Urban Edge

Stories, perspectives and insights from the Kinder Institute

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?

The essential role of art has been exhibited during the COVID-19 shutdowns

The sudden closure of museums, galleries, concert halls and theaters in March upended the art world. The resulting financial and personal impacts of the pandemic on artists and art lovers has been enormous. Can the arts stage a comeback?

How the mayor of Washington D.C. used ‘graffiti’ to protect public space

Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered “BLACK LIVES MATTER” to be painted on a street near the White House. The act would have been considered vandalism had it not been done by city workers.

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.

Together, the bold cities of the I-10 corridor can take on the urgent issues of our time

The coronavirus pandemic has laid bare many of the disparities deeply rooted in our society. Given the technology available to us, such as data-gathering technologies, visualization systems and instantaneous communication, our ability to anticipate the future is unprecedented. Combining those resources with collective action, we can confront the issues we’re facing today and prepare for the challenging events of tomorrow.

Large, young and fast-growing Sun Belt metros need urban policy innovation

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.

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.

The only treatment for metastatic racism may be radical reconstructive surgery

From frequent recurrences of police brutality and the widening gaps in access to opportunity, to the coronavirus’ outsized impact on communities of color, the invasive disease of racism has spread throughout the American system. If white people truly mean well, they must make an unflinching commitment to the tough, unpleasant and honest work of authentic change.

To fix our policing problem, we have to start with our racism problem

As the deaths of black men and women resulting from police violence continues in America, protestors in cities large and small are calling for the end of systemic inequalities and police brutality. At the root of the problem is racism. Here are some ways to address it.