Urban Planning for Self-Driving Cars
Detroit — With technologists racing to get autonomous-driven vehicles on the road in 10 years or less, America’s urban planners need to resolve a host of questions about how cities will respond to the future of transportation. A new report from the National League of Cities finds only 6 percent of U.S. cities have devoted planning resources to figuring out changes needed to accommodate self-driving vehicles. And only 3 percent have...
City Property Values Point to Wealth Divide Within U.S. Cities
Washington — It’s still possible in Boston for a mail carrier, an accountant and a Harvard-trained psychiatrist — basically, the crowd from Cheers — to live as neighbors. That finding by the real estate brokerage Redfin makes the capital of Massachusetts a rarity at a time when neighborhoods in most U.S. cities are increasingly isolated from each other by income and home values. Redfin analyzed home sales over the past 24 months in 20...
Considering a Tiny Home? Try Before You Buy
Croydon — Hilary and Shane Lentz were hooked on the idea of a tiny house, but they weren’t sure the reality would be so appealing. Their curiosity led them to the hills of New Hampshire, where a business that started at Harvard University rents out tiny houses for $99 a night. The company, Getaway, has drawn visitors from afar who come to sample life in a 160-square-foot house before they dive headlong into the lifestyle. “It’s a way...
Downsizing Trend in Retreat as Big Houses Make a Comeback
Minneapolis — Sprawling single-family houses, spurned just a few years ago by buyers, are back. And they’re bigger than ever. For the first time, the average size of a new single-family home built in the United States topped 2,600 square feet in 2014. About a third of the houses built last year were larger than 3,000 square feet. “You have seen the homes just growing bigger and bigger and bigger,” said Teresa St. Amant, a Twin Cities...
Uber Loses Key Ruling on Workers
The Uber business model is pretty simple: People use the ride-hailing app to find a driver to take them where they want to go for a price. But is that driver an Uber employee or an independent contractor? Now, the California Labor Commissioner’s office has ruled that San Francisco Uber driver Barbara Ann Berwick was an employee — and entitled to receive more than $4,000 in mileage and toll expenses because her services were “integral”...
