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How Australians survived a 13-year drought by going low-tech

Todd Woody

June 23, 2015 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Australia, Melbourne

In the face of a prolonged drought, residents of Melbourne, Australia, cut water consumption in half by capturing rainwater and using efficient toilets and washing machines.

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How Central Oregon Bet Its Future on Community College

James Fallows

June 22, 2015 |

The Atlantic |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Bend, Oregon

Despite the economic hardships brought on by the downfall of the lumber industry in the '80s and the housing market crash of 2008, Bend, Oregon has managed to successfully enter the ranks of a technology hub, without the presence of a university. The small but thriving city bet on its local community college, which offers a unique campus feel and rigorous course load that sets it apart from other community colleges of the same size. When the lumber industry left, the region bet its future on technology—even though it lacked a research university.

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Urban Farming

Paolo Patrizi

June 18, 2015 |

Maptia |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Japan, Tokyo

A growing number of people in the famously crowded Tokyo metropolis are becoming ‘city farmers’, planting crops atop tall buildings or deep underground. In an age of detrimental climate change, urban cultivation and green roof agriculture will soon be necessary as food, water and energy resources become scarcer.

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Stories of Redemption in America's Coal Country

Chris Peak

June 12, 2015 |

NationSwell |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Lynch, Kentucky

After the downturn of the coal industry, 8,000 jobs were lost in Central Appalachia. While some counties are renewed with the help of federal assistance, others find ways to help themselves.

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How Detroit Taught Itself to Demolish Vacant Houses Safely

Cassie Owens

June 12, 2015 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

To develop new demolition standards, the Detroit Building Authority brought together a best practices working group that met biweekly. Under the new system, a pre-demolition review takes place to, among other things, plan out what will be recycled or salvaged. When an excavator claws through a building, a water truck or fire hose has to be dousing the structure to inhibit the reach of particulate matter—limiting the environmental and health impacts.

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Guiding Families to a Fair Day in Court

David Bornstein

May 29, 2015 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Jose, California

Millions of families of arrested individuals do not know what to do to help, how to obtain a lawyer, or what the process entails in the court system. Created by Albert Cobarrubius Justice Project, participatory defense is a type of community organizing that teaches and empowers people who face criminal charges. Individuals know how to work with attorneys in order to navigate the system and ultimately feel equipped to become drivers of their own change.

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Hotline volunteers help people cope with mental health crises

Meg Kissinger

May 29, 2015 |

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Grafton, Wisconsin

Mental health care often requires a human touch and a personal connection. Tucked quietly in an office park in Grafton, volunteers at the COPE Hotline field nearly 23,000 calls a year from all over the Milwaukee area and some points beyond.

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'Open streets' in Pennsylvania's cities: closing streets to cars, opening them to cyclists and salsa lessons

Irina Zhorov

May 28, 2015 |

WHYY |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: Colombia, Bogotá

Bogotá is largely credited with originating the concept of “open streets” —where city roads are closed to car traffic and given over to people for fun and fitness—but it has grown beyond that city, surfacing in Pennsylvania.

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Japan's Future Farms

Rachel Mealey

May 25, 2015 |

Al Jazeera |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Japan, Fukushima, Tōhoku

At the Fujitsu factory in Japan, a significant decline in demand for semiconductor computer chips meant the company had large empty factory space sitting unused. A new business approach allowed them to dually address both the need to evolve their business model with a global decline of viable agricultural space needed to grow the world's food. Now, the factory houses indoor vegetable gardens, soil free and less resource-heavy than traditional farmland.

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The Seattle model Ithaca may use to shatter drug-jail cycle

Jeff Stein

May 22, 2015 |

The Ithaca Voice |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Ithaca, New York

The law often traps offenders in a cycle of lawbreaking. LEAD allows for drug users to become committed to a program that helps them through the quitting process instead of throwing them into prison and isolating them from the help they need.

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