Urban decay
Sociological process affecting cities
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2024 | A new tenant signed a lease for the location, planning to open a Chinese/Asian cuisine restaurant. |
2023 |
Food desert
NRF data showed that external theft consistently accounted for around 36% of lost inventory per year between 2015 and 2023, challenging narratives about retail theft as a primary cause of store closures.
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2023 |
Food desert
Analysis of shoplifting data showed a decrease in 17 out of 24 major U.S. cities between 2018 and 2023, contradicting claims about widespread retail theft.
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2023 | Canada passed Bill C-226, An Act to Address Environmental Racism in the Nova Scotia Legislature, marking significant legislative progress in addressing environmental racism. |
June 27 2023 |
Banlieue
Riots erupted across France following the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old teenager of North African descent named Nahel M. in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris. The incident sparked widespread protests and civil unrest in banlieues (suburban areas) across the country.
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May 2023 | The Rideau Street McDonald's restaurant officially closed. |
April 2023 | President Biden introduced the Justice40 Initiative, committing to direct 40 percent of federal environmental programs to marginalized communities and establishing a Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool to identify beneficiary communities. |
March 2023 | A crowd of approximately 200 people, including people dressed as McDonald's characters and a raccoon, gathered to pay tribute to the restaurant. The event was organized by university students and raised funds for local charities like Operation Come Home, Voice Found, and Shepherds of Good Hope shelter. |
January 2023 | Franchisee decides not to renew the lease of the Rideau Street McDonald's building, owned by District Realty. |
2022 | Vermont and Oregon formed new environmental justice councils, expanding state-level efforts to address environmental racism and inequity. |
2021 |
Food desert
The National Retail Federation initially claimed 'organized retail crime' accounted for nearly half of all inventory losses reported by retailers, though this estimate was later retracted due to faulty data.
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2020 |
Food desert
Media reports linked worsening food desert conditions to shoplifting and looting in urban neighborhoods following the George Floyd protests in Chicago, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and Seattle.
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April 18 2020 |
Banlieue
Riots erupted in Paris over police treatment of ethnic minorities in the banlieues during the COVID-19 lockdown, leading to several nights of violent clashes.
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2019 |
Food desert
A study published in The Quarterly Journal of Economics challenged previous assumptions about food deserts, finding that exposing low-income households to the same products and prices as high-income households reduces nutritional inequality by only about 10 percent.
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2019 | Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau wrote an open letter to McDonald's Canada about the restaurant's out-of-control status. In response, the restaurant cut its overnight shift, closing at 10pm, hired additional security, and closed its back entrance. |
2019 |
Gang
A You're Wrong About podcast episode challenges the perception of gang violence, arguing it was an overblown moral panic in the United States.
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2018 |
Food desert
Karen Washington published an article in Guernica critiquing the term 'food desert', proposing the term 'food apartheid' as a more accurate description of food access inequalities.
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2018 |
Food desert
Tulane University conducted a study categorizing food deserts into three types: ability-related, assets-related, and attitude-related, providing a more nuanced understanding of food access challenges.
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2018 | Police were called 843 times to the Rideau Street McDonald's, demonstrating ongoing significant problems with criminal and disruptive activities. |
2018 | A comprehensive study of particulate emissions revealed that Black people were exposed to 54% more particulate matter emissions compared to the average American. |
2017 | Police were called 928 times to the Rideau Street McDonald's, highlighting extreme public safety and behavioral issues at the restaurant. |
August 31 2015 |
Banlieue
The New Yorker publishes 'The Other France' by George Packer, exploring suburban tensions and potential radicalization.
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2014 | The 2013 raccoon incident video went viral on social media, making headlines worldwide. |
2013 |
Food desert
A research study suggested that adding a grocery store near one's home was associated with a minimal average BMI decrease of 0.115, which is considered insignificant for obesity intervention.
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2013 | A viral incident occurred involving a man and a baby raccoon named 'Pocket Rocket' during a fight at the restaurant. |
2013 |
Societal effects of cars
Annual car ownership cost analysis revealed significant variations across US states, with Georgia having the highest annual costs at $4,233 and Oregon the lowest at $2,024. The national average was calculated at $3,201.
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2013 |
Societal effects of cars
Canadian Automobile Association reported the cost of ownership for a compact car in Canada at CA $9,500 per year (approximately US$7,300), including various expenses such as depreciation, insurance, borrowing costs, maintenance, and licensing.
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2012 |
Food desert
A study found that grocery stores are more closely spaced in poor neighborhoods and discovered no direct relationship between children's food consumption, weight, and nearby food availability.
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2011 |
Gang
World Bank World Development Report surveyed international populations, finding unemployment as the most common reason people join gangs.
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March 11 2011 | Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami occurs in Japan, significantly contributing to the creation of modern urban ruins across the region. |
2010 |
Food desert
A Chicago survey revealed residents' complaints about in-store issues like poor upkeep and customer service in neighborhood stores.
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2010 |
Societal effects of cars
Globally, 1.23 million people were killed due to traffic collisions, highlighting the significant human cost of automobile accidents.
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December 16 2010 |
Banlieue
Luc Bronner publishes 'La loi du ghetto : Enquête sur les banlieues françaises', a book investigating French suburban conditions.
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Food desert, Banlieue, Societal effects of cars, Gang, Rideau Street McDonald's, Environmental racism & Modern ruins, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.