Urban Matters

Black Illinoisans are eight times more likely to experience homelessness than White Illinoisans. We need to reprioritize resources within a racial equity framework to change that. More

In Highland Park, a small hamlet surrounded entirely by the city of Detroit, 2014 was not the best time to be thinking about expanding primary care and behavioral health services. Detroit had recently declared bankruptcy, and the broader economy was... More

Trish doesn’t have many places to turn. She’s living at her elderly father’s home without a job because she can’t afford the care he needs. And every day she says the balance sheet seems stained with more red ink. More

Stereotypes and prejudice may persist, even despite the socioeconomic attainments of minority groups. More

Mayors weigh in: America’s cities have been staging a comeback in recent years, with many downtown areas attracting a new wave of educated Millennials. With this influx of residents comes a demand for housing. In the latest Menino Survey of Mayors, released this week... More

This week, the Bipartisan Policy Center will release a report summarizing research linking affordable housing, the majority of which is financed through LIHTC, to improvements in health behaviors and outcomes. The evidence is building that housing affordability, the neighborhood’s environment... More

Three miles from home, cyclist Patty Brummet paced herself. This training ride was all about building endurance for a trek across the U.S. she’d planned. Just ahead, a driver in a parked car flung open the door. Brummet rode right... More

Forty percent of the food in the United States is never eaten. But at the same time, one in eight Americans struggles to put enough food on the table. More

Is the white working class losing economic ground because of policies intended to improve the lives of black people? Anxiety and resentment among some white voters about those policies certainly seemed to benefit Donald Trump’s campaign last year, with its... More

Are millennials the key to preservation? A new survey finds that millennials prefer to live, work and play in neighborhoods with historic buildings. More