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Creative Cleanup

Gillian McGoldrick

December 17, 2015 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, London

A London nonprofit adopts a filthy city street to find ways to discourage litter, succeeding by using humor, graphic design, and citizen engagement. Creativity proves effective in cleaning up the streets.

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Reducing blight is possible, experts say

Lex Talamo

November 29, 2015 |

The Shreveport Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Shreveport, Louisiana

Shreveport, Louisiana, faces blight. New Orleans decreased blight by 30 percent by creating an authority for the task, using technology to collect data, and providing residents with information and help.

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Former Black Panther Launches Oakland Urban Farm to Give Ex-Prisoners a Fresh Start

Sarah Henry

September 09, 2015 |

Civil Eats |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

After incarceration, Black men and women have a difficult time re-integrating into society without financial and educational resources. A former Black Panther activist has created the non-profit Oakland &the World Enterprises to offer an urban farm as a prisoner re-entry program and community center. The Oakland project supports self-sufficiency, self-determination, and empowerment for Black people.

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How Seattle Made Dark Alleys Safer—By Throwing Parties In Them

Araz Hachadourian

August 26, 2015 |

Yes! Magazine |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Alleys in Seattle were once places of illicit, illegal, and unsanitary activity. The International Sustainability Institute in Seattle began organizing music and art events to bring in people, which, in turn, cleaned-up the crime and garbage. As an urban development strategy, adjacent vacant storefronts re-opened for business and beautification could be seen in new gardens.

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'Generation Now'—What People Do, When There Seems to Be Nothing to Do

James Fallows

April 28, 2015 |

The Atlantic |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Bernardino, California

San Bernardino's Generation Now, a diverse group of young adults, is injecting their city with a boost of civic action through organizing local people at forums and increasing voter turnout at the polls. From rehabilitating local parks and gardens to holding open dialogues on San Bernardino's greatest challenges, the group is changing the civic landscape of an economically depressed city.

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How One Weekend in Dallas Sparked a Movement for Urban Change

Mike Lydon

April 20, 2015 |

Next City |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Dallas, Texas

A Dallas urban neighborhood was dilapidated with abandoned storefronts and offered no vitality for pedestrians. A group of artists and community members created Build a Better Block, in which local artisans and small businesses took over a vacant block and transformed it for a limited time to encourage the ingredients for more permanent urban renewal.

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Why DIY Public Spaces Are Starting to Take Off in Turkey

Jennifer Hattam

February 10, 2015 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: Turkey, İzmir

An absence of public infrastructure and park space hasn't stopped the people of Izmir, Turkey from gathering in and enjoying the outdoors. Now a few clever and creative individuals are helping teach their communities to reclaim public spaces, sharing designs for recycling materials to build things like benches or docks for all to enjoy.

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How the Fastest-Warming City in the Country Is Cooling Off

Erica Peterson

December 09, 2014 |

Politico |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Louisville, Kentucky

Although residents turn up their air conditioners, Louisville heat is increasing the city’s death rate by 39 people every year. The city mayor launched a tree commission for planting more trees and since 2011 has planted over 12,000 trees. The canopies from the tree offer cooling shade and bring down the temperature of the city as a whole. The response also includes the installation of green roofs and in-depth research on urban heat islands.

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Salt Lake City a model for S.F. on homeless solutions

Kevin Fagan

June 28, 2014 |

San Francisco Chronicle |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Salt Lake City, Utah

San Francisco’s chronically homeless population remains staggeringly high. Salt Lake City has managed to eradicate much of their chronically homeless by geographically placing supportive housing distant from the city’s center and receiving financial assistance from the Mormon Church. The housing is attractive, modern, and offers a good ratio between counselors and homeless clients—all of which helps make the homeless want to stay off the streets.

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How to Build a Better Neighborhood

Tina Rosenberg

June 18, 2014 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Dallas, Texas

The Oak Cliff neighborhood in Dallas suffered from recession-closed businesses and crime. Then community members used placemaking, in which people shaped their own environment to improve the quality of life, and the concept of Build a Better Block, which was a pop-up event showcasing art, food, music, and local faire. The idea gives citizens a fresh look at the possibilities through which to transform the space in which they live, and it has attracted attention across the country and around the world.

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