Daily News
Sinking Cities: Why Parts of Phoenix—and Much of Urban America—Are Slowly Dropping
A new study confirms Phoenix and 27 other U.S. cities are sinking—putting millions of people and buildings at long-term risk.
Phoenix is sinking. Not metaphorically, but literally. According to a 2025 study published in Nature Cities, Arizona’s capital is subsiding at an average rate of 0.8 millimeters per year, with some areas dropping by up to 2 centimeters annually. While that might sound minor, the implications are anything but.
The study, which analyzed satellite data across 28 major U.S. cities, revealed a troubling trend: every single city examined is experiencing some form of land subsidence. And the causes are largely human-driven.
📉 What’s Happening Beneath Phoenix?
The ground beneath Phoenix is slowly compacting due to a combination of natural and human-induced factors. Chief among them is groundwater depletion. Over the past century, large-scale pumping of underground aquifers caused the soil above to compress. While Arizona implemented the Groundwater Management Act in 1980, and water use has since stabilized, the lingering impact of past overuse remains.
Some areas in the Phoenix metro region have already experienced up to 18 feet of subsidence over the last 40 years, and the newly published data shows that areas housing 1.4 million people and 113,000 buildings remain at moderate to high risk of structural damage.
🌆 Sinking Cities Across the U.S.
Phoenix isn’t alone. The Nature Cities study revealed that nearly 34 million Americans live on land that is subsiding, and over 29,000 buildings nationwide sit in zones of high or very high risk.
Here are some key findings from other cities:
Houston, TX is the most affected, with 42% of its area sinking more than 5mm/year and localized zones dropping up to 5 cm annually. Dallas–Fort Worth, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Denver are also seeing significant ground shifts. Even cities you might not expect—Portland, Boston, and Philadelphia—are experiencing measurable sinking, largely due to natural geologic changes or compaction from development on soft soils.
🛠️ What Causes Subsidence?
There’s no single cause, but several primary drivers are contributing:
Groundwater Overuse: This is the dominant factor in most regions, especially in arid and agricultural areas. Oil and Gas Extraction: Particularly in Texas, removing underground fossil fuels causes the surface to sink. Post-Ice Age Rebound Effects: In northern cities like Chicago and New York, the land is still adjusting from glacial movement thousands of years ago. Urbanization: The weight of skyscrapers, concrete, and infrastructure can compress soft soils underneath. Landfill & Soil Compaction: Areas built on old lakes, wetlands, or landfills—common in coastal cities—are inherently less stable.
⚠️ What’s at Risk?
The consequences of even slow land subsidence can be serious:
Building damage: Foundations can crack, tilt, or become unstable. Infrastructure stress: Roads, pipelines, and electrical lines can be misaligned or fractured. Flood risk: As land sinks, especially in coastal cities, the risk of storm surge and sea-level rise intensifies. Water infrastructure: Subsidence can affect aquifer storage and groundwater recharge.
✅ What Can Be Done?
While stopping subsidence entirely is nearly impossible, smart urban planning and resource management can mitigate the damage:
Limiting groundwater use through stricter regulation and conservation. Investing in resilient infrastructure designed to adapt to ground shifts. Monitoring subsidence hotspots with regular satellite data. Educating the public and developers on long-term land risks before building.
🧭 Final Thoughts
Phoenix’s slow descent is a reminder that cities are not static—they live, breathe, and shift over time. As climate change and population pressures increase, the invisible motion beneath our feet demands more attention. Cities that plan for it now will stand taller in the decades to come—even if the ground beneath them doesn’t.
Related Articles:
Yes, Phoenix Is Sinking. What Does That Mean for the City? – Phoenix New Times
Cities Are Sinking Across the U.S. – CBS News
Why Houston and New York Are Sinking Fast – Business Insider
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Automotive
Slate Truck Moves Closer to Reality as December 2026 Deliveries Come Into View
Slate Truck deliveries could begin in December 2026. Here’s the latest on its $24,950 price, 205-mile range, preorders and Indiana production.
Last Updated on September 6, 2026 by Daily News Staff
The $24,950 electric pickup is approaching production, but early availability will be limited—and many buyers may wait well into 2027.
Slate Auto’s minimalist electric pickup is moving closer to becoming something customers can actually park in their driveways.
After months of describing its launch simply as “late 2026,” the startup has reportedly begun asking some preorder holders whether they would be interested in taking delivery as early as December. The outreach provides the clearest indication yet of when the first production Slate Trucks could reach American roads.
That does not mean every early customer will receive a truck before the end of the year. According to emails reviewed by Business Insider, customers were offered the possibility of a December 2026 delivery, while other estimated windows stretched from early 2027 through July–September 2027.
Still, the news is an important milestone for one of the most closely watched—and most unconventional—new vehicles in America.
From an under-$20,000 promise to a $24,950 truck
When Slate emerged from stealth in 2025, much of the attention centered on the possibility of an electric truck costing less than $20,000 after federal incentives. The expiration of the federal consumer EV tax credit eliminated the subsidy that made that advertised figure possible.
Slate later established an official starting price of $24,950 before destination charges, taxes and accessories. With a reported $1,450 destination fee, the effective starting point is approximately $26,400 before a buyer begins personalizing the truck.
That remains unusually inexpensive in a market where the average new vehicle approaches $50,000. It also preserves Slate’s central argument: Many buyers might prefer a simple new vehicle over a feature-packed model carrying a much larger monthly payment.
The important question is how many buyers will remain satisfied with the base vehicle once they see what $24,950 does—and does not—include.
Basic by design
The Slate Truck starts as a two-seat, two-door electric pickup with manual windows, physical climate controls and gray composite exterior panels. There is no built-in infotainment screen or conventional factory stereo. Drivers can use a smartphone, portable speaker or optional accessories instead.
These omissions are not oversights. They are fundamental to Slate’s strategy of reducing manufacturing complexity and allowing customers to pay only for the equipment they want.
Owners will be able to add exterior wraps, upgraded audio equipment, storage systems, roof racks and other accessories. A more substantial SUV kit can add an enclosed rear section and second-row seating, transforming the small pickup into a five-passenger vehicle.
Slate says its marketplace will offer more than 200 accessories, with more than 80 percent priced below $500. That flexibility is appealing, but it also creates the possibility that a $24,950 truck could quickly approach or exceed $30,000 after buyers add color, audio, additional seating and everyday conveniences.
More range without a higher base price
One of the most meaningful improvements is the truck’s estimated driving range. Early versions of the Slate concept were associated with approximately 150 miles from the standard battery. Slate now advertises roughly 205 miles of estimated range at the same $24,950 base price.
The current specification uses a 52.7-kWh battery and a single rear-mounted electric motor. Slate says the battery can charge from 20 to 80 percent in under 30 minutes under suitable fast-charging conditions.
Approximately 205 miles should make the truck more practical for commuting, local deliveries and daily errands. It remains less suited to frequent long-distance travel than many larger EVs, but the additional range substantially strengthens the value proposition.
Final range, charging performance and other specifications remain subject to change because the vehicle is still in pre-production.
Production preparations continue in Indiana
Slate plans to manufacture the truck at a former printing facility in Warsaw, Indiana. The company says three design-verification prototype vehicles were completed ahead of schedule while expansion of the plant continues.
The factory project represents an investment of nearly $400 million and is expected to create more than 2,000 jobs. Slate has designed its production system around simplicity: composite body panels eliminate the need for a conventional paint shop, while a limited number of factory configurations should reduce assembly complexity.
The company has reported more than 180,000 refundable $50 reservations. When formal preorders opened in June 2026, customers were asked to place a $300 nonrefundable deposit—reduced to an additional $250 for existing reservation holders—to secure an estimated delivery window. The money is applied to the eventual purchase price.
Slate reportedly collected more than 10,000 of those preorder deposits within the opening hours. That shows genuine interest, but refundable reservations and early deposits are not the same as completed vehicle sales. The real test will begin when customers must finalize configurations, financing and purchase agreements.
December would be a beginning, not a full rollout
If Slate places its first customer trucks on the road in December, it will have met its broad late-2026 target. However, the first deliveries are expected to be low-volume, with production increasing during the first half of 2027.
That distinction matters. A handful of December deliveries would demonstrate that Slate can build a saleable vehicle, but it would not prove that the company can manufacture tens of thousands of trucks reliably, control costs, supply replacement parts or support customers across the country.
For a new automaker, scaling production and service can be more difficult than designing an appealing prototype. Slate must show that its low-cost philosophy works not only in the showroom but also in manufacturing, quality control, repairs and long-term ownership.
Ford Fathom adds pressure to the equation
Slate may enjoy an early lead, but it will not have the affordable electric-truck category to itself for long.
Ford’s forthcoming Fathom electric pickup is expected to start around $28,350 and reach customers in fall 2027. For only a few thousand dollars more than a base Slate, the Ford is expected to provide four doors and more conventional standard equipment.
The two trucks represent very different ideas of affordability. Slate removes features and lets owners add them later. Ford appears to be pursuing a more familiar, fully equipped small-truck experience while attempting to keep the price near $30,000.
Slate’s advantage is that it could arrive first and carry a lower advertised price. Ford’s advantages include manufacturing scale, an established service network and decades of experience selling trucks.
The bottom line
The Slate Truck is no longer merely an intriguing rendering or auto-show experiment. A firm price has been announced, preorders are underway, verification vehicles have been built, factory preparations are advancing and the first customer deliveries may now be only months away.
At $24,950—or approximately $26,400 after destination—the Slate remains one of the most interesting efforts to make a new electric vehicle genuinely affordable. Its improved estimated range makes the proposition considerably stronger than it was at launch.
But the original question has not disappeared: Will buyers embrace a truly basic truck, or will the cost of turning that blank Slate into a comfortable everyday vehicle erase too much of its price advantage?
December 2026 may give us the first real answer.
Sources and further reading
- Slate Auto: How to preorder
- Slate Auto: Vehicle specifications
- Slate Auto: Warsaw factory update
- Business Insider: Earliest Slate deliveries
- Axios: Indiana-built EVs target affordability
Vehicle specifications, prices and delivery estimates remain subject to change before production.
🚗 Stay in the driver’s seat with the latest automotive news, vehicle reviews, industry updates, recalls, and buying tips. Share your opinions in the comments and subscribe to the STM Daily News newsletter for the latest Consumer Corner Automotive stories delivered straight to your inbox.
Community
9/11 Day Awards $3 Million in Grants to Expand Volunteer Opportunities Nationwide Ahead of 25th Anniversary
9/11 Day announced $3 million in grants to nearly 200 groups across 40 states, expanding service projects for the 25th anniversary observance.
As the United States approaches the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001, the nonprofit 9/11 Day is putting major resources behind a familiar idea with renewed urgency: remembrance through service. The organization—founded by 9/11 families and leaders and co-led by co-founders David Paine and Jay Winuk—announced $3 million in grants to roughly 200 nonprofits, schools, and community groups across 40 states to expand local volunteer projects tied to this year’s September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance.
The funding is designed to dramatically increase the number of ways Americans can participate close to home, from food insecurity initiatives to neighborhood cleanups and support programs for veterans and first responders. Together, grant recipients are expected to engage more than 70,000 volunteers nationwide.
A major push toward youth-led service
More than 70% of the grant funding is going to youth organizations and educational institutions, including K–12 schools, universities, and other learning programs. The emphasis reflects a generational reality: millions of students today know 9/11 primarily through textbooks, family stories, and classroom lessons.
“For many students participating in the observance this year, 9/11 is something they’ve only encountered in textbooks or through stories from parents and grandparents,” said Jay Winuk, co-founder and executive vice president of 9/11 Day and a 9/11 family member. “By connecting history with hands-on service, we’re helping young people understand that the legacy of 9/11 isn’t defined only by tragedy. It’s also defined by compassion, resilience and the responsibility we all share to care for one another.”
Youth-focused projects supported by the grants include school-wide days of service, hunger-relief efforts, donation drives, community improvement work, and service-learning initiatives that connect the history of September 11 with practical ways to help others.
UNIITE for Good: turning an anniversary into a nationwide “doing good” moment
The grant program is a cornerstone of 9/11 Day’s nationwide UNIITE for Good campaign, scheduled to officially launch August 24. The campaign aims to transform the 25th anniversary into what organizers describe as America’s largest day of doing good—channeling remembrance into tangible community impact.
The program is administered in collaboration with AmeriCorps, with principal funding provided by AmeriCorps and the Popeyes Foundation. A special emphasis this year is addressing hunger—an issue described in the release as an “ever-growing hunger crisis across the nation.”
Meeting community needs where people live
Grant-funded projects span urban, suburban, and rural communities. Activities include assembling meals for individuals and families facing food insecurity, packing care kits for veterans and first responders, restoring community spaces, and strengthening schools and neighborhoods.
Beyond the service itself, the grants are also intended to help local groups recruit volunteers, purchase supplies, coordinate logistics, and expand the number of service opportunities available in their areas.
“As we mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11, we have a responsibility to preserve not only the memory of that day and those lost and injured, but also the extraordinary way Americans came together in the aftermath of the attacks,” said David Paine, president and co-founder of 9/11 Day. “These community-led projects are helping rekindle that spirit of unity, compassion and service by bringing neighbors together to help solve local challenges.”
AmeriCorps echoed that message, framing service as a way to honor those who responded in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.
“This year, we invite Americans to carry forward that enduring spirit of unity and service by becoming a hero for someone in need,” said Emily Stock, project manager for Volunteer Initiatives at AmeriCorps, noting that AmeriCorps-funded projects will include food drives, home repairs, neighborhood cleanups, and disaster preparedness activities.
The Popeyes Foundation also highlighted its community-focused mission and its role in supporting local projects.
Why this anniversary matters now
Organizers say the 25th anniversary arrives at a pivotal moment: more than 100 million Americans are now too young to have personal memories of September 11. That makes this milestone one of the last major opportunities to connect those who lived through the day with younger generations learning about it as history.
Examples of grant-supported efforts include:
- Marshall University, which plans to build on its existing 9/11 Days of Service tradition, including a Memorial Stair Challenge and volunteer projects supporting veterans, first responders, and families in need.
- Middlebury Elementary School, which will expand hands-on service activities that teach younger students about 9/11 through compassion and community action.
- University of South Dakota, where students will work alongside community partners to address local needs while learning how service can bridge backgrounds and perspectives.
How to get involved
A full list of 2026 9/11 Day Grant Program recipients is available through 9/11 Day. To learn more about the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance—and to find ways to participate—visit 911day.org.
STM Daily News will continue tracking community service initiatives and local observances tied to the 25th anniversary as September approaches
financial wellness
Personal bankruptcy filings are soaring in 2026, signaling growing economic distress
Personal bankruptcy filings are climbing as inflation, high interest rates and mounting household debt strain American consumers. Although bankruptcy can provide a fresh start, financial recovery may take decades.
Jay L. Zagorsky, Boston University
The number of Americans who file for bankruptcy is growing. More than 500,000 people took this step in 2025, nearly 50% more than in 2022. And the numbers have kept on climbing, with a 12% jump in June 2026 from a year earlier as many consumers struggled to pay their bills.
I am a business school professor who has researched bankruptcies and whether, when you are at the end of your financial rope, bankruptcy helps or hurts.
I became interested in the subject while in graduate school. Not because of any courses I took, but because I ran out of money. While I was in grad school, my wife, who was keeping the family afloat, unexpectedly lost her job at the very moment our savings went to zero.
Ultimately, we didn’t declare bankruptcy, and I’ll explain later what we did to avoid it. But this near brush with that fate sparked my long-term interest in this predicament that befalls many American consumers who find themselves financially stressed out.
What’s personal bankruptcy?
Bankruptcy is a legal process for people who can’t pay their debts. Because it usually requires liquidating their assets or entering a repayment plan, Americans generally turn to it as a last resort. To declare bankruptcy you first file a petition with a federal court, which appoints a trustee to oversee your case.
But bankruptcy does not discharge all debts.
There are 19 types of debts that even bankruptcy will not wipe out. Some of the bigger categories are alimony, child support and most taxes. Student loans can be wiped out, but getting that done is difficult and it’s not an automatic part of bankruptcy proceedings.
2 conflicting goals
U.S. bankruptcy law has two big goals that contradict each other.
The first is to give honest individual debtors a “fresh start.” The process ideally reduces or eliminates enough of their debt to make it possible to earn, spend, borrow and repay money like people with a more typical financial life. In other words, personal bankruptcy can take the financial noose off debtors’ necks.
The second is to ensure that creditors get repaid as much as possible for their loans. When someone declares bankruptcy, some or maybe all of their creditors don’t get their money back. In 2024, the Americans who filed for bankruptcy had about US$75 billion in assets, but they owed their creditors about $86 billion – $11 billion more.
States and the federal government make different trade-offs between these goals. As a result there are very different limits on how much equity – the difference between market value and what you owe – debtors can keep in their primary homes and personal property after they declare bankruptcy.
Some states are quite lenient. For example, Texas bankruptcy law doesn’t limit the amount of equity in a home at all. That helps debtors get back on their feet.
Other states are extremely strict in this regard. Arkansas limits home equity after personal bankruptcy to $800, and Kentucky restricts it to $5,000. This helps creditors: Lenders can force a debtor’s house to be sold and keep much of the equity the debtor built up.
Likewise, laws protecting vehicles and other kinds of personal property belonging to people who declare bankruptcy vary widely.
2 types of personal bankruptcy
People declaring bankruptcy typically file using either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 of the federal bankruptcy code.
About 2 in 3 people use Chapter 7, a form of financial liquidation. The bankruptcy court appoints a trustee, who then sells off all of a person’s possessions, except what is covered by the various exemptions.
The trustee then gives creditors whatever money is left after the sale. In exchange for giving up most of what someone owns, filing Chapter 7 wipes out almost all debts and gives them a fresh financial start.
For people earning moderate to high incomes and whose debts are less than $2.75 million, bankruptcy courts make them use Chapter 13.
Chapter 13 is a slower-moving process. Creditors are paid over three to five years from a person’s earnings. Debtors keep enough of their wages to cover necessary living expenses, but all other disposable income goes to creditors. Chapter 13 allows people to save their homes from foreclosure and keep their vehicles.
Bankruptcy filing rising after decline
The number of personal bankruptcies filed annually fell sharply for more than a decade before the recent uptick, hitting a low of about 368,000 in 2022, down from about 1.5 million in 2010.
That number has climbed steadily since 2022.
A 2005 law called the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act sparked the earlier decline. Its goal was to make declaring bankruptcy harder and more expensive. Many creditors pushed for these changes because they felt some individuals were abusing the system.
The changes introduced income limits for eligibility to declare Chapter 7 bankruptcy. It also required people to get credit counseling before filing to see whether there was any way they could avoid bankruptcy. It also added a new obligation: Americans now take a course in financial management after they file for bankruptcy to reduce the chance of future money troubles.
One interesting study regarding the legislation’s impact found that it lowered credit card interest rates, but it also prevented some people without health insurance from wiping out their medical debts.
The 2005 changes caused the number of personal bankruptcies to plunge. That ended with the Great Recession, which lasted from late 2007 until mid-2009.
This economic downturn pushed up the number of bankruptcies dramatically. But then the number fell from 2010 until 2022, as the Great Recession’s impact gradually receded. The decline continued into the early 2020s because the stimulus checks and more generous unemployment insurance payments the government provided at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic helped keep millions of U.S. consumers afloat.
The numbers began to rise again in 2022 as American consumers began facing increasing stress from income that has not kept pace with inflation and a sharp jump in credit card interest rates.
Lasting changes
Bankruptcy stays on your credit report for up to 10 years. After that, creditors are supposed to treat people who filed for it like anyone else. A study I worked on with law professor Lois Lupica tracked what happened over two decades to both people who had and had not declared bankruptcy. We wanted to see whether those who had filed for bankruptcy really got out of their financial hole.
Our findings were a good news, bad news story. The good news was that bankruptcy was not causing permanent financial stigma. The average person who declared bankruptcy eventually caught up financially with their peers who hadn’t.
The bad news was that it took 15-25 years to recover in almost all financial dimensions. This is longer than those 10 years that the bankruptcy filing stays on your credit report.
In short, we determined that bankruptcy does give people a fresh start, but getting that reprieve takes longer than the law’s intent.
Strategies that can stave off bankruptcy
My wife and I avoided bankruptcy primarily by doing two things.
First, we switched to using cash for most of our day-to-day purchases. When our wallets were empty, we were done spending. I talk more about this in my 2025 book “The Power of Cash.”
Second, we contacted the financial company where we owed our biggest monthly payment. After providing proof of financial hardship, they were surprisingly flexible.
If these two steps are not enough for you, the next step is to consult an attorney who specializes in bankruptcy law. While there are lots of things most people can competently do on their own, filing for bankruptcy is not one of them.
Jay L. Zagorsky, Associate Professor of Business, Boston University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
