The City That Chose Beauty Over Billboards

Multiple organizations in Philadelphia are joining forces, such as The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and the new Office of Clean and Green, to transform the city’s several thousand vacant lots into green spaces. Even Temple University has executed a new "Verdant Temple" master plan, creating specific green spaces for the public. A University of Pennsylvania study found a 29% reduction in gun violence in neighborhoods where vacant lots were cleaned and restored, and the city is investing nearly $20 million annually in these efforts.

Charlottesville's Food Equity Initiative (a comprehensive municipal policy embedding food equity recommendations into city planning, zoning, and departmental agreements) largely failed to produce systemic change. Without municipal infrastructure (such as dedicated staff, binding policy authority, or permanent funding) accompanying the initiative, the city's initial support is analyzed as responsive to a moment rather than rooted in durable institutional change.

Baltimore has dramatically reduced homicides through a multi-pronged approach involving a data-driven Group Violence Reduction Strategy, credible-messenger intervention programs, and aggressive prosecution of illegal gun possession. This has resulted in a record-low murder rate in 2026, with 60 killings recorded through August compared to roughly 220 at the same point four years prior.

Richmond's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Oakland's Department of Violence Prevention use credible messengers, targeted intervention, and coordinated city infrastructure to interrupt cyclical gun violence. These tactics helped both cities achieve record-low homicides in 2025, with Richmond so successful it may no longer qualify for state violence-reduction grants.

Caltrain's $2.4 billion electrification of 51 miles of track replaced diesel trains with faster electric ones, resulting in ridership increases (it doubled on weekends) and shorter trips. This also led to an 89% reduction in riders' exposure to toxic pollution and an estimated 250,000 metric tons of annual carbon emissions reductions.

South Dakota Habitat for Humanity affiliates are tackling the affordable housing crisis by shifting from building single homes to developing entire subdivisions. In Sioux Falls, Habitat completed a 26-unit project and in Rapid City, Habitat purchased land and secured a $12.5 million funding package to build 40 units in the organization's largest-ever South Dakota development. Both projects are pricing homes below $300,000, making ownership more accessible to working-class families.

Community-led mapping and risk assessments by Pamoja Trust enabled informal settlement residents in Nairobi to document accurate data showing more accurate counts of people at flood risk (nearly 12 times more than official estimates identified). This gave communities evidence to advocate for inclusion in government recovery programs and influence official regeneration planning.

Environmental design interventions in Philadelphia (which include LED streetlight upgrades, vacant lot cleanups, community gardens, and planter installations) have contributed to measurable reductions in gun violence (including a 21% drop in nighttime gun violence after streetlight upgrades and a 39% decrease in gun crimes near remediated buildings). These interventions have also fostered community bonds and strengthened feelings of safety.

The Connecticut Green Bank's Solar MAP+ program acts as a "public developer" that bundles, finances, and directly develops solar projects for schools and municipalities that private developers avoid. To date, they've installed nearly 54 megawatts of solar, programmed to save $57 million in energy costs.

In Phoenix's historically Black neighborhoods, community organizations have transformed vacant, heat-trapping lots into thriving urban farms. One initiative, Spaces of Opportunity, converted a 19-acre abandoned site into a community farm with 250 garden plots available. Spaces of Opportunity serves over 1,000 residents each month, and other community farming initiatives also help in providing food and jobs for participants, many of whom are formerly incarcerated or unhoused.