry, so the city is working with the community toward a better result.
    The closure of St. Elizabeths, a federal mental hospital in southeast Washington DC, left a gaping hole in the urban fabric in the 1980s. For three decades the hole remained. Public confidence frayed as residents of nearby Congress Heights watched promises of redevelopment fall flat for a number of...Read more

  • An inclusive, nationwide movement to walk

    Younger and older Americans are not the only ones at risk. The summit focused on challenges faced by pedestrians in racially and economically disadvantaged communities, as well as rural areas.
    Note: CNU is a lead organization in America Walks’ focus on walking in October, 2017. Few things in life relieve stress, instill creativity and boost health and more than taking a stroll. “Walking is a man’s best medicine,” Hippocrates declared in the 4 th Century BCE. “To solve a problem, walk...Read more

  • With an ‘urban diary,’ everyone’s a city planner

    Each of us sees the city from a slightly different angle. By capturing the perceptions of city dwellers, decision makers will be better equipped to plan cities and respond to urban change.
    We may inhabit the same city, but we live in different worlds. Each of us sees our city from a slightly different angle, the view filtered through lenses of race, class, and circumstance. Even when we encounter the same scene, we experience it differently. Consider this: for a young professional in...Read more

  • Why we should take suburban poverty seriously

    As low-income people migrate further out to the suburban fringe, they become more isolated from services and transportation, according to a report by CNU focused on Seattle.
    Like most of America, the Seattle region is experiencing rising poverty in its suburbs. From 2005 to 2015, the suburban poverty rate grew by 29.7 percent in the Puget Sound region, a rise that is more than double that of the central city. At the same time, the total number of people in poverty in...Read more