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NYC Pilot Program Hopes to Beautify Miles of Scaffolding

Rachel Kaufman

October 12, 2018 |

Next City |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

New York City has launched City Canvas, a program to commission artwork to beautify sidewalk sheds set up to protect pedestrians in construction sites. Arts organizations partnering with the project will pick locations and select artists to create artwork on vinyl.

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Bringing Arts and Culture into the Work of Public Safety and Criminal Justice

Emily Nonko

October 10, 2018 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

A collaboration between artists, lawyers, and community members has resulted in expungement clinics that clean or clear criminal records in a manner that is legally binding and emotionally therapeutic. Clinic attendees are invited to literally shred their records and are then presented with a blank piece of paper made by co-op members—many formerly incarcerated people themselves—representing a new start.

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Can Zoning Actually Save Manufacturing Space in San Francisco?

Emily Nonko

October 03, 2018 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

Kate Sofis created SFMade in San Francisco to find creative ways to support local manufacturing. The organization has helped push the local government to create more inclusionary industrial zoning, which incentivizes developers to build manufacturing space along with traditional office space. Funded by grants and a New Markets Tax Credit, SFMade has opened 150 Hooper, a manufacturing hub. Its challenge now is how to maintain a sustainable funding source in the pricey city.

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Worker Co-ops Catch on in Philadelphia

Sandra Larson

October 01, 2018 |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Worker co-ops, a business model that many people are not aware of, are gaining momentum in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Cooperative Alliance (PACA) has helped push more education and funding around co-ops to come to the city. Specifically, 20/20 is a program that invited 20 groups interested in working as co-ops to learn together. The co-op model has the potential to help immigrants, women, and people of color who are traditionally underrepresented in business.

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Here's What Investing in Economic Justice Looks Like

Oscar Perry Abello

September 28, 2018 |

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Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Montgomery, Alabama

Hope Credit Union has a mission: serving mostly black, marginalized communities in the South whose capital was historically displaced through slavery. In 2017, the credit union gave out $100 million in loans. ‘That total includes 61 business loans, 2,825 consumer loans, and 287 home mortgages, of which 87 percent went to first-time homebuyers.”

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How Baltimore City Started Listening to Its Residents about Food Policy

Emily Nonko

September 14, 2018 |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

Leaders in Baltimore realized that improvements in food policy would be enhanced by more accurate language and more local activism. The Baltimore Food Policy Initiative brings together city agencies and uses data and shared terminology to improve their work, referring to “food deserts” as “ healthy priority areas.” The group also engaged 14 new “resident food equity advisors” to begin the work of assessing the landscape, in terms of accessibility of healthy food. This data will be used to move thoughtful policies forward.

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Much to Do about (Vacant) Lots

James A. Anderson

September 10, 2018 |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, St. Louis, Missouri

In St. Louis, Philadelphia, Detroit, and other postindustrial cities, community organizations and city officials are trying a number of methods to reduce the number of empty lots and vacant houses that plague neighborhoods. As opposed to earlier, one-off programs, cities are now forging coordinated approaches that acknowledge the systemic issues underlying persistent vacant land -- for example, in St. Louis, an inventory of all vacant properties is shaping the work of a series of related city initiatives.

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Florida Community Land Trust Makes Affordable Housing Part of Hurricane Recovery

Emily Nonko

September 05, 2018 |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Florida

A community land trust is helping people in the Keys find another home, after Hurricane Irma ravished the area. “Four cottages are expected to wrap construction this fall, with another five finished by early 2019.” The arrangement was made possible after two friends got together and formed the Florida Keys Community Land Trust, secured land from the county, and raised $1 million to build affordable disaster housing.

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What If All Community Development Started with Local Arts and Culture?

Jared Brey

August 30, 2018 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania

An Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania art project "gently" demolished a historic, vacant building and reassembled it as a communal space. This is an example of "creative placemaking," a method to both preserve the character of a community and help address vacancies and the need for development.

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How the Formerly Incarcerated Support the Formerly Incarcerated

Zoe Sullivan

August 30, 2018 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

A nonprofit launched by formerly incarcerated men in New Orleans addresses some of the immediate challenges people face in the first 72 hours coming out of prison. The First 72 offers them a place to go, which can be a serious problem for those with records, as well as support and mentorship. There is also a small business incubator that some returnees have used to turn their side hustles into small businesses with plans to grow and employ other former felons.

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