Borussia Dortmund: The structures behind the club's fight against the far right

A plan forged in New York City suburbs in the 1970s addressed urban renewal and income inequality by creating low-income housing dwellings in nine separate towns outside of the city. Though the "Fair Share" program faced long-lasting criticism and ultimately failed, housing experts and developers still learn from the failed plan as they work toward urban renewal in the 21st century.

The city of Kungälv, Sweden, with only 20,000 residents, developed a successful initiative to prevent the spread of neo-Nazis after the murder of a fourteen year-old anti-racist activist in 1995. Armed with the theory that "hate is always local," a local teacher created the Tolerance Project, held workshops with local teenagers and took them on trips to Holocaust sites. Now the "Kungälv model" is being practiced and adapted to local contexts around Sweden.

A school in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, has been specifically engineered to reflect the true diversity of NYC. It's one of the only schools in the district that does so: 39% white, 33% black, 20% combined Hispanic and Asian, and 8% "other."

Chicago suffers from violence and tension between police officers and low-income predominantly Black communities. In 2011, the chief of police consulted with a network of university academics and began implementing “procedural justice,” which was an approach that trained police departments to surmount the lack of confidence that residents felt towards officers. The academics and police chief found that by directing social workers to the homes of at-risk community members, and regarding them with respect, there was a reduction in violence—but now the program has stalled.

Women of Winter helps train women of color to become professional ski instructors and make the sport more accessible and diversified. Women from across the country come to join the program, receiving a sense of community and access to scholarships to attend events to further their education and experience.

To encourage more Black people to explore outdoors, individuals and organizations in Colorado are working to address underlying barriers such as access to transportation and gear, as well as fear and concerns of safety. Despite the groups still encountering "frustrating" incidents with other outdoor recreationalists, the movement has spread to other states and steadily attracted a growing community of members.

Promptworks is a tech company seeking to create a nurturing environment for its own employees as well as help the local community. When the pandemic shut down the city, Promptworks created a mutual-aid platform connecting people in need with local residents who wanted to help. The company also hosted an event bringing together 80 leaders across several sectors to discuss and develop concrete plans to make Philadelphia more equitable.

At Nehemiah Manufacturing, more than 80% of the employees are "second-chance" workers: people with a criminal record, a history of drug abuse, and such. Not only does the company bring more jobs to the city of Cincinnati, but it also connects employees with resources in the community, such as job training, housing assistance, food assistance, or mental-health counseling. Turnover rate is only 15%, and employees themselves describe how the job changed their lives.

After the 2016 elections, division, issues of bigotry and racism led to prejudice and resentment. Research studies at different universities around the country have shown that by opening dialogue with people across racial, gender, and class lines, tensions defuse. With conversations, people are more likely to have empathy toward people that are different from them.

When global oil prices drop, so do incentives to recycle plastic materials, and even more plastic debris and trash ends up collecting in our oceans and ecosystem. An alternative solution in the form of "up-cycling" is helping to combat plastic pollution, as nonprofits and do-gooders who gather beach and ocean trash partner up with companies and retailers to produce desirable products crafted from materials collected out of the oceans.