Housing & Urban

Data Reveals Effectiveness of Pretext Traffic Stop Bans in San Francisco

February 6, 2026
Parambir Dhillon

Law enforcement doesn’t always pull you over for the reason they say they do. A pretextual traffic stop is a policing tactic where an officer stops a vehicle for a minor traffic violation—which is the "pretext," or stated reason for the stop—with the underlying intention of investigating an unrelated crime. Drivers in pretext traffic stops are told they were pulled over for faulty brakelights, expired registration tags, or other low-level violations; once stopped, officers use their discretion to investigate drivers for unrelated crimes. As with other policing tactics,...

Universal Design for Age-Friendly Housing: Notes from Singapore

December 30, 2025
Emma Goh

Introduction

Population aging has accelerated tremendously in the past century. By 2030, 1 in 6 people will be aged 60 years or over, and by 2050 1 in 4 people will be aged 60+ (World Health Organization 2022). This demographic shift is affecting not only high-income countries, but also low- and middle- income ones. Beyond keeping pace with this demographic shift, health and social systems must consider what it will take to make the most out of rapid population aging. This, I believe, begins with a commitment to...

Paying Attention to Residential Parking: Why Cities Should Care

December 19, 2019
Marta Polovin

Parking is at the epicenter of a complicated relationship between land use and transportation. The way a city is planned, developed and regulated plays a pivotal role in people’s need to drive and/or buy a car. These choices have staggering climate, economic and social equity implications. As of 2018, California is not on track to meet its 2020 greenhouse gas reduction target under SB 375. This is largely due to more people driving more miles than ever before (CARB 2018). In the U.S., parking is the result of decades of land use decisions that have prioritized automobility, often to the...