By Shiloah Coley and Ellie Colbert
Commuting in Madison
History of Native Americans in Madison
By Shiloah Coley
Despite the city’s effort, Madison still lacks enough affordable housing
By Ellie Colbert
When Laura moved to Madison from Waukesha two years ago with her children, she came for the opportunities that a big city could provide. But first, Laura had to find housing.
“It was not the easiest,” Laura said. “For me, obviously with kids, it was finding a place that I could afford but that also has good schools and a good neighborhood.”
Laura spent three months looking for housing, and was on several waitlists before she “got lucky,” and a spot opened up with the same development company she lived within Waukesha.
Madison housing values and neighborhood demographics map
By Ellie Colbert
City of Madison Neighborhood Indicators Project, https://madison.apl.wisc.edu/
Closing the achievement gap: in-and-outside the classroom
By Nash Weiss
Everyone from presidents to teachers has tried addressing it, yet it persists, dictating the futures of children in America.
However, achievement gap in education affects students everywhere, including Madison, Wisconsin.
The achievement gap refers to the disparity in academic performance among groups of students. The achievement gap shows in various indicators of academic performance, including grades, standardized-test scores and graduation rates.
Lack of resources among Madison neighborhoods
By Sasha VanAllen
If you head east from the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, down East Washington Avenue, you’ll start to notice the thriving businesses and upscale downtown restaurants start to fade. These fade into vacant lots and old residential rental properties that have been ran down throughout the course of time. The smooth asphalt transitions to into cracked concrete and potholes barely filled with rubble. The once prosperous building complex now only holds a Subway restaurant, an old gym and a small beauty supply store, all with bars over the storefront windows.
Minimum wage reform in Wisconsin
By Justine Spore
Advocate Aurora Health, which operates several clinics and health centers in the Milwaukee area, announced on December 3 that they will raise their minimum wage to $15 an hour, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. This change follows several companies with large employee bases in the state who have also increased the minimum wage.
The end of a nine-year-long dry spell is in sight for a food desert
By Shiloah Coley
The sound of busy traffic can be heard from the West Beltline Highway as passengers in cars continue on their journeys. Some cars exit to go to the McDonald’s, a quick pit stop on the way to their destination. Then, they turn around to get right back on the highway.
But right across the street from the McDonald’s, there’s something that catches the eye, a bright orange building with lime green stripes running down the sides. It’s a grocery store that will bring an end to a food desert. It’s the first grocery store the Allied Dunn’s Marsh community has had in nine years.
Redlining Map of Madison
By Ellie Colbert
In the 1930s and 40s, the federal agency Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC), as a part of the New Deal, created ‘Residential Security Maps’ of major American cities. These maps color-coded neighborhoods based on racial demographics, local amenities and housing values. Green was for “best,” blue for “still desirable,” yellow for “definitely declining” and red for “hazardous.”