Local news and analysis from The Conversation

Highlighting emerging research and expert analysis on issues important to five communities in the U.S. Funded by the Knight Foundation and R.K. Mellon Foundation.

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A crumbling sidewalk with green grass on either side.

A crumbling sidewalk with green grass on either side.

Why Denver stopped treating sidewalk repair as a DIY project – lessons for other cities and homeowners

Wes Marshall, University of Colorado Denver

200 years after his birth, controversial composer Stephen Foster still sings to America’s contradictions

Christopher Lynch, University of Pittsburgh

Three separate copies of sheet music, with the one in the middle titled 'Massa's In De Cold Ground' and attributed to Stephen C. Foster.

Three separate copies of sheet music, with the one in the middle titled 'Massa's In De Cold Ground' and attributed to Stephen C. Foster.

Data center fights pit social values, democracy and capitalism against each other

Lauren Mullenbach, University of Michigan

A view of open grassland with a barn and a sign reading 'No data center.'

A view of open grassland with a barn and a sign reading 'No data center.'

How a tiny Caribbean island made American independence possible

R. Grant Gilmore III, College of Charleston

painting of a ship approaching St. Eustatius

painting of a ship approaching St. Eustatius

Techno tourism in Detroit – what do visitors owe the city that created the music?

Carla Vecchiola, University of Michigan-Dearborn

side angle of crowd shot showing varying ages and races, some dancing, some standing, and others seated on couches in a backyard setting

side angle of crowd shot showing varying ages and races, some dancing, some standing, and others seated on couches in a backyard setting

Detroit

A Black woman with long dark curls sits on the steps in from of a yellow brick building.

A Black woman with long dark curls sits on the steps in from of a yellow brick building.

Deed fraud can cause vulnerable Detroiters to lose their homes – here’s why it’s hard to catch the thieves

Donovan McCarty, Michigan State University

Detroit is spending millions on gunshot detection tech – is it an effective tool in the fight against violent crime?

Tian An Wong, University of Michigan-Dearborn and Divya Ramjee, Rochester Institute of Technology

A Black man wearing a police uniform stands behind podium.

A Black man wearing a police uniform stands behind podium.

Detroit’s high property taxes are driving a housing affordability crisis – how can city leaders bring down costs?

Amanda Nothaft, University of Michigan

A young Black woman stands behind podium with an American flag behind her

A young Black woman stands behind podium with an American flag behind her

Detroit’s water affordability crisis is tied to the uneven distribution of stormwater management costs – a fraught history explains why

Nicole Van Lier, Loyola Marymount University

Man stands next to broken water main.

Man stands next to broken water main.

Motown’s Black women songwriters and producers were the invisible architects behind the pop music juggernaut

Margena A. Christian, University of Illinois Chicago

Woman stands in front of podium

Woman stands in front of podium

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Philadelphia

Person in blue scrubs puts on blue plastic glove and stands by table with surgical tools

Person in blue scrubs puts on blue plastic glove and stands by table with surgical tools

Pennsylvania coroners refuse to release autopsy reports – and that hinders research on deaths in custody

Jonah Walters, University of California, Los Angeles

Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Philadelphia in 1976 was mysterious and deadly – 50 years later, scientists know the cause but outbreaks continue

Charles N. Haas, Drexel University and Robert Promisloff, Drexel University

Black-and-white photo of four men in cloth hats with regalia sit and talk

Black-and-white photo of four men in cloth hats with regalia sit and talk

Pepper pot stew was survival food for the poor and a path to freedom for Black women in early Philadelphia

Carolyn Zola, California State University, East Bay

Painting of Black woman ladling out soup as white customers surround her and eat it

Painting of Black woman ladling out soup as white customers surround her and eat it

Philadelphia’s 2026 sports calendar is packed – but fans are being priced out

Jared Bahir Browsh, University of Colorado Boulder

Man in yellow shirt holds blue bin on head with stacks of plastic cups

Man in yellow shirt holds blue bin on head with stacks of plastic cups

Philadelphia plans to close 17 neighborhood public schools – here’s what went wrong when it shuttered 30 schools in 2013

Julia McWilliams, University of Pennsylvania

Aerial view of large rectangular building surrounded by residential area with skyscrapers in background

Aerial view of large rectangular building surrounded by residential area with skyscrapers in background

Read more Philadelphia news

Pittsburgh

A wide shot of the point of a city and rivers merging.

A wide shot of the point of a city and rivers merging.

Should you swim in Pittsburgh’s rivers? A water researcher breaks down the answer

Daniel Bain, University of Pittsburgh

Microplastics are everywhere in Pennsylvania’s water – but the tide may be turning

Nathaniel Warner, Penn State; Lisa Emili, Penn State, and Raymond Najjar, Penn State

Three people are fishing in a creek.

Three people are fishing in a creek.

Most Pittsburgh-area communities are losing residents – here’s why that might be OK

Christopher Briem, University of Pittsburgh

People walking along a river on a sunny day with a city view in the background.

People walking along a river on a sunny day with a city view in the background.

What Pennsylvania’s AI chatbot lawsuit teaches us about the psychology behind medical trust

Gretchen Chapman, Carnegie Mellon University

A man in glasses and a navy blue suit stands behind a microphone.

A man in glasses and a navy blue suit stands behind a microphone.

Nearly half of maternal deaths in Pennsylvania occur more than 6 weeks after giving birth

Yenupini Joyce Adams, University of Notre Dame

A Black mother kisses her newborn on its head.

A Black mother kisses her newborn on its head.

Read more Pittsburgh news

South Florida

Women holding candles and Haitian flags at a community gathering

Women holding candles and Haitian flags at a community gathering

For Haitian women in Florida, the loss of TPS is more than an immigration law issue

Ammcise Apply, Binghamton University, State University of New York

How young coquí frogs balance the competing demands of growth and fighting disease

Zuania Colón-Piñeiro, University of Florida; Ana V. Longo, University of Florida; Miguel A. Acevedo, University of Florida, and Nich W. Martin, University of Florida

coqui frog with enlarged vocal sac

coqui frog with enlarged vocal sac

US Supreme Court opens the courthouse door to lawsuits tied to Cuba’s property seizures 6 decades after the fact

Manuel A. Gómez, Florida International University

Two cars, one very old and the other new fill up their tanks.

Two cars, one very old and the other new fill up their tanks.

Haiti at the World Cup is more than an underdog tale – it is the story of global migration

Laurent Dubois, University of Virginia

Two men one with a motorcycle stand in front of a poster of soccer players.

Two men one with a motorcycle stand in front of a poster of soccer players.

Home insurance and the unraveling of Florida communities

Zac Taylor, Delft University of Technology

Florida neighborhood with the street completely underwater

Florida neighborhood with the street completely underwater

Read more South Florida news

Colorado

A gavel and scale sit in front of a person in a blue suit with a pen in their hand.

A gavel and scale sit in front of a person in a blue suit with a pen in their hand.

Colorado criminal cases are dismissed at a higher rate when prosecutors face heavier workloads

Rebecca Dunlea, UMass Lowell

How Colorado hospitals are caring for pregnant patients with substance use disorders by overcoming stigma

Karli Swenson, University of Colorado Anschutz

A pregnant woman sits in a hospital gown and chats with a man in scrubs.

A pregnant woman sits in a hospital gown and chats with a man in scrubs.

Coloradans are getting squeezed by credit cards while trying to navigate high costs

Ali Besharat, University of Denver

A woman in a white blouse holds a red credit card and looks at a cellphone in her other hand.

A woman in a white blouse holds a red credit card and looks at a cellphone in her other hand.

Colorado voted to end forced prison labor in 2018 – so why are incarcerated people in the state still working for less than $2 an hour?

Julia Bowling, City University of New York

Hands reach through the bars of a cell.

Hands reach through the bars of a cell.

From the San Luis Valley to Vail, Latino labor powers every sector of Colorado’s economy

Ernesto Sagás, Colorado State University

People bend over in a field to harvest parsley under a gray sky.

People bend over in a field to harvest parsley under a gray sky.

Read more Colorado news

Data centers and energy costs

A view of open grassland with a barn and a sign reading 'No data center.'

A view of open grassland with a barn and a sign reading 'No data center.'

Data center fights pit social values, democracy and capitalism against each other

Lauren Mullenbach, University of Michigan

How Pennsylvania towns are protecting themselves from the noise, heat and utility costs of massive data centers

Michael Helbing, Penn State

Man stands on front porch above yellow sign that says 'No Data Centers'

Man stands on front porch above yellow sign that says 'No Data Centers'

Abandoned Pennsylvania mines and waste-heat recycling could make the state’s massive new data centers far more sustainable

Wangda Zuo, Penn State

Aerial view of industrial area

Aerial view of industrial area

Data centers don’t have to be a burden on local communities – and can even support them by generating power and repurposing waste heat

Gregor Henze, University of Colorado Boulder and Sean Shaheen, University of Colorado Boulder

An aerial view shows a large building in the foreground with homes and businesses nearby, and skyscrapers in the distance.

An aerial view shows a large building in the foreground with homes and businesses nearby, and skyscrapers in the distance.

AI’s growing appetite for power is putting Pennsylvania’s aging electricity grid to the test

Shixiang (Woody) Zhu, Carnegie Mellon University

Smoke puffs out of a power plant with an American flag in the foreground of the photo.

Smoke puffs out of a power plant with an American flag in the foreground of the photo.

Maternal health

A pregnant woman sits in a hospital gown and chats with a man in scrubs.

A pregnant woman sits in a hospital gown and chats with a man in scrubs.

How Colorado hospitals are caring for pregnant patients with substance use disorders by overcoming stigma

Karli Swenson, University of Colorado Anschutz

Nearly half of maternal deaths in Pennsylvania occur more than 6 weeks after giving birth

Yenupini Joyce Adams, University of Notre Dame

A Black mother kisses her newborn on its head.

A Black mother kisses her newborn on its head.

Mobile clinics offer a practical way to improve health care access in maternity care deserts

Adetola F. Louis-Jacques, University of Florida; Arielle Ayotte, University of Florida, and Michelle Nall, University of Florida

Bus repurposed as a mobile clinic

Bus repurposed as a mobile clinic

Fewer new moms are dying in Colorado – naloxone might be one reason why

Kaylin Klie, University of Colorado Anschutz

A woman in a blue dress holds a swaddled baby in a hospital room.

A woman in a blue dress holds a swaddled baby in a hospital room.

New dietary guidelines prioritize ‘real food’ – but low-income pregnant women can’t easily obtain it

Bethany Barone Gibbs, West Virginia University and Alex Crisp, University of Iowa

A pregnant woman in overalls carries a red shopping basket in a grocery store.

A pregnant woman in overalls carries a red shopping basket in a grocery store.

Our team

Headshots for Beth Daley, Priyanka Sharma-Sindhar, Emily Costello, Kate Kilpatrick, Eleanore Catolico, Claire Cleveland, Eleanore Catolico and Katie Flood.

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