Municipal

From the Scholars Strategy Network, written by Sarah F. Anzia of University of California, Berkeley. Edited for Journalist’s Resource.

According to recent estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are more than one million HIV-positive people in the United States. Deaths associated with AIDS number more than 18,000 a year, while 56,300 new HIV cases are reported annually.

Every summer in the United States, the issue of children being left unattended in motor vehicles hits the headlines. The stories often spur outrage and confusion over how such tragedies continue to occur, despite the media attention and persistent warnings to parents about how closed car windows trap heat, rapidly increasing interior temperatures.

On summer days, city air can be 5 or more degrees warmer than that in surrounding areas. Known as the “urban heat island effect,” it results in part from limited shade trees and the large surface area of pavement and dark roofing materials.

In the first half of the 20th century, a convergence of social attitudes, market forces and government policy in the United States contributed to significant increases in racial segregation. While segregation continues to be seen as a significant problem, a 2012 analysis of historical U.S. Census data indicates that racial separation has diminished significantly since the 1960s.