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 566 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

Sharing with strangers: 'I'm a student, this way I get free food'

Dougal Shaw

June 04, 2018 |

BBC |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: England, London

An app called Olio addresses the issue of food waste in London by recruiting 1,000 "food waste heroes" to gather excess food from restaurants and redistribute them amongst the neighborhood using the Olio platform. Anyone from students to the elderly use the app, and participants say it makes them feel better connected to their community. The app is now used in 32 countries.

Read More
Go to Original Story
San Francisco's new bot will downgrade marijuana crimes

Anoush Darabi

June 01, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

Writing laws to be machine-readable could have huge payoffs. San Francisco is designing a computer program to read through the city’s prosecution records and automatically downgrade applicable marijuana possession convictions from felonies to misdemeanors. Such a change became possible in 2014, but the downgrading process proved too expensive and complicated for most individuals to take on themselves. Software developers face hurdles that include needing to teach computers to read inconsistent language and paperwork formats.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Communities now lead fight against outbreak of diseases

Syriacus Buguzi

May 28, 2018 |

The Citizen |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Tanzania, Morogoro

The South African Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance is piloting a program to use smartphone technology to report and respond to infectious disease outbreaks. The program trains community members to recognize signs of infectious diseases, such as vomiting and diarrhea, and report them through their smartphones. These reports are relayed to a team of specialists who track the location and frequency of these reports to determine if an outbreak of disease is occurring and respond accordingly.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Fighting Food Waste

Ammar Ebrahim Dougal Shaw

May 28, 2018 |

BBC |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United Kingdom, London

Technology can help reduce food waste. Olio and Winnow are two examples. Olio is an app that allows people to easily exchange extra or unwanted food for free. Winnow is a smart trash can that calculates the cost of waste in commercial kitchens, inspiring chefs to be more creative to save both food and money.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Can 30,000 Cameras Help Solve Chicago's Crime Problem?

Timothy Williams

May 26, 2018 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Using advanced data, cameras, and innovative mapping, Chicago is hoping to finally solve crime in the city. Hidden sensors like ShotSpotter and crime forecasting software HunchLab are being used to turn massive amounts of data into usable information for law enforcement officers, but concerns about privacy and surveillance are prevalent.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Tracing Illegal Guns

Roxanne Patel Shepelavy

May 23, 2018 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Albuquerque, Pennsylvania

A publicly available online platform launched by the New York Attorney General fills in big data gaps on guns being used in crimes and trafficked from elsewhere. “We were able to get a snapshot really quickly of where the worst guns are ending up and where they started.” The data can establish groundwork for interstate trafficking cases and also inform policy decisions and New York is happy to share the technology other communities can build their own databases.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Despite Many Threats, Some Coral Reefs Are Thriving

Paul Tullis

May 23, 2018 |

bioGraphic |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Cook Islands, Rarotonga

The 100 Island Challenge is a project through the University of California, San Diego to use photos and complex mapping programs to assess the health of coral reefs. Despite media attention declaring the demise of reefs, early stages of this research has shown that protective factors, like areas with less pollution, can help preserve reefs. By getting buy-in from local governments and working with local fisheries, the 100 Island Challenge is working to use new knowledge around coral reefs to lessen the effects of climate change on these precious ecosystems.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Switzerland's new algorithm could get up to 30% more refugees into work

Jack Graham

May 18, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Switzerland, Bern

Switzerland will soon be piloting a new algorithm to help refugees find jobs. The algorithm uses "machine learning to match geographic employment outcomes with refugees’ personal characteristics, such as gender, age and nationality." Researchers found that using the algorithm would have helped 41% more refugees to be employed between 2011 and 2016, but "real world" impact is yet to be measured. However, there are concerns about transparency and fairness.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Why Is It So Hard to Figure Out When the Bus Is Coming?

Laura Bliss

May 17, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, College Park, Maryland

In order for alternatives to driving to be widely adopted, accurate information about service and arrival times needs to be accesible. To fill this need, applications providing bus routes and arrival times are being developed, in some cases aided by crowdsourced information.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Paint the Town with Data in Boston's New 3D Model

Sandra Larson

May 16, 2018 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

A newly developed 3D smart model of the city of Boston will be accessible to the public, allowing anyone to look at projects being built, areas prone to flooding, and even how shadows affect the city. Different map views also show zoning, public transportation lines, schools, and more. The openness of this model is providing groundbreaking access to information that will help both citizens and the local government plan better for Boston’s future.

Read More
Go to Original Story