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NYC Pilot Program Hopes to Beautify Miles of Scaffolding

Rachel Kaufman

October 12, 2018 |

Next City |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

New York City has launched City Canvas, a program to commission artwork to beautify sidewalk sheds set up to protect pedestrians in construction sites. Arts organizations partnering with the project will pick locations and select artists to create artwork on vinyl.

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Tamarindo Revives and Transforms Abandoned Lots With Projects for the Community

Noelia Esquivel

September 25, 2018 |

La Voz de Guanacaste |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: Costa Rica, Tamarindo

The Tamarindo Integral Development Association (ADI) has achieved success in a seemingly mundane task: taking charge of vacant lots. The ADI first borrowed use of vacant lots to start a farmers market and a soccer school. The group then mapped 40 vacant lots across the Tamarindo area. Now, the group is successfully working on reviving public spaces for the common good all across the town.

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The Movement for Urban Tree Expansion Is Growing

Maria Dolan

September 18, 2018 |

Pacific Standard |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Austin, Texas and King County, Washington are both participating in a new experiment by non-profit City Forest Credits (CFC) that uses creative financing to fund green spaces and tree-planting in cities. More specifically, CFC is piloting a new way that private entities can "offset their carbon emissions by buying credits for tree planting or preservation." Although the work is costly at the beginning, organizers hope the public benefits of more urban trees will make the program a worthy investment.

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Trash to Treasure: A Mongolian Man Turns a Landfill Into a Children's Park

Didem Tali

September 10, 2018 |

The Diplomat |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar

A Mongolian man named Ulziitogtork transformed a former granite mine that was filled with rubbish into a park/community center for children that sits on top of an artificial lake. Children used to play in the mine, which presented a real health risk, but now they can use the park to boat, ice skate, watch movies over the lake, and learn about Mongolian culture. Ulziitogtork considers it a work in progress and is counting on the local government to address the pollution and infrastructure problems that led to the park's creation, but already provides fun for over 6,000 children a year.

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Much to Do about (Vacant) Lots

James A. Anderson

September 10, 2018 |

Next City |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, St. Louis, Missouri

In St. Louis, Philadelphia, Detroit, and other postindustrial cities, community organizations and city officials are trying a number of methods to reduce the number of empty lots and vacant houses that plague neighborhoods. As opposed to earlier, one-off programs, cities are now forging coordinated approaches that acknowledge the systemic issues underlying persistent vacant land -- for example, in St. Louis, an inventory of all vacant properties is shaping the work of a series of related city initiatives.

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Silo art becomes national movement and this is how it all began

Ellie Honeybone

September 09, 2018 |

ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Australia, Northam

A project to paint murals on silos across Western Australia has brought artists from around the world for work. These murals--some 36 meters high--have created stunning public art and cultural tourism for often struggling small towns.

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What If All Community Development Started with Local Arts and Culture?

Jared Brey

August 30, 2018 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania

An Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania art project "gently" demolished a historic, vacant building and reassembled it as a communal space. This is an example of "creative placemaking," a method to both preserve the character of a community and help address vacancies and the need for development.

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Why your favorite bench might be there to thwart a terrorist attack

Katherine Shaver

August 27, 2018 |

The Washington Post |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

How do you make a public space inviting so people will gather, but also safe from the growing danger of attackers using vehicles to ram large numbers of people? Many cities have responded to such attacks with concrete bollards and other barriers. But designers and architects are increasingly innovating other options that protect people via planters, fountains, trees, bike racks, steps and traffic calming designs to stop or slow down vehicles.

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The Other Side of “Broken Windows”

Eric Klinenberg

August 23, 2018 |

The New Yorker |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

By cleaning up thousands of abandoned buildings and vacant lots, the city of Philadelphia caused sharp declines in violence and other crime in a program that has become a model for cities nationwide. The cleanup program became the subject of two long-term experiments comparing the "treated" buildings and lots to those that remained signs of blight. In one study, gun violence dropped 39% in and around cleaned-up buildings. The 5% decline associated with cleaned-up vacant lots was much smaller but still meaningful. Neighbors praised the sense of safety they gained in the improved areas.

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How Trees Can Cool Dallas's Concrete Jungle

Linda Poon

August 20, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Dallas, Texas

In a Dallas neighborhood, environmental organizations are teaming up to plant a tree canopy that will address multiple environmental and public health concerns, while also cooling down the city's urban heat island effect. The solution is focused on helping those who are most vulnerable: seniors, minority residents, and students.

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