Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • Graffiti-removal company hires only homeless or formerly incarcerated workers

    Powered by a workforce made up exclusively of the formerly incarcerated and people experiencing homelessness, Philadelphia start-up company Graffiti Removal Experts gets paid to clean up signs of blight while giving people an employment opportunity they otherwise might lack. Besides cleaning up graffiti, the team removes stickers and fixes broken glass throughout Center City and surrounding neighborhoods. The company’s clients include neighborhood associations, property managers, and individual businesses who pay monthly or one-time fees that turn into $20-per-hour wages for the company’s employees.

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  • Thousands Of People Are Growing 'Climate Victory Gardens' To Save The Planet

    Across the United States, people are growing “climate victory gardens” in an effort to reconnect people with nature, fight climate change, and produce healthy food. These gardens prioritize soil health above all else, as doing so can help retain carbon that would otherwise enter our atmosphere. Nonprofits like Maryland’s Community Ecology Institute are leading the way, with the hope that change at the individual and local levels will lead to larger actions toward fighting climate change.

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  • ‘IKEA, but for Parks' Project Streamlines Community Green Space Development

    Vacant lots in the city are being greened with an idea dubbed “IKEA, but for parks” which provides preassembled options to create parks in vacant lots. Community members are given layout and design options to choose from based on how the neighborhood decides to utilize their empty lots. Residents are then provided with supplies and training to build and maintain a public green space. The model allows for efficiency and speed while promoting civic participation.

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  • The secret gardens of Rohingya refugees

    The Kutupalong camp in Bangladesh, the largest refugee camp in the world, is overcrowded and increasingly isolated. A program by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Bangladeshi NGO BRAC offers refugees equipment, advice, fertilizer, and seeds to make their own garden. These gardens have become hugely popular, taking up what little space there is between tents, but also offer refugees a source of peace and a food source to supplement their meals. Compost for these gardens are prepared outside of the camp by Bangladeshi women, which helps improve the relationship between the two groups.

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  • 2 Years Ago, Kenya Set The World's Strictest Plastic Bag Ban. Did It Work?

    In 2017, Kenya implemented a plastic bag ban and to ensure it was followed, set hefty fines and even jail time for those who broke the law. The law has had an impact – streets are cleaner and the use of single-use plastic bags has reduced, but there is still work to be done. The replacement bags, reusable ones made from polypropylene, have come under scrutiny for their lack of quality, and Kenyan residents cite confusion and fear as a result of not knowing which bags are allowed and which are not.

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  • How 17 Outsize Portraits Rattled a Small Southern Town

    The small Southern city of Newnan, GA considered themselves to be a fairly open and accepting place. This attitude was shattered when 17 huge portraits of ordinary people who make up Newnan were hung across the city and prompted a racially-tinged backlash. The purpose of the portraits was to open up a dialogue around the diversity in the city, but it also exposed new and hidden racial tensions. The portraits were ultimately allowed to stay up, but the conversations surrounding the issue are ongoing.

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  • The Ohio River community of Newport bands together to slow runoff and add greenspace

    To promote the implementation of greenspaces while also decreasing the likelihood of runoff after heavy rain storms, community groups in Newport, Kentucky worked together to implement strategic depaving. This practice of removing pavement has now led to the creation of a park which will soon have rain and pollinator gardens.

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  • In Peoria, Green Infrastructure As a Path to Social Equity

    Green infrastructure provides a return on investment and improves the quality of life in a community. In Peoria, Illinois, the city’s Public Works Department has piloted several green infrastructure initiatives with the help of funding of a Bloomberg Philanthropies grant. Projects like the Well Farm at Voris Field, zero runoff streets are proving successful at capturing sewer runoff and creating economic value, while the youth volunteer PeoriaCorps are helping make the projects community-based.

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  • Recife is tackling violence by making life better for its youngest residents

    The Brazilian city of Recife is tackling violence prevention by focusing on early-childhood education through a program called Urban95. In addition to painting the streets and buildings bright colors, Urban95 offers accessible services like pre- and post-natal services to caregivers and storytelling & play opportunities for young children. The program was rolled out in two communities, and one proved more successful than the other because it partnered with a preexisting organization within the community.

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  • In Detroit, A New Type of Agricultural Neighborhood Has Emerged

    Whereas urban farms provide supplemental nutrition, agricultural neighborhoods make farming one of their central features. In Detroit, Michigan, the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative (MUFI) has grown from a local community garden into a nationally recognized agricultural neighborhood that has fueled transformation and investment into the area. MUFI partners with other community organizations to combat food insecurity. And while providing free food to the surrounding community, MUFI also sells products like hot sauce.

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