The City of Angels, the sins of the LAPD and the dos and don’ts of policing reform
URBAN EDGE : July 30, 2020
Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Task Force on Policing Reform has started its work, drawing on a very broad set of local leaders, activists and citizens. A series of similar task forces were launched in Los Angeles in the 1990s, all of which arose from controversies and scandals within the LAPD. What can Houston learn from LA’s “blue ribbon” police task forces?
Many cities are rethinking the police, but what are the alternatives?
URBAN EDGE : July 22, 2020
Investments, institutions and decriminalization all are strategies that can reduce the mandate of police and be more effective in addressing certain “offenses” than the criminal justice solution. This post explores police alternatives for cities, dividing them into three groups: health, relationships and community patrol.
To better understand police culture, start here
URBAN EDGE : July 15, 2020
While not all Americans support dismantling or defunding the police, recent surveys show the overwhelming majority do agree that changes in police training are needed. Most also think police officers shouldn’t be protected from being sued by “qualified immunity.” Part 2 of our reading list on policing brings together a collection of works on the culture within police organizations.
How did the flaws get into our flawed system of policing?
URBAN EDGE : July 9, 2020
To better understand the ongoing problems with what police have done, we need to understand what it is that police do. The works included on this reading list examine police institutions in America and what members of this country’s many policing agencies actually do on a day-to-day basis.
Will the rush to reopen only end up intensifying the economic crisis?
URBAN EDGE : June 26, 2020
Texas and other small-government Sun Belt states, which were already were limited in their capacity to respond in times of economic crisis, were hit hard by big drops in consumer spending resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. As the second part of the pandemic’s first wave now washes over many of these states, it remains to be seen what effect it will have on their floundering economies.
As other cities consider defunding police, Houston increases HPD’s budget
URBAN EDGE : June 15, 2020
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
URBAN EDGE : June 15, 2020
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.
Large, young and fast-growing Sun Belt metros need urban policy innovation
URBAN EDGE : June 11, 2020
Large cities of the Sun Belt are getting bigger and younger faster than metro areas in other parts of the country. They also face a combination of challenges unlike those metros in other regions; however, American urban policy as we know it was created for traditional Northeastern and Midwestern cities.
How will property tax reform impact cities? Houston’s revenue cap offers insight
URBAN EDGE : May 29, 2020
The state’s property tax reform bill, which limits the amount cities and counties can raise property taxes to 3.5%, is expected to significantly affect one of the largest sources of revenue for local governments. Many will be looking for ways to circumvent the financial constraints of the measure. That’s something Houston has been dealing with since 2004.