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House That! Your Dream Home Could Be Made Out of Plastic

Deepa Padmanaban

November 25, 2018 |

News18 India |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Hyderabad, Telangana

A social entrepreneur in India is taking plastic waste and using it to make housing structures. Prashanth Lingam takes the waste and turns it into roofing sheets, tiles, and other objects. For example, he built a house for parking staff at a local metro station and 5 million plastic bags were used just on the roof. The cost of these structures are higher than regular houses, but repurposing plastic into other objects could be a potential sustainability solution for the country.

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A roadside hotel in Eagle is being transformed into affordable homes — and other housing-strapped resort communities are watching

Jason Blevins

November 22, 2018 |

The Colorado Sun |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Eagle, Colorado

As tourists increasingly visit mountainous resort towns and home prices rise to accommodate these visitors, it’s hard to live on a budget, especially as a young person. One family of developer is addressing this issue. Rather than build new housing, they’re renovating a hotel into small apartment geared toward millennials. It’s dorm-style, with many communal spaces inside and places within walking distance. This could be a new model adopted in resort towns across the American West.

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Detroit homeless court changes lives for its defendants

Aaron Mondry

November 20, 2018 |

Model D |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

Street Outreach Court Detroit is a collaboration between the courts and service providers to waive legal and financial obligations post-conviction if a person makes a commitment to an individualized action plan. These plans can include steps such as substance misuse treatment, enrolling in a workforce readiness program, and accessing housing subsidies.

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Portland Is Trying To Help People Return To Gentrified Areas. Austin Has Similar Plans.

Audrey McGlinchy

November 16, 2018 |

KUT |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

By giving housing preferences to local families, cities like Portland hope to stem gentrification and preserve the historic diversity of their communities. Portland’s “Right to Return” program aims to resettle families displaced by gentrification through an investment in affordable housing and by giving preference to those families who have a generational connection to the city. The program could inform similar efforts in cities like Austin, Texas.

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Denver Is Testing Housing Vouchers For Middle-Income Workers. Austin Will Be Watching.

Audrey McGlinchy

November 14, 2018 |

KUT |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

Housing voucher programs provide assistance to those who make too much to qualify for Section 8 housing, but whose wages can’t keep up with rent in their cities. Denver, Colorado, is addressing the financial burden of skyrocketing rents by providing middle-income earners such as teachers and healthcare workers with housing assistance. Funded through a public-private partnership, the two-year pilot program allows applicants to search online for landlords that have agreed to accept the vouchers.

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Austin's Fix for Homelessness: Tiny Houses, and Lots of Neighbors

Megan Kimble

November 12, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Austin

Just outside of Austin, Texas, Community First! Village lives up to its name, emphasizing personal connections and stable relationships while also providing people experiencing homelessness with affordable rents in tiny homes and RVs. The retention rate in the community is 86%, and the Village plans to expand and double its occupancy.

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With “people power,” Vancouver, B.C. activists stopped a condo in the heart of chinatown

Chetanya Robinson

November 10, 2018 |

International Examiner |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia

Residents in Vancouver, B.C.'s Chinatown have banded together to protect their neighborhood from gentrification. With collaboration and crowd-sourced activism ideas, young students and senior residents repeatedly knock down initiatives that would destroy the historic preservation and affordable housing in their community.

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To solve its housing affordability crisis, Boston has turned to residents

Lauren Greenawalt

November 09, 2018 |

Apolitical |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

When local policy initiatives fail, it is often because they are not meeting local needs in a way that residents want. The Boston Housing Innovation Lab, know as the iLab, seeks to combat this challenge. So far, it has used creative approaches to let residents “experience” a policy- such as walking through an example compact house to give feedback on its design. This process informed feedback that otherwise would have been difficult to glean. By constantly seeking to understand users, the iLab and local Boston housing groups will be better equipped to create policies that actually help community members.

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Tiny houses multiply amid big issues as communities tackle homelessness

Mike Plunkett

October 26, 2018 |

The Washington Post |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Kansas City, Missouri

Cities around the United States look to tiny homes as a solution to the national homeless crisis. From Kansas City, Mo. to Seattle, Wa., community members and city officials come together to build tiny homes and provide access to a stable community.

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How Communities of Practice Make a Difference in Middle Neighborhoods

Oscar Perry Abello

October 22, 2018 |

Next City |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Community development groups are working closely with "middle neighborhoods" - areas "that aren't distressed today, but they may become so sooner than anyone expects." From Cleveland to Milwaukee to Chicago, CDCs are improving the lives of long term homeowners and helping interested parties generate the capital to move into these neighborhoods: “You're investing to a place that is on the edge, still has assets, still has people who want to be there, but need a nudge to get over the top, versus investing 60 homes in a non-functioning market."

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