Disinvested: How Government and Private Industry Let the Main Street of a Black Neighborhood Crumble

Tony Briscoe Haru Coryne Mick Dumke

November 11, 2020 |

ProPublica |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

A series of government programs designed to rebuild a neighborhood badly damaged by the 1968 Chicago uprising not only failed to achieve their goal, but actually made it worse. Hundreds of businesses in the Madison Street area of Chicago's West side were destroyed in days of rioting. Programs that emphasized clearing "blight" over building anew left vacant lots where new businesses might have emerged. Overall, "efforts turned out to be too scattered, too small and too susceptible to shifting politics to make a lasting impact," while opportunistic businesses cashed in without improving conditions.

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Gamification in Urban Planning: Participation Through Minecraft

Laura von Puttkamer

November 03, 2020 |

Urbanet |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Sweden

Urban planning using gamification is a viable way of engaging diverse parts of the population and placing people and communities at the center of the process. “Block by Block” is a collaboration between UN Habitat and the game company Mojang that holds participatory workshops, where people design public spaces using the game Minecraft. Over 25,000 people from diverse backgrounds and age groups have participated. Professional advisers are present and they adjust the designs for implementation. The method has been used by the City of Stockholm and to create the first skatepark in Kosovo.

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Harnessing Food Waste to Empower Communities in Brazil

Agostino Petroni

October 09, 2020 |

Yes! Magazine |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Brazil, Rio de Janeiro

Favela Organica is a social enterprise that address food insecurity, increases access to healthy foods, and reduces waste. The founder, Tchelly, has provided free courses to around 30,000 people in Rio’s favelas, mostly women, who learn how to repurpose food waste from local markets and grow produce at home. The premise relies on an integrated food cycle of growing food, utilizing all of it, and creating compost with what is left to fertilize the garden to grow the food. Students use the lessons to lower food costs and, for some, to increase the amount of food they can sell, which adds to monthly incomes.

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Jumpstart trains developers to fight gentrification in Philly neighborhoods

Courtney Duchene

September 29, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Jumpstart Germantown and five spinoff programs trained about 1,000 people in the art of locally controlled neighborhood rehabilitation. The Jumpstart programs target particular neighborhoods, mainly mid-range housing stock with vacant and deteriorating conditions, and lend money to newly minted developers to fix and resell the properties. Housing rehabs maintain the character of neighborhoods, rather than gentrifying them or making wholesale redevelopment changes. Beyond the community improvement benefits, the program helps diversify the real estate business and provides employment opportunities.

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This revolutionary housing reform bill out of Portland would bring relief to tons of Philadelphians

Jessica Blatt Press

September 16, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

Portland's new policy allowing for multi-family homes resulted from a long campaign of coalition building to address a need for middle-income housing that often gets overlooked in many cities. Although the Residential Infill Project will not take effect until August 2021, its enactment offers cities like Philadelphia lessons in strategic policymaking that overcomes entrenched views at opposite ends of the income and class spectrum, from property owners concerned about declining home values and advocates for low-income housing concerned about gentrification.

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How Urban Planning Keeps Cities Segregated—and Maintains White Supremacy

Julian Agyeman

July 31, 2020 |

Yes! Magazine |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Urban planning policies can lead to greater racial segregation, sometimes intentionally. While older policies could be explicitly racist, today policies such as zoning, which designates land for residential or industrial use, effectively excludes communities of color, immigrants, and households with lower incomes. Residential segregation leads to education, income, and health disparities. Minneapolis ended single-family zoning so lots can be converted to more affordable duplexes and triplexes and is working towards requiring new apartment projects to reserve units for low- to moderate-income households.

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Want More Housing? Ending Single-Family Zoning Won't Do It.

Emily Hamilton

July 29, 2020 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Houston, Texas

Abolishing single-family zoning rules as an affordable-housing solution has failed in places such as Minneapolis and Oregon because their narrowly drawn reforms left other obstacles in place. Houston serves as an example of effective policies that promote "missing middle" housing – denser developments than detached houses – because it combined its lack of single-family zoning with a reduction in minimum lots sizes. The result is far more affordable housing than in other booming job markets. Lot-size restrictions are among several other rules that can frustrate the desire for more housing.

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How the ‘15-Minute City' Could Help Post-Pandemic Recovery

Patrick Sisson

July 15, 2020 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: France

Some cities are using coronavirus shutdowns as opportunities to start infrastructure projects that support car-free living and encourage walking or biking to jobs, shopping, and city services. Car-free urban development benefits the environment, revitalizes cities by keeping resources local, and has become more appealing because of fears of virus spread. Paris, Milan, Tallinn, Ottawa, and Portland are among the cities using coronavirus-related lockdowns to kickstart bike lane and pedestrian zone projects. As the pandemic has decimated city budgets, it is a challenging time to begin infrastructure projects.

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This city disbanded its police department 7 years ago. Here's what happened next

Scottie Andrew

June 09, 2020 |

CNN |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Camden, New Jersey

Camden, New Jersey, is far smaller and more racially diverse than Minneapolis, but its decision to dissolve and reconstitute its police department may be the most apt case study if the larger city follows through on plans to reboot its policing. Camden decided in 2012 its department was beyond fixing, and its crime too severe to accept the status quo. A new countywide force has embraced community-oriented policing, de-escalation tactics, and limits on the use of force. Violence has dropped by nearly half and public support is up, although Camden's continuing problems also serve as a warning for Minneapolis.

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Greensboro's Art-Dotted Greenway a Respite During COVID-19, and an Economic Engine After

Cinnamon Janzer

April 28, 2020 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Greensboro, North Carolina

The Downtown Greenway in Greensboro was already underway when the coronavirus hit and it has turned out to be quite the respite and economic boon. The Greenway draws visitors in with trails, greenways, public art, local businesses, and "the first grocery store to open in 30 years in downtown.” $8.5 million was invested in the project, but it has already brought in $215 million in revenue. The Downtown Greenway was created in partnership with the city and nonprofit Action Greensboro, and while it's currently being used with social distancing, it'll still be there when the quarantine is over.

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