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Why We Should Lower the Voting Age to 16

James A. Anderson

July 20, 2020 |

Next City |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Research shows that voting at a young age leads to lifelong civic engagement and several cities and countries have lowered their voting ages. In the handful of democracies that allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote, they also show that they turnout in large numbers. Austria was the first EU country to allow 16-year-olds to vote and in 2014 their turnout was 64%, compared to 56% for voters 18-20. Takoma Park, Maryland allows 16-year-olds to vote, and in 2015 45% of them turned out compared to 21% overall. The national movement is slow, and not gaining a lot of traction, but changes can happen at the local level.

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What the Coronavirus Proved About Homelessness

Yasmeen Serhan

July 18, 2020 |

The Atlantic |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, England

Britain's response to curbing the spread of coronavirus included the "Bring everyone in" operation which brought people experiencing homelessness off the streets and into accommodation - typically empty hotel rooms. Temporary shelter proved effective with only 16 deaths among those who were brought indoors. People were also given services that could lead to a life off the streets. The success demonstrated the ability of the government to quickly house people when political will and money were put toward solving the problem.

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How a Coalition of New York Activists Revealed Police-Department Secrets

Tom Robbins

July 17, 2020 |

The New Yorker |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York

When New York legislators abolished a state law that had long shielded police officers’ disciplinary records from public scrutiny, they were not just responding to recent protests but also to activism over many years by reform advocates and families of victims of police violence. Long-running legal challenges had failed to pry the records loose. But activists – opposed by police unions and their allies – had used public testimony, publicity, and their families’ stories to lay the groundwork for changes that then came quickly after George Floyd’s death sparked nationwide protests of police brutality.

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The surprising reason many babies die around the world—and what's being done about it

Claire Gagne

July 16, 2020 |

Today's Parent |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Ethiopia

Born on Time, a partnership between the Canadian government, Johnson & Johnson, and NGOs, uses a comprehensive approach to reduce premature births, including educating women and men about the risk factors - like having babies close together and poor nutrition - providing free birth control, and encouraging women to deliver at hospitals. The program engages men with twice monthly meetings to teach them about their role in preventing pre-term births and they also run programs at schools that target early and forced marriages, normalize menstruation, and empower girls to have a voice in relationships.

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Could leaving 'room for the river' help protect communities from floods?

Samantha Harrington

July 15, 2020 |

Yale Climate Connections |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Davenport, Iowa

While many communities in the Midwest use dams and levees to control the Mississippi River, some are trying new approaches to flood control as climate change threatens to increase rainfall and the severity of storms in the region. Some cities are turning to the Dutch solution of leaving “room for the river” to allow the body of water to flow naturally and design public spaces to handle inundation. While this technique doesn’t always work during major flooding events, traditional flood control strategies can be more harmful and actually worsen flooding.

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How the ‘15-Minute City' Could Help Post-Pandemic Recovery

Patrick Sisson

July 15, 2020 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: France

Some cities are using coronavirus shutdowns as opportunities to start infrastructure projects that support car-free living and encourage walking or biking to jobs, shopping, and city services. Car-free urban development benefits the environment, revitalizes cities by keeping resources local, and has become more appealing because of fears of virus spread. Paris, Milan, Tallinn, Ottawa, and Portland are among the cities using coronavirus-related lockdowns to kickstart bike lane and pedestrian zone projects. As the pandemic has decimated city budgets, it is a challenging time to begin infrastructure projects.

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Oakland's Homeless Community Knows How to End the City's Housing Crisis. Will Its Leaders Listen?

Ariel Boone

July 14, 2020 |

Law at the Margins |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

The city of Oakland and local activists use a similar response to the problem – building encampments of "tiny houses" – but there are critical differences between the two programs. An activist group called The Village has taken over parkland or vacant lots to build 23 tiny structures at the heart of self-governed communities that activists hope alleviate homelessness in the short term and lead toward permanent solutions. The city has torn down most of The Village's structures and erected its own two-person sheds in camps governed by the city, an approach that has had mixed success for the people it served.

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Community peacemakers in Chicago offer a proven alternative to policing

Loretta Graceffo

July 14, 2020 |

Waging Nonviolence |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Nonviolence Chicago uses street-outreach workers to mediate disputes and connect residents of violence-prone neighborhoods to needed services. Its work, amounting to tens of thousands of contacts per year with people involved in violence, has contributed to efforts that reduced homicides and nonfatal shootings in the Austin neighborhood by nearly half from 2016 to 2019. By replacing the police with former gang members and others with street credibility, and working with both victims and shooters, Nonviolence Chicago wins the trust of residents.

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The long quest to stop a ‘Sugar Daddy' judge

John Shiffman Michael Berens

July 14, 2020 |

Reuters |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Arkansas

Arkansas’ judicial oversight agency has the staffing and persistence to hold bad judges accountable in ways that counter a nationwide pattern of weak enforcement and judicial impunity. The Arkansas Judicial Discipline & Disability Commission has a staff that’s almost three times as large as the national per-judge average and it publicly disciplines judges more than twice the national rate. It is one of the few such agencies that will investigate anonymous complaints, frequently a barrier to starting judicial misconduct probes.

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The Perks of Roommates With a 50-Year Age Difference

Daniel J McGraw

July 10, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Intergenerational home sharing is a mutually beneficial option for seniors and young people. There are about 60 programs, run by cities, nonprofits, and platforms in the style of Airbnb, that connect seniors and young people for cohabitation. Seniors benefit by being able to stay in their homes, collect income, and have someone to help with social isolation and household chores. Young people benefit from access to affordable housing options in high-cost areas and engaging in rich relationship building. Home sharing services are facing legal challenges and the Covid-19 pandemic made cohabiting more risky.

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