Latest news with #KlaraAuerbach
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- General
- Bloomberg
How Cities Became the Epicenter of America's Plumbing Crisis
In the world's richest nation, the share of households living without access to clean running water is growing — and urban areas are at the center of the crisis. That marks a significant change from decades ago, when 'plumbing poverty,' as researchers call it, was endemic to rural America. The rise of housing unaffordability and living costs began shifting the issue to cities in the 1990s. Today, nearly three-quarters of households lacking running water live in metropolitan areas, with wealthy places like Portland, Oregon; Houston and Phoenix seeing some of the largest surges in recent years. Utility shut-offs due to nonpayment or improper maintenance by landlords are the main factors behind the problem, Laura Bliss and Klara Auerbach report. Today in Businessweek: Why Access to Running Water Is a Luxury in Wealthy US Cities
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- General
- Bloomberg
Why Access to Running Water Is a Luxury in Wealthy US Cities
By and Klara Auerbach Across the world, access to clean running water has long been considered a key marker of economic advancement. Yet in several of the most prosperous cities in the richest nation on Earth, the share of households living without that critical service is climbing—a trend that researchers say demands attention, particularly as President Donald Trump moves to sharply pare back federal funding for water infrastructure. Katie Meehan, a professor of environmental justice at King's College London, has for years been studying what she and other researchers call 'plumbing poverty' in the US. Utility shut-offs because of nonpayment or substandard housing where landlords fail to properly maintain properties are the main factors behind the problem.
