If you’ve come to value the diversity of topics on the MetroTrends blog, then you won’t be disappointed by our bloggers’ posts this week. Each contribution connected our country’s persistently high poverty to a different social issue, illuminating the importance of creative, local, and comprehensive public policy.

• Read Molly Scott’s opinion about “doubled-up” housing—how could looser rental occupancy standards contribute to a family’s economic success?
• Separate the good news from the bad in the ongoing foreclosure crisis, and see what it all means for community health and stability, with Rob Pitingolo’s analysis.
• Don’t miss Gina Adams’s wide-angled perspective on the devastating effects childhood poverty can have throughout a person’s life.

Thanks for reading! Please pass along what you found valuable and watch for our special Martin Luther King Day report card ranking metros on economic equality and opportunity.