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Winter is coming and so is bad air: What psychology can teach us about fixing Utah's air quality problem

Erica Evans

November 14, 2018 |

Deseret News |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Salt Lake City, Utah

In an effort to get people to change habits to decrease pollution in Salt Lake City, the city is trying several approaches using behavioral psychology to encourage residents to change their long-standing habits. For instance, free transit days assist new riders in learning how to use the public transit system. Mostly, the city is looking to the successes of places like California and Norway where the incentives are stronger, all in hopes of making the air quality safer.

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Tanzanian Farmers Crack the Code for Fighting Land Grab

Kizito Makoye

November 13, 2018 |

OZY |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Tanzania

Indigenous people in Tanzania are using “legal expertise, political pressure and smart solutions like land mapping to win back plots — and then secure them — from corporations they accuse of using loopholes to grab territory.” While indigenous people live in most of the world’s land, they legally own less than ten percent of it. By mapping their territory and publically registering land, it is much harder for corporations to take control.

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In Amsterdam, a Unique Housing Agency Managed to Transform a Neighborhood

Deborah Nicholls-Lee

November 12, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Netherlands, Amsterdam

Residents of a street in Amsterdam called Zeedijk took it upon themselves to rid the street of heroin abuse and blight by creating a public-private real-estate partnership. The partnership rehabilitated the street while ensuring locals weren't pushed out or displaced. Now, other areas in the city, including the Red Light District, are using this same approach to protect the rights and safety of their residents.

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Can Chicago's Gentrifying Neighborhoods Grow Without Leaving Longtime Residents Behind? Oakland's Fruitvale Village Offers Hope

Mina Bloom Mauricio Peña

November 12, 2018 |

Block Club Chicago |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

Turning land owned by transit agencies into transit-oriented housing developments creates opportunities for affordable housing. Instead of building another parking garage in Oakland, California, community leaders and The Unity Council nonprofit petitioned for the construction of a multi-use development that combines affordable housing units, retail spaces, and even social services. The Fruitvale Village serves as a model for future affording housing developments on BART land, or on land owned by public transit agencies in other cities.

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The Wheels on These Buses Go Round and Round With Zero Emissions

Brad Plumer

November 12, 2018 |

The New York Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, White Plains, New York

Electric cars have already made their entrance into American society, but now school buses are also joining the ranks of energy efficient vehicles. From New York to California, school systems are actively finding ways to implement the buses into their rotations in order to cut down on the carbon footprint of school transportation and reduce the cost of fuel.

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Seattle Is Changing Who Gets A Say At City Hall. Could Austin Learn A Thing Or Two?

Audrey McGlinchy

November 12, 2018 |

KUT |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Getting renters involved in the conversation increases the diversity of voices and opinions in City Hall. In 2016, Seattle created a Renters’ Commission to provide a platform similar to traditional Home Owners’ Associations, where members can have an input and act as advocates for their communities. By having residents involved with the Renters’ Commission, Seattle hopes to rebalance power and involvement in local politics, from a model traditionally dominated disproportionately by homeowners, to one more representative of the city’s actual diversity.

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After grassroots victories, Vancouver, B.C. Chinatown turns toward revitalization

Amy Zimmer Chetanya Robinson

November 11, 2018 |

International Examiner |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia

Grassroots organizations, like the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, seek to preserve Chinatown’s heritage and fight the displacement of old-time residents by gentrification. The organizations bought an historic hotel to prevent displacement of 100 low-income residents, revitalized commercial spaces such as restaurants to preserve the neighborhood’s heritage and history, and funded programs to support social connections with events such as Majhong socials that bring together over 100 people. While the organizations agree on the goal to preserve Vancouver’s Chinatown, they sometimes disagree on how to get there

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With “people power,” Vancouver, B.C. activists stopped a condo in the heart of chinatown

Chetanya Robinson

November 10, 2018 |

International Examiner |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia

Residents in Vancouver, B.C.'s Chinatown have banded together to protect their neighborhood from gentrification. With collaboration and crowd-sourced activism ideas, young students and senior residents repeatedly knock down initiatives that would destroy the historic preservation and affordable housing in their community.

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Ramsey Walk tackles fly-tipping with guerrilla gardening

Dina Aboughazala

November 08, 2018 |

Islington Now |

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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."

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Mapping movement: How data experts track informal transport

Anoush Darabi

November 07, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: South Africa, Cape Town

A startup called WhereIsMyTransport has helped cities create timetables and route maps of informal public transit. The group sends data collectors out to ride local minibus routes, for example, then organizes the information for government officials and others to use to improve trip planning services and more.

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