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

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  • The Curfew Myth

    Austin moved away from its teen curfew, bucking the trend in many other cities where such laws are longstanding and efforts to remove them often meet resistance. That is despite data showing they do not reduce juvenile crime or victimization and may foster more mistrust towards the police. Austin has seen a drop in juvenile victimization rates since dumping the ordinance.

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  • Drive Against Gerrymandering Finds New Life in Ballot Initiatives

    Public opinion is turning against gerrymandering faster than the Supreme Court. Five states are holding ballot measures on the issue spurred ahead by tens of thousands of citizen’s signatures, and political uncertainty is pushing legislators themselves to get behind apolitical redistricting commissions.

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  • “The Price on Everything Is Love”: How a Detroit Community Overcomes a Lack of City Services

    In response to a decline in city services, local Detroiters have begun providing for neighbors out of a sense of goodwill. Detroiters Helping Each Other distributes donated items, ranging from school supplies to beds and winter clothing. The Detroit Mowers Gang is another local group that cleans up the city by caring for vacant lawns. There are other similar organizations that rely on community buy-in and a sense of care to succeed, and recipients of donations pay it forward by volunteering on other community projects.

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  • How Penzance became Britain's first ever plastic-free town

    “There were bottles, cocktail sticks, coffee cup lids, razors, toothbrushes," recalls Rachel Yates, a Penzance community member, in describing the looks of a Cornish beach she volunteered to clean up with marine conservation charity Surfers Against Sewage. Shortly after, she joined the charity and led the Cornwall community to achieving plastic-free status through awareness and campaigning efforts, unifying the town in the fight against single-use plastics.

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  • How States Are Rethinking Roads

    As cities grapple with higher temperatures, state and local governments are looking for ways to play a larger role in combatting the impacts. Throughout the United States, some of the entities are turning their attention towards solutions that make road more heat-resistant.

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  • Doña Ana County works to build a stronger voting culture

    In Doña Ana County, New Mexico, boosting civic engagement is a priority. County Clerk Scott Krahling has tried several initiatives to do so, including hosting voter registration drives in schools, consolidating local elections, and implementing ranked choice voting. The clerk’s office also values community input. A nonpartisan advisory council and series of community meetings aim to ensure the community has a say in these civic engagement initiatives.

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  • How the efforts of a single resident (and a few friends) beautified Yorkshire Woods

    In the Yorkshire Woods neighborhood of Detroit, where there was once blight and vacant properties, there is now a community garden. Thanks to the enterprising efforts of Mose Primus, a community activist, the neighborhood has gained the funding, volunteers, and land to change the area. Little by little it is being restored to the tight-knit community of families it used to be.

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  • Two years after Philando Castile's death, programs aim to transform relations between police, residents

    Drivers in a suburb of St. Paul, Minn., who have equipment issues with their cars may get coupons to help them fix the problems at repair shops rather than a ticket. The Lights On program was created by a nonprofit after the shooting death of Philando Castile by a police officer during a traffic stop over a broken tail light in a nearby town. Twenty participating police departments around the Twin Cities are participating and the program expanded to Iowa, with plans for additional locales.

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  • Meeting locals is crucial for refugees. Choirs and football are helping

    Connecting refugees and locals speeds integration. A social enterprise called Singa, for example, has a matchmaking app that pairs people with similar hobbies and interests. The model has proven so successful that branches of Singa are opening in six other European countries and the effort is expanding to address housing and employment needs as well.

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  • One Woman's Quest to Fight Gentrification by Asking Residents How

    Even as cities fight gentrification, residents are often consulted late in urban planning, if at all. Cat Goughnour is pushing for change in Portland. Her consulting group ran a series of workshops, resulting in community-generated ideas for improving the Albina neighborhood that wouldn’t displace longtime residents.

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