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Guatemalan women transform their town one brushstroke at a time

Sara Schonhardt

February 07, 2018 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Guatemala, Santa Catarina Palopó

In Guatemala, women are challenging traditional gender norms by playing a growing leadership role in their communities. Specifically, they are leading an initiative to paint local homes with patterns from indigenous weaving traditions. Not only are they making the towns more beautiful, but they are also demonstrating to young girls that women can do the same jobs that men can do.

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How to Fight Gentrification With a Comic Book

Mimi Kirk

February 06, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, St. Paul, Minnesota

The diverse Frogtown neighborhood in St. Paul, Minnesota is filled with immigrants from all over the world. However, warning signs of gentrification are hinting at rising home prices that threaten the affordability of the area for its long-time residents. To ensure the neighborhood’s vision for the future is clear and accessible, local artists transformed the small area plan into a graphic novel that is helping residents have a voice in their community’s future.

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In 2011 Preston hit rock bottom. Then it took back control

Aditya Chakrabortty

January 31, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Preston

In 2011, when a huge plan for a sprawling shopping mall halted after the financial crisis, Preston’s future looked bleak. That is, until Matthew Brown, a local government leader, decided to spend money locally, an idea that drastically reshaped the city’s economy. The city council “ adopted a guerrilla localism,” and it paid off. By changing procurement practices and business methods, Preston has become a model for how to turn around a failing city.

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A new lick of paint can be all it takes to make cities safer for pedestrians

Anoush Darabi

January 30, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Redesigning streets to be more pedestrian-friendly can have big impacts on traffic safety and local business. A fast, easy and cheap way to weigh the pros and cons of such changes is to simply redraw street lines using paint or chalk, then measure public response. After a day-long pilot in Sao Paulo, 97 percent of locals supported making the proposed changes permanent.

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Thousands of poor young people are using Minecraft to redesign their cities

Odette Chalaby

January 29, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Mumbai

Too often, poor community members are not included in public discourse over how public spaces should look-- rather, the urban planning is more top-down. To change that, the UN’s Block by Block project is using the computer game Minecraft to include locals in shaping the physical spaces in their own communities by teaching them digital design skills. The UN program has engaged over 17,000 people, and 20 crowdsourced designs have already been built in cities around the world.

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Minnesota Deploys Drones to Care for Aging Bridges

Laura Bliss

January 24, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Multi-Media |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Minnesota

Bridges don't last forever without at least some occasional repair, but how do city officials know when an aging bridge is in need of reconstruction? Typically, an individual has to bungee down to inspect it or specialized (and extremely expensive) equipment must be employed. That's why Minnesota is testing out the use of drones to do the work. Although not able to be used in every instance, these specialized drones that can be flown sans GPS, are able to get to places originally untapped during bridge inspections and so far have proven to be a highly useful tool.

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No Price Tags: These Neighbors Built Their Own Economy Without Money

Araz Hachadourian

January 24, 2018 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, St. Louis, Missouri

Time-banking is a way of trading goods and skills using labor hours rather than cash. The system connects neighbors to fulfill each other’s needs, everything from bike repairs to cooking and cleaning. More than 2,000 hours have been exchanged through St. Louis’ Cowry Collective, one of the nearly 500 time banks in the United States.

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What the two-wheeled tourist can offer tiny towns

Micah Drew

January 12, 2018 |

Seeley Swan Pathfinder |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Ovando, Montana

Ovando, Montana, a tiny town just off a main highway, has benefited from economic growth as a result of almost one thousand cyclists who ride through each year. The Ovando Community Fund was started to build appropriate infrastructure. Another town, Twin Bridges, created Bike Camp to attract more cyclists. Growth from cycling tourism is spreading across the state and adding millions of dollars to the Montana economy.

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Cooperative craft breweries: a new approach to revitalizing small towns

Summer Goddard

January 12, 2018 |

Valley Journal |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Ronan, Montana

The Ronan Cooperative Brewery arose out of ideas to jumpstart a deserted main street. Community members can buy a share of stock, which gets them one vote per person. This setup allows a sense of local ownership as well as more money being invested into the business and the community. Though the brewery still has work to do, it has 125 members and is modeling its planning off the success of another cooperative brewery in New Mexico.

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In Medellin, cable cars transformed slums—in Rio, they made them worse

Anoush Darabi

January 10, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Colombia, Medellín

In the 20th century, Colombia’s city of Medellin was a center for drugs and violence. Then the city developed a cable car system that enabled cheap transportation for people to find employment. The cable car system revitalized the economy of the city and made it much safer. However, other cities have tried cable cars for revitalization and found less success, even failure.

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