How Mexico City's poorest neighbourhood is battling climate change

Laura Puttkamer

August 03, 2020 |

Inkline |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Mexico, Mexico City

The people in a neighborhood in Mexico City are coming up with innovative solutions to handle climate-related disasters like flood. They use an early warning system that uses a radio signal and WhatsApp to warn residents of environmental dangers. However, the app does not always work. And a mobile classroom offers simulations about how government decisions are made when deciding danger levels of disasters. While thousands of residents had been trained, the classroom is usually only in the neighborhood for a day. Yet, these solutions based on education and communication could be applied to other communities.

Read More

Go to Original Story

How Europe's Greenest Capital Is Saving City Trees

Edward Belleville

August 03, 2020 |

Next City |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Germany, Berlin

Cities around the world are using apps and interactive platforms to encourage resident volunteers to care for their urban forests. For example, in Berlin, Gieß den Kiez (Water the Neighborhood) is an app that allows users to watch their local trees and water them in times of need. When the app launched, there were 1,000 unique users and over 7,000 individual tree waterings in the first six weeks. However, the cost of planting and maintaining trees can be expensive and where the trees are located in cities and who benefits from them is not always equitable.

Read More

Go to Original Story

Building Trees in the Metaverse Might Actually Save the Forest

Teresa Carey

August 02, 2020 |

Freethink |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Southern Pines, North Carolina

By building scientifically accurate virtual tress, NatureXR is providing an opportunity for scientists, policymakers, and other stakeholders to use virtual reality to understand ecosystems and model conservation impacts. Creating an authentic 3D-version of a tree can be challenging, but by developing a “procedural” tree, the software can generate a forest of trees that are unique, accurate, and realistic. VR nature can also make the environment accessible for people who might not be able to experience it due to disabilities, distance, or even fear.

Read More

Go to Original Story

How Urban Planning Keeps Cities Segregated—and Maintains White Supremacy

Julian Agyeman

July 31, 2020 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

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.

Read More

Go to Original Story

Business Unusual: Local manufacturers adapt, preserve jobs, and carry on during pandemic

Sydney Kornegay

July 30, 2020 |

FreshWater Cleveland |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Ohio

Local businesses in Northeastern Ohio pivoted their operations to manufacture supplies needed to fight Covid-19 in an effort to fill a dire public need while preserving jobs for their employees. Employees were trained in industrial sewing machines to create masks, gowns, and other personal protective equipment for those on the frontlines. A Small Business Recovery grant allowed a distillery to use its existing technology to produce hand sanitizer instead of whiskey. Face shields were particularly tricky to produce effectively but 30 Northeast Ohio companies came together to create a custom product.

Read More

Go to Original Story

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

Emily Hamilton

July 29, 2020 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

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.

Read More

Go to Original Story

Through PIF^2's social impact mobile game platform, users are playing it forward for charity

William Bleier

July 27, 2020 |

Generocity |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, New Jersey

The startup PIF^2 is a “social impact mobile game platform” that partners with charities to raise money through ad revenue and in-game purchases. It hosts “game-a-thons” that target a younger demographic who can generate money for a charity by downloading and playing a game. The “game-a-thons” usually last about a week, after which charities receive a check from PIF^2 for up to 50% of the revenue that was generated. The game apps are currently created by independent developers, but the startup hopes to create its own games so that it can donate even more of the revenue proceeds to charity.

Read More

Go to Original Story

Śmierć na polskich drogach. Jesteśmy w europejskiej czołówce pod względem liczby ofiar, Litwa dała radę

Kacper Sulowski

July 25, 2020 |

Gazeta Wyborcza |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Lithuania

Liczba śmiertelnych wypadków drogowych na Litwie spadła w wyniku szeregu systematycznych i szeroko upublicznionych rozwiązań mających na celu poprawę bezpieczeństwa ruchu drogowego. Gdy prawie dekadę temu na Litwie nastąpił bezprecedensowy wzrost śmiertelności w wypadkach drogowych, zaczęto tam podwyższać kary za wykroczenia, wzmacniać egzekwowanie prawa oraz poprawiać stan dróg. Każdemu etapowi towarzyszyła kampania edukacji publicznej. Uważa się, że za stosunkowo wysoki wskaźnik śmiertelności na drogach w Polsce odpowiadają zbyt łagodne przepisy oraz zbyt liberalne ich egzekwowanie.

Read More

Go to Original Story

This is what one of the world's largest experiments in basic income looks like

Márvio dos Anjos, Meaghan Tobin

July 23, 2020 |

Rest of World |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Brazil, Marica

Mumbuca is a digital currency used in Maricà’s basic income program. Residents, with few eligibility requirements, can qualify for a monthly stipend to purchase goods and services using a smart phone or a card. The currency runs on the digital platform E-dinheiro and can only be spent in the city limits. Individuals cannot swap Mumbucas for national currency, but businesses can after a 48-hour waiting period and a 1% fee. Local currencies, which are popular in Brazil, help residents increase personal savings and, with increased stipends during the Covid-19 pandemic, allowed informal workers to stay home.

Read More

Go to Original Story

Will Community Gardens Survive Pandemic Budget Cuts?

Lela Nargi

July 23, 2020 |

FoodPrint |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The ability of community gardens to supply healthy food to those who might not have their basic needs met has grown in importance as coronavirus continues to spread across the United States. For example, the New Roots community gardening initiative in Salt Lake City helps nearly 150 refugee families raise food on plots, and about 86 percent of the gardeners report saving an average of $30 a week by growing their own food. However, the future of this program, and others around the country in New York City, Seattle, and Minneapolis, are uncertain as they face budget cuts from cities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read More