What Do the Poor Need? Try Asking Them

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/opinion/sunday/david-l-kirp-what-do-the-poor-need-try-asking-them.html?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

David L. Kirp

The New York Times

8 August 2015

Text / 800-1500 Words

Neighborhood Centers, a Houston anti-poverty program has a simple philosophy: “The people are the asset, the source of potential solutions, not the problem.” The non-profit has scaled nationally, employing its bottom-up approach to disburse funds in poor communities.

Could adorable tiny tech backpacks save the honeybees?

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2015/0825/Could-adorable-tiny-tech-backpacks-save-the-honeybees?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Jessica Mendoza

The Christian Science Monitor

25 August 2015

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Concerned with colony collapse syndrome in honey bees worldwide, scientists, farmers and tech companies teamed up in Australia to create a micro-sensor that collects data on the bee's environment.

NASA and USAID pioneer the use of space technologies for development efforts

https://www.devex.com/news/nasa-and-usaid-pioneer-the-use-of-space-technologies-for-development-efforts-88365?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Catherine Cheney

Devex

1 July 2016

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SERVIR, a joint development initiative of the United States Agency for International Development and National Aeronautics and Space Administration, leverages data from space to improve environmental decision-making in 30 developing countries.

How cities are searching for solutions among massive mounds of data

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/how-cities-are-searching-for-solutions-among-massive-mounds-of-data/article23131733?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

John Lorinc

The Globe and Mail

20 February 2015

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New York City suffered from fires that erupted in overcrowded, run-down apartments. Then the city sleuthed through residential records and found that landlords who foreclosed let their properties fall apart and ignored safety-code violations. Greater Toronto wants to expand upon New York City’s method by using transportation surveys, census data and computer data to build transit lines.

How Milwaukee Went Soft on Crime

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/11/milwaukee-soft-on-crime-112740.html?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker#.VYmlyPlViko

Erik Gunn

Politico Magazine

10 November 2014

Text / Over 3000 Words

Milwaukee once had volatile police inner-city neighborhood tensions with prevalent violent crime. In addition to fostering relationships between residents and the police, the police force has experienced reforms. They include using Big Data to identify crime hot spots, bringing cops back into the neighborhoods, and deploying officers to counsel recently released offenders.

How to Grow More Food with Less Water

http://ensia.com/features/how-to-grow-more-food-with-less-water?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Matt Weiser

Ensia

3 August 2015

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Water shortages caused by drought have increased across the globe, and farmers are faced with economic burdens. The U.S. government has developed different sensors for irrigation devices that gauge water demand and help conserve use.

In Aleppo, cell phones are helping some desperate Syrians find clean water

http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-08-26/aleppo-cell-phones-are-helping-some-desperate-syrians-find-clean-water?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Joyce Hackel

Public Radio International (PRI)

26 August 2015

Radio / 5-15 Minutes

In war zones, people have a difficult time finding clean water and safe areas to inhabit. Social media, smart phones, and technology applications are aiding in people’s survival. In Aleppo, Syria, the International Committee of the Red Cross posted a map on Facebook to show alternative sources of clean drinking water that reached approximately 140,000 people.

How Online Mapmakers Are Helping the Red Cross Save Lives in the Philippines

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/11/how-online-mapmakers-are-helping-the-red-cross-save-lives-in-the-philippines/281366?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Robinson Meyer

The Atlantic

13 November 2013

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After typhoon Haiyan, the devastation to the Philippines was hard to locate and track. The Red Cross staffed volunteers to sort through crowd-sourced data to create maps. The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap software application has helped the Red Cross better organize search and rescue operations.

Curing Violence Like an Infectious Disease

http://www.tinyspark.org/podcasts/curing-violence-like-an-infectious-disease?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Amy Costello

Tiny Spark

30 July 2015

Podcast / 5-15 Minutes

Neighborhoods in Chicago suffer from gang violence and gun-related deaths. A church leader and a physician trained in infectious diseases created Cure Violence, a program that sends teams of local residents to meet with gang leaders as a means of producing positive behavioral change by re-setting social norms. Their approach has reduced violence between 40% and 70%.

What Will it Take to Get Plastics out of the Ocean?

http://ensia.com/features/what-will-it-take-to-get-plastics-out-of-the-ocean?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Anja Krieger

Ensia

1 February 2016

Text / Over 3000 Words

The amount of plastic debris in our oceans and water sources - especially nanoplastics that are increasingly prevalent in our food chain - is so enormous it's often beyond comprehension, and immensely difficult to address. As countries continue to industrialize and single-use products become more commonplace, the flow of harmful plastics into the environment seems insurmountable. But a number of clever inventions and dedicated individuals are working to help get plastics out of our water - and more importantly - encourage practices to reduce, reuse, and recycle.