Franklyn Cater

In a time of polarization and political division, NPR and StoryCorps explore whether simple but courageous acts — talking and listening — can be a countervailing force to national discord.

Transit decisions are made by political bodies, and the results are often that the communities with the most political and economic power drive the bus, so to speak. Big data may change that.

D.C. has struggled to roll out a streetcar line that uses both overheard wires and off-wire, battery power. In southern China, though, a new supercapacitor-powered tramline is already up and running.

Single people represent the fastest growing category of households in the U.S. That's made small dwellings — from micro-apartments to stand-alone tiny houses, a niche force in the real estate market.

It takes anchors to keep neighborhoods lively; key restaurants and stores that draw people from far and wide. For decades in Atlanta, Walters Clothing has been that space.

Federal funds are supporting two different disaster-prevention approaches — coastal retreat, or people leaving flood zones, and coastal defense, or building infrastructure to protect at-risk areas.

In the nation's capital, park planners have drawn up an ambitious plan to transform an old bridge into an active recreation space. If realized, the park would offer a physical and symbolic link between two very different communities.

As many cities add bus and bike lanes, raise parking rates and increase traffic enforcement with cameras, some motorists feel like they're under attack. But advocates of these changes say they give people more options for getting around and make cities safer.