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How German Cities Are Rethinking Women's Safety — With Taxis

Marilen Martin

July 10, 2025 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Germany

Some German cities have created voucher programs that subsidize the cost of taking a taxi for women who feel unsafe walking or using public transit at night. In Cologne, 1,500 vouchers were used within days of their release, and Munich has more than tripled the number of vouchers it provides due to demand.

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Beneath the blazing sun, Black Phoenix sows community

Adam Mahoney

July 01, 2025 |

High Country News |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Phoenix, Arizona

In Phoenix's historically Black neighborhoods, community organizations have transformed vacant, heat-trapping lots into thriving urban farms. One initiative, Spaces of Opportunity, converted a 19-acre abandoned site into a community farm with 250 garden plots available. Spaces of Opportunity serves over 1,000 residents each month, and other community farming initiatives also help in providing food and jobs for participants, many of whom are formerly incarcerated or unhoused.

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Solar minigrid brings light and hope to a Goma neighborhood, offering blueprint for rest of Congo

Tammy Webber, Justin Kabumba, Moses Sawasawa

June 30, 2025 |

Associated Press |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Goma

With investor backing, the utility company Nuru built a 1.3-megawatt minigrid that, due to its interconnectivity with a hydropower grid, can power streetlight, phone, and internet services, plus a private company that pumps, treats and distributes water to the Congolese community of Goma. Residents report financial savings and greater feelings of safety.

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Meet the 'Bicycle Mayors' Making Cities Around the World More Bike-Friendly

Kaja Šeruga

June 27, 2025 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Ethiopia, Addis Ababa

The Bicycle Mayor Network selects local cycling activists to act as key liaisons in their communities, giving them support and resources to advocate for cycling-friendly policies, organize educational opportunities and events, and provide a link between residents and government decision-makers. There are more than 150 bicycle mayors in 34 countries who have had a hand in everything from improving cycling infrastructure to offering free community classes.

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What one town learned by charging residents for every bag of trash

Tik Root

June 23, 2025 |

Grist |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Plympton, Massachusetts

When Plympton, Massachusetts residents agreed to institute a "pay-as-you-throw system" (PAYT), the community halved its trash disposal—in part thanks to robust compost and recycling systems. In 2022, before the PAYT system, the town threw away 640 tons of trash; in 2024, that figure was 335 tons.

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This city is exploring an unconventional solution to water scarcity: sewage

David Condos, Ryan Kellman

June 09, 2025 |

NPR |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, St. George, Utah

St. George, Utah, is building wastewater recycling plants to convert sewage into usable irrigation and drinking water, a solution already proven effective in communities like Las Vegas in conserving water resources and supporting sustainable urban growth.

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Local, organic, and bipartisan: How Vermont is challenging Big Food

Stephanie Hanes

June 08, 2025 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Vermont

Vermont's community-led movement to build a thriving local agriculture economy, through nonprofit infrastructure investments, diversified farming practices, and bipartisan collaboration, has revitalized small farms, boosted food resilience, and offered a viable economic alternative to industrialized agriculture.

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'Our moment to evolve': A nonprofit that launched after George Floyd is now navigating a DEI backlash

Shirley Leung

June 05, 2025 |

The Boston Globe |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

The New Commonwealth Fund provides grants to Boston-area organizations that are making an impact in communities of color, with more than $16.3 million awarded to more than 250 organizations so far. However, national backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives has prompted the fund to shift some of its fundraising strategies and even remove a reference to racial equity from its name.

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How Shared Electric Cargo Bikes Are Changing Cities

Aina de Lapparent Alvarez

June 05, 2025 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

Shared electric cargo bike programs like CargoB and Re:Ciclos offer affordable, sustainable transportation alternatives that can significantly reduce urban car dependency; however, their long-term success hinges on overcoming infrastructure, cultural, and economic barriers.

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Where the garbage goes

Jaclyn Moyer

June 01, 2025 |

High Country News |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Soap Creek, Oregon

A grassroots community initiative (VNEQS) organized local expertise, advocacy, labor activism, and legislative collaboration to oppose a landfill expansion and push for stronger environmental monitoring and accountability, resulting in increased public awareness, regulatory scrutiny, and pending policy reforms.

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