USA Today
21 May 2020
Text / 1500-3000 Words
Warrenton, Virginia, United States
As the U.S attempts to reopen, restaurant owners from California to Florida are expanding their restaurants into nearby outdoor space, including sidewalks and parking lots. In doing so, they are able to offer patrons a safer dining environment, as there is more room to keep tables further apart and follow social distancing precautions, and it also helps restaurants earn more revenue than if they were limited to indoor space. Some city governments are streamlining the process, including Brookhaven, Georgia, which made it free to access short-term permits for outdoor dining.
http://www.citylab.com/work/2016/03/how-birmingham-thrived-bankruptcy-jefferson-county/472617
Scott Latta
CityLab
8 March 2016
Text / 800-1500 Words
In Alabama’s largest city, a story of economic confidence in an unlikely place.
https://whyy.org/articles/open-streets-in-pennsylvanias-cities-closing-streets-to-cars-opening-them-to-cyclists-and-salsa-lessons
Irina Zhorov
WHYY
28 May 2015
Text / Under 800 Words
Bogotá is largely credited with originating the concept of “open streets” —where city roads are closed to car traffic and given over to people for fun and fitness—but it has grown beyond that city, surfacing in Pennsylvania.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/10/evanston-illinois-what-works-213282
Mark Peterson
Politico
22 October 2015
Text / Over 3000 Words
Cars heavily influence building planning in the U.S. due to a historical preference for suburbs, but a town in Illinois improved its economy by thinking like a city. They created transit-oriented development which prioritizes pedestrians and attracts millennials.
http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/health/2016/05/17/creating-environment-promotes-health/84040720
Lindsey Anderson
El Paso Times
18 May 2016
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In an attempt to address liver disease, diabetes, obesity and other health issues, Brownsville has launched a comprehensive, cohesive approach to promoting health, being named a model for other communities across the country.
http://nextcity.org/features/view/how-one-weekend-in-dallas-sparked-a-movement-for-urban-change
Mike Lydon
Next City
20 April 2015
Text / Under 800 Words
A Dallas urban neighborhood was dilapidated with abandoned storefronts and offered no vitality for pedestrians. A group of artists and community members created Build a Better Block, in which local artisans and small businesses took over a vacant block and transformed it for a limited time to encourage the ingredients for more permanent urban renewal.
http://www.yesmagazine.org/happiness/how-seattle-made-dark-alleys-safer-by-throwing-parties-20150826
Araz Hachadourian
Yes! Magazine
26 August 2015
Text / 800-1500 Words
Alleys in Seattle were once places of illicit, illegal, and unsanitary activity. The International Sustainability Institute in Seattle began organizing music and art events to bring in people, which, in turn, cleaned-up the crime and garbage. As an urban development strategy, adjacent vacant storefronts re-opened for business and beautification could be seen in new gardens.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/18/how-to-build-a-better-neighborhood
Tina Rosenberg
The New York Times
18 June 2014
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The Oak Cliff neighborhood in Dallas suffered from recession-closed businesses and crime. Then community members used placemaking, in which people shaped their own environment to improve the quality of life, and the concept of Build a Better Block, which was a pop-up event showcasing art, food, music, and local faire. The idea gives citizens a fresh look at the possibilities through which to transform the space in which they live, and it has attracted attention across the country and around the world.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/02/what-works-cleveland-115324.html#.VYmlrvlViko
Keith Epstein
Politico
19 February 2015
Text / Over 3000 Words
For years, one of Cleveland's poorest neighborhoods seemed unalterable no matter how many government programs and well-meaning philanthropies got involved; a place where abject poverty, joblessness and crime reinforce the racism in a city long divided, and where infants still die at a higher rate than almost anywhere else in the country. But a former CIA executive and a new breed of lettuce are transforming the poorest parts of the Rust Belt city.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/01/senior-living-initiatives-ill-take-manhattan-114227#.VYmluvlViko
Debra Bruno
Politico
13 January 2015
Text / Over 3000 Words
Cities tend to be dangerous and difficult places to live for older residents. A private public partnership in New York is catering to seniors through small changes in the city such as para-transit options and seniors-only hours at public establishments.
http://www.journalstandard.com/news/20160813/another-towns-experience-monmouth-business-contest-sparks-downtown-growth
Jillian Duchnowski
The Journal Standard
13 August 2016
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A small town in Illinois came up with a plan for filling its empty downtown storefronts: a competition for entrepreneurs interested in getting their small businesses off the ground. They offered financial incentives like 6 months of free rent, and it worked.
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