Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 2482 results  for your search.  View and Refine Your Search Terms

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

    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.

    Read More

  • Cooperative craft breweries: a new approach to revitalizing small towns

    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.

    Read More

  • What the two-wheeled tourist can offer tiny towns

    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.

    Read More

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

    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.

    Read More

  • How to turn a struggling small town around

    Boulder, Montana struggled upon learning that a major local employer, the Montana Developmental Center, was going to close. However, the news pushed the town toward a path of redevelopment. The Boulder Transition Advisory Committee stepped up by launching the “Make Boulder’s Future Bright” campaign, which involved citizens in creating goals and strategies to achieve them. Since earning a major grant, the town has been working to revitalize the downtown area. This story is part 1 of a series about housing for rural Montanans.

    Read More

  • Nonprofits make rural home ownership more plausible

    Affordable housing often needs several solutions to make sufficient impact in a community. In Boulder, Montana, several groups and funding sources are working together to keep a diverse stock of affordable housing available to residents who need it most. The National Affordable Housing Network helps fund energy-saving homes in Montana. Some trailer parks have transformed into cooperative systems or community land trusts, so residents have more of a sense of ownership for what they pay.

    Read More

  • Friends Transform Vacant Building Into Popular Community Center

    Abandoned buildings hold great potential. In Ecatepec, friends got together and transformed an empty commercial space into El Banco, a bustling hub of arts and recreation activities open all day for local kids and families. The community center offers a valuable gathering space amid government neglect and high rates of crime.

    Read More

  • How Medellín went from murder capital to hipster holiday destination

    Medellín is a hub of growth and innovation, re-born after years of devastating violence. Building a metro system was an early step in the city’s transformation. “It was the first positive thing that had happened in this city for decades,” says Julian, a local guide. “With this metro, we suddenly realized things could be different, that progress and change were possible.”

    Read More

  • Hurricanes blew away Puerto Rico's power grid. Now solar power is rising to fill the void.

    Solar power is a great advancement for renewable energy, but traditionally relies on connecting to a grid in order to function correctly. So when hurricanes hit Puerto Rico, even those with solar panels lost access to electricity. A micro-grid offers an alternative solution, however, by relying on battery power.

    Read More

  • Horizontes compartidos

    En Madagascar y Mongolia, frente a un escenario que combina la crisis climática con otros desafíos ambientales que van en aumento, las comunidades locales de pescadores, pastores o campesinos promueven la cogestión de los recursos naturales como estrategia efectiva de conservación y adaptación. A través de la organización comunitaria y el diálogo con las instituciones, se logra mejorar su capacidad de respuesta ante las condiciones climáticas extremas, lo que contribuye a aumentar su resiliencia ante las transformaciones ambientales, económicas y sociales.

    Read More