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Can Engaging with Contemporary Social Issues Save the Opera?

M. Sophia Newman

October 31, 2018 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Opera theaters are struggling to sell tickets, but some productions are taking it as an opportunity to reinvent the way viewers experience Opera, bringing rise to a new opera. The University of California San Diego presented two new operas that dealt with gun violence and sex trafficking, while in New York the “The Mile-Long Opera” featured choir singers lined along the 1.45-mile elevated Highland park, while the audience walked freely amongst them. “An estimated fifteen thousand people attended “The Mile Long Opera.”

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This Nonprofit Is Calling Out Racism In Unexpected Places

Emily Nonko

October 31, 2018 |

Next City |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

Governing Hope, an anti-racism organization, is combating racism in Portland by asking white people to pay reparations. The organization created an event called “Reparations Power Hour,” which invites people of color for a discussion and food. They also receive $10 for showing up. The money is donated primarily by white people. “ We call on folks to imagine what reparations in their own communities could look like.”

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In Istanbul, You Can Pay Your Subway Fare with Recyclables

Rachel Kaufman

October 30, 2018 |

Next City |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Turkey, Istanbul

A pilot program in Istanbul, Turkey allows subway commuters to pay for their fares with bottles and cans instead of cash. While a one way fare via the "reverse vending machines" costs about 28 1.5 liter bottles, the government is working to make the recycling system more efficient and easy for travelers.

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How Sex Workers Made San Francisco Safer for Everyone

Hannah Albarazi

October 25, 2018 |

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Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

In San Francisco, a law that offers amnesty to sex workers who report violent crimes to police is designed to save lives and reduce crime overall in the city. It comes as the city’s police department faces a massive police sex scandal over officers abusing an underaged sex worker, something advocates say is all too common and leaves crimes women might report uninvestigated. Advocates applaud the new law, say it doesn’t go far enough and they worry new federal laws could undermine it.

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How Communities of Practice Make a Difference in Middle Neighborhoods

Oscar Perry Abello

October 22, 2018 |

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Text |

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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Going the Extra Mile to Connect Local Businesses to Major Construction Projects

Leslie Nemo

October 22, 2018 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

The Contractor Assistance Center in San Francisco “provides local contractors with the resources to compete with larger companies for project bids.” Many construction projects have certain standards to meet: a certain number of local workers, minority owned-businesses, and more. The Contractor Assistance Center helps businesses register properly, whether as locally-owned or owned by a disadvantaged group. They also provide other services, all hoping local businesses can compete on a bigger scale.

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Lafayette Trades Oil for Cajun Songcraft to Drive Economy

Gregory Scruggs

October 19, 2018 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Lafayette, Louisiana

Layette is replatforming itself to embrace local culture over a dangerous oil dependency. CREATE, a voter-approved initiative in the city, funds cultural events and festivals to create new economic drivers and to promote the cultural legacy of the region. The fund draws upon money designated from a larger pool of surplus property tax revenue, as well as from philanthropic donations.

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St. Louis Wants More Artists to Drive Civic Engagement

Audrey F. Henderson

October 18, 2018 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, St. Louis, Missouri

Funded by earmarking hotel and motel occupancy taxes, the St. Louis Regional Arts Commission is funding projects focused on telling the story of the regions people and places. Through this process, the Arts Commission is providing artists with the opportunity to drive civic engagement.

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How to Turn a Car Town into a Cycling City

Melissa Bruntlett Chris Bruntlett

October 15, 2018 |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Netherlands, Eindhoven

The Dutch city of Eindhoven was built around the car, even into the 1970s, but as part of remaking itself after its main industries declined or moved away, it has made a dramatic shift to emphasizing cycling. City officials took steps to improve infrastructure as a way to elevate the city’s image internationally and also meet the needs of locals through high-profile projects that proved so popular the city was emboldened to revamp a major motorway into a public greenspace.

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Taking Steps Toward a Community-Controlled Economy in Boston

Sandra Larson

October 12, 2018 |

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Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

The Boston Ujima Project is on “a mission to create an alternative economy,” one that is inclusive on all measures. The main initiative is a community capital fund, which is considering foregoing collateral on loans in exchange for other creative metrics, in the hopes of extending loans to those often excluding from traditional banking and investment. They are also creating a timebanking initiative, where labor that benefits the community can be used as a form of currency. An accessible Boston workshop cemented the group’s commitment to being community-driven.

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