Amid widening gaps in politics and demographics, Americans in urban, suburban and rural areas share many aspects of community life Pew – “…The divides that exist across urban, suburban and rural areas when it comes to views on social and political issues don’t necessarily extend to how people are experiencing life in different types of… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Housing
Study – Almost half of US families can’t afford basics like rent and food
CNN Money – The economy may be chugging along, but many Americans are still struggling to afford a basic middle class life. “Nearly 51 million households don’t earn enough to afford a monthly budget that includes housing, food, child care, health care, transportation and a cell phone, according to a study released Thursday by the… Continue Reading
US on track to be a majority-minority nation by 2044 – census data show most of our neighbors are the same race
Washington Post: “Since 1990, more than 90 percent of U.S. metro areas have seen a decline in racial stratification, signaling a trend toward a more integrated America. Yet, while areas like Houston and Atlanta have undergone rapid demographic changes, cities like Detroit and Chicago still have large areas dominated by a single racial group. Some… Continue Reading
How Will the New Tax Law Affect Homeowners in High Tax States? It Depends
New York Fed – Liberty Street Economics: “The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) introduces significant changes to the federal income tax code for individuals and businesses. Several provisions of the new tax law are particularly significant for the owner‑occupied housing market. In this blog post, we compare the federal tax liability and… Continue Reading
Zillow Research – Home Values and Rents by Congressional District
“Housing costs, both home values and rents, rose nationwide and in a majority of Congressional districts in 2017. Median home values rose last year in 421 of 426 (99 percent) total Congressional districts analyzed by Zillow; rents were up in 295 of 434 (68 percent) total districts analyzed. Home values and rents tend to be… Continue Reading
Urban Heat: Can White Roofs Help Cool World’s Warming Cities?
Yale Environment 360: “Summers in the city can be extremely hot — several degrees hotter than in the surrounding countryside. But recent research indicates that it may not have to be that way. The systematic replacement of dark surfaces with white could lower heat wave maximum temperatures by 2 degrees Celsius or more. And with… Continue Reading
New LibGuide – Prices and Wages by Decade
Via Maria Concannon, Govt Documents Coordinator, University of Missouri Libraries: “I’m writing to bring your attention to our LibGuide Prices and Wages by Decade…This guide points to government publications listing retail prices for common items or “necessities of life.” Prices for foods, articles of clothing, household items, appliances, hardware, fuel and other physical goods fall… Continue Reading
Census – Characteristics of Same-Sex Couple Households Table Package
“This table package showing household characteristics of opposite-sex and same-sex couples has been updated with statistics from the 2016 American Community Survey. The tables show age of householder and partner, race of householder, interracial couples, labor force participation, educational attainment, presence of children, household income, and homeownership. The statistics include the number of same-sex couples,… Continue Reading
Report and analysis on modern day redlining in major metro areas
Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting: “In the 1930s, the federal government encouraged lending institutions to deny mortgages to people who lived in neighborhoods with large populations of immigrants and African Americans. The practice became known as redlining because the government drew lines around certain neighborhoods, deeming them “hazardous,” and colored them red. It… Continue Reading
Mayors & CEOs for U.S. Housing Investment
Curbed: “Why isn’t homelessness seen as a national crisis? Cities call on the federal government to confront the growing numbers of homeless residents…The group, called Mayors & CEOs for U.S. Housing Investment, intends to work with HUD to make sure cities don’t lose federal dollars, and come up with new and innovative ways to fund… Continue Reading
Massive new data set suggests economic inequality is about to get even worse
Washington Post – “…inquiries into how fast wealth grows relative to the economy have been hampered by a lack of good, complete, comparable long-term data on the rates of return for various assets: stocks, bonds, real estate and the like. You’d want this to know what you’d expect a “natural” rate of return to be in… Continue Reading
New data on: Commuting Times, Median Rents and Language other than English Use
“The nation experienced an increase in commuting time, median gross rent and a rise in English proficiency among those who spoke another language. These are only a few of the statistics released today from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012-2016 American Community Survey five-year estimates data release, which features more than 40 social, economic, housing and… Continue Reading
