| Fool's errand: For many Americans, rent and mortgage payments are due April 1. Under normal circumstances, landlords and owners would expect most to come in as scheduled. But with the coronavirus outbreak leaving millions out of work, few are certain how things will play out. Tenants are warning they can't pay, with some even threatening a rent strike, leaving $81 billion in April payments hanging in the balance. In the short term, the Trump administration and some local governments have introduced protections for struggling households against eviction and foreclosure. Yet these new rules apply only to some people in some places. And rental property owners, many of whom depend on those payments as income, have received little assistance. The federal government also needs to think about longer-term solutions to keep vulnerable families housed after the pandemic recedes. As a Democratic presidential candidate last year, former Housing and Urban Development secretary Julián Castro suggested making the Housing Choice Voucher program, which provides rental aid to low-income households, a fully funded federal entitlement for eligible adults. To stave off a coronavirus-induced housing crisis, he tells Kriston Capps that HUD needs to invest more in the system and boost the value of vouchers so renters can pay their rent in full. In the meantime, figuring out your own housing responsibilities may be a challenge. CityLab's reporters want to answer your questions in an upcoming FAQ. What do you want to know about housing rights and resources during the pandemic? Send us your questions about the rent, evictions, and your rights here. -Linda Poon More on CityLab In places where most child-care facilities and schools have closed, some in-home family daycare providers remain open. But they aren't seeing the demand — or the support — they expected.
-KENDRA HURLEY The latest U.S. coronavirus aid package promises an uneven economic recovery, one that leaves behind the African American community.
-NATALIE HOPKINSON AND ANDRE PERRY Professor Ed Hawkins is drawing on Britain's sudden reserve of excess time to help him transcribe more than a century of rainfall data.
-JESS SHANKLEMAN (BLOOMBERG) William Helmreich (1945 - 2020) Sociologist William Helmreich has died of the coronavirus. He was 74. Several years ago, CityLab covered his effort to walk all 120,000 blocks in New York City, and what he learned from his epic, four-year quest. "If I accomplish anything besides sociology," Helmreich said, "it's to encourage people to walk through what I call the greatest museum in the world." What We're Reading - A Las Vegas parking lot has been turned into a '"homeless shelter," replete with social distancing markers (Guardian)
- The Instacart strike, explained (Vox)
- WWII-era "victory gardens" are making a comeback (Crosscut)
- The pandemic spawns "virus-free" escape communities that promise self-isolation — as a group (The Information)
- In the time of Covid-19, who gets to be outside? (Curbed)
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