Urban Disparity

Why does it take so long to vote?

Overall, waiting times may be improving — but long waits are still common in Black communities. As the percentage of nonwhite voters in a precinct increases, so do wait times.

On this Juneteenth, a look at how an expanded ‘Black commons’ could help undo slavery’s racist legacy

Land loss has plagued Black America since emancipation — is it time to look again at ‘Black commons’ and collective ownership?

As other cities consider defunding police, Houston increases HPD’s budget

In the past 20 years, many social functions and gaps in city services have fallen to police departments, which, at the same time, have been acquiring more paramilitary equipment. Now, as cities face large budget deficits because of revenue losses from the COVID-19 pandemic and protestors call for defunding the police, it's yet to be seen how police services will be affected.

Protests, public space and the remaking of cities

Highways that divide neighborhoods, crumbling local streets, poorly maintained public spaces and proximity to unhealthy industrial sites — impact black and brown communities far more than wealthier, predominately white neighborhoods. These inherent inequalities in the nation’s infrastructure systems are problems that arise from decades of racial inequality and disinvestment.

Militarization has fostered a policing culture that sets up protesters as ‘the enemy’

As a former police officer of 27 years and a scholar who has written on the policing of marginalized communities, I have observed the militarization of the police firsthand, especially in times of confrontation.