Next City
28 April 2020
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Greensboro, North Carolina, United States
The Downtown Greenway in Greensboro was already underway when the coronavirus hit and it has turned out to be quite the respite and economic boon. The Greenway draws visitors in with trails, greenways, public art, local businesses, and "the first grocery store to open in 30 years in downtown.” $8.5 million was invested in the project, but it has already brought in $215 million in revenue. The Downtown Greenway was created in partnership with the city and nonprofit Action Greensboro, and while it's currently being used with social distancing, it'll still be there when the quarantine is over.
http://hechingerreport.org/a-low-income-brooklyn-high-school-where-100-percent-of-black-male-students-graduate
Meredith Kolodner
The Hechinger Report
14 July 2015
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The overall graduation rate for black male students in New York City was 58 percent in 2014 - student retention rates are equally poor. But one school achieved a 100% on-time graduation rate last year, motivating their students with a student-founded, student-sustained 'fraternity'.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/02/armed-with-data-fighting-more-than-crime
Tina Rosenberg
The New York Times
2 May 2012
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CitiStat has show great success in cities like Baltimore, where it has improved city services' efficiency (removing snow, fixing potholes, etc.). Many cities use Stat programs, but Baltimore has been a particular case of success. Looking at how it implemented its CitiStat program holds lessons for other cities.
http://www.fayobserver.com/a9f5d553-c59b-5643-9b12-55aca76dde64.html
Greg Barnes
Fayetteville Observer
22 February 2014
Text / Under 800 Words
In Memphis, a creative blight-reduction initiative called 25 Square Blocks broke down the city into blocks. Inspectors were able to quickly identify all the violations and fix them, using the same amount of funding, but less time, as the old call-and-respond model.
https://medium.com/re-form/how-did-the-meadow-vole-cross-the-road-21a0f0931418
Benjamin Goldfarb
re:form
9 October 2014
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As a state with robust populations of wildlife, Montana has had its share of roadkill. Its Department of Transportation developed animal shelving, a type of wildlife crossing, to enable safe passage for small animals who need to cross the road. The measure, combined with other types of crossings, has reduced animal-vehicle collisions by half.
http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/archives/2015/03/21/tulsa-outreach-key-palatable-school-closures/73899232
Lindsey Anderson
El Paso Times
21 March 2015
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Tulsa Public Schools drew on expertise across many sectors and extensive neighborhood input to address the issue of thousands of empty seats in local schools. Through a community-focused process, they were able to mindfully close under-utilized schools and better maximize the community's resources for students.
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
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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://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/out-of-indias-trash-heaps-more-than-a-shred-of-dignity
Sarika Bansal
The New York Times
12 June 2013
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Throughout India, wastepickers – people who scour landfills for garbage they can sell to recyclers – live at the bottom of society. But the city of Pune did something radical: with the help of a collective, they did away with expensive garbage trucks, and now all household garbage is collected by wastepickers with pushcarts. Pune saves millions of dollars each year and recycles more – and the wastepickers have decent wages and social standing. The concept is now spreading globally.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/13/in-india-latrines-are-truly-lifesavers
Vivekananda Nemana
Ankita Rao
The New York Times
13 November 2014
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India has had a problem in which 620 million people openly defecate outdoors, causing harm to hygiene, sanitation, food, and water resources. The president of India funded an initiative to build public toilets for the people in his country, but the people did not use them because of old traditions and behaviors. The Total Sanitation Campaign is slowly changing villagers’ minds by having local leadership persuade those who resist the toilets by holding community activities and creating special committees to maintain the sanitation.
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