Leveling effect: The devastation from Tuesday’s earthquake has blurred the normally rigid class divisions of Mexico City, as residents from all walks of life—in the trendy arts districts to the dusty slums—band together in rescue and recovery efforts. The Washington Post reports:
The strong sense of solidarity in a city known for its obnoxious drivers and rough edges—not to mention its social snobbiness—reflects Mexicans’ typically resilient sense of humor.
“These kinds of events bring the best out of Mexicans,” said Álvaro Jiménez, a middle-aged engineer who was volunteering in the rescue efforts. “We can fight each other like dogs when things are going well, but when somebody needs help, we band together.”
Pricey living: A U.K. study finds that Millennials are spending three times more of their income on housing than their grandparents, yet living in worse accommodations. Today’s 30-year-olds are also half as likely to own their own home as their Baby Boomer parents. (Guardian)
- See also: London’s mayor is pinning some blame for the housing crisis on “ghost mansions,” which he plans to tax more heavily. (Next City)
The anti-sprawlers: “Cityhood” is what The Dallas Observer calls the new force shaping the Texas city, the political opposite of its “old school champions of sprawl”—and a necessary mindset to counter climate threats and lure companies like, maybe, Amazon.
Access denied: The Guardian charts wheelchair accessibility in city subways across the world, finding some big deficiencies—only nine of 303 Paris stations are fully accessible—but progress in L.A. and D.C., where 100 percent of the stations are up to code.
The gentrification train: Nashville’s mayor is used to seeing fiscal conservatives object to her light rail plans, but a new wave of opposition comes from anti-poverty advocates who fear gentrification impacts. (Tennessean)
The urban lens:
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