Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 833 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

Ramsey Walk tackles fly-tipping with guerrilla gardening

Dina Aboughazala

November 08, 2018 |

Islington Now |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Islington

In a neighborhood in the United Kingdom called Ramsey Walk, one resident was tired of illegal dumping, also called fly-tipping, in her community. On a hunch, she formed a guerilla gardening group to plant flowers where the dumping was occurring to deter would-be fly-tippers. Their success rate has been 100 percent, and their new motto is "from fly-tipping to floewr picking."

Read More
Go to Original Story
Make Voting Easy

Roxanne Patel Shepelavy

November 07, 2018 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Oregon

Voter turnout is higher where voting is made easy. Consider one innovation: vote-by mail. States that allowed mail-in ballots had an average of 10 percent more voting in the 2016 election than other states. More innovations include pre-registering young voters, automatically updating a voter’s address when they move, automatically registering citizens unless they opt out, and same-day voter registration.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Programmed for Success

Paulette Perhach

November 02, 2018 |

The New York Times |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Community colleges are increasingly leveraging technology to engage students and keep them on track to graduation. Personalized messages about deadlines, information about class performance from professors, and texts about homework resources all contribute to a "fuller picture" of students and empower administrators with the information to intervene when necessary.

Read More
Go to Original Story
How Durham Is Using Nudge Theory to Drive People Out of Their Cars

Laura Bliss

October 30, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Durham, North Carolina

The city of Durham implemented a series of behavioral and economic nudges to encourage drivers to use alternative modes of transportation to get downtown besides cars. For instance, drivers could opt in to receive emails about bike and bus routes or be entered to win a cash prize if they took the bus. Together, the initiatives helped decrease single-driver trips downtown by over five percent.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Pakistan Tries a New Way to Pay for a Dam: Crowdsourcing

Meher Ahmad

October 25, 2018 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Pakistan

Under financial strain, Pakistan is asking its citizens and Pakistanis abroad to donate money to build two dams. Only $48 million of the estimated cost of $14 billion has been raised so far, yet the country’s new prime minister Imran Khan is optimistic. “We can build dams in five years if the donations continue,” he said.

Read More
Go to Original Story
The city that gives you free beer for cycling

Amelia Martyn-Hemphill Nicola Kelly

October 23, 2018 |

BBC |

Broadcast TV News |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: Italy, Bologna

A fun app called “Bella Mossa” has incentivized people to ditch their cars in Bologna. The anti-pollution effort gives users credits for biking, walking, and using public transport. Users can then swap their credits for rewards from local shopkeepers, such as free beer and ice cream.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Australia Tells America: Here's How to Fix Your Voting System

Tacey Rychter

October 22, 2018 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Australia

Australia maintains a high voter turnout by making voting both easy and mandatory. Election day is always on a Saturday, and community groups host barbeques to mark the occasion. If an eligible voter still doesn’t cast a ballot, they can face a fine of up to nearly 80 Australian dollars.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Why Oslo's 'greedy method' may be the answer to Utah's air pollution woes

Erica Evans

October 17, 2018 |

Deseret News |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Norway, Oslo

Faced with poor air quality, the city of Oslo instituted a set of policy measures that have resulted in a dramatic improvement. Many of these policies center around transportation including incentivizing the production and purchase of electric cars, reducing the number of cars in the city, and creating car-free zones.

Read More
Go to Original Story
How to make prisons more humane

Dylan Matthews Byrd Pinkerton

October 17, 2018 |

Vox |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Bismarck, North Dakota

A North Dakota prison looks to Norway's prison model that focuses on prisoner rehabilitation rather than punishment. By giving offenders responsibility, private space, and access to the outside world, these prisons have found lower rates of recidivism and more success with rehabilitation.

Read More
Go to Original Story
How one state is using incentives instead of penalties to boost child support payments

K. Sophie Will

October 15, 2018 |

Deseret News |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Washington State is using behavioral science and kinder, more compassionate communications to help encourage full payment of child-support from non-custodial parents. With their efforts, including friendlier communications and meeting reminders, hundreds more parents have been meeting child-support workers.

Read More
Go to Original Story