NPR Cities Project

Participants stretch during a "yoga on the yard" class, one of Howard University's sesquicentennial celebration events that was open to anyone who wanted to attend in Washington, D.C. The university is trying to foster better communication with the surrou

When A Historically Black University's Neighborhood Turns White

5:01am July 25, 2017

by Brakkton Booker

The area around Howard University was once working class and black. As more non-black residents move in and property values rise, the university is taking advantage of the hot real estate market.

Anti-gentrification activists staged a protest outside Weird Wave Coffee Brewers recently, chanting "Weird Cafe has got to go."

In This LA Neighborhood, Protest Art Is A Verb

3:12pm June 27, 2017

by Saul Gonzalez

About a third of Boyle Heights' 90,000 residents live below the poverty line. But lower rents have attracted art galleries to the area, and that is drawing the ire of residents and activists.

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Riders stand in a crowded bus in Montgomery, Ala. Sixty years after the historic Montgomery bus boycott, many of the city's residents say that the system doesn't work for them.

National

60 Years After The Boycott, Progress Stalls For Montgomery Buses

4:25pm November 12, 2015

by Debbie Elliott

The deep-rooted history and current disrepair of the aging bus fleet in Montgomery, Ala., continues to impact its predominantly black ridership.

Songdo, outside Seoul, was envisioned as a futuristic international business hub, drawing residents from all over the world. Instead, this young city has become populated mostly by Koreans.

World News

A South Korean City Designed For The Future Takes On A Life Of Its Own

7:01pm October 02, 2015

by Ari Shapiro

Songdo City was planned as a futuristic international business hub. Instead, it's become popular among Koreans as an attractive residential area. This story is the latest in NPR's Cities Project.

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New apartment buildings are replacing empty lots in Mantua, one of Philadelphia's poorest neighborhoods.

University Re-Imagines Town And Gown Relationship In Philadelphia

5:40am February 02, 2015

by Hansi Lo Wang

Drexel University is taking a hands-on approach to redeveloping one of Philadelphia's poorest neighborhoods with a new center designed to serve not just students but mainly local residents.

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