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How the Ghana ThinkTank Challenges the White Savior Complex

Sara Rose Sharp

November 27, 2018 |

Hyperallergic |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

The Ghana ThinkTank connects planners in the so-called “first world” to planners in the so-called “third world” to challenge notions of development and spread ideas from overlooked sources. For a recent project, planners in Detroit worked with a think tank in Morocco to adapt a staple of Moroccan architecture to promote the use of public space.

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Triumph of the commons: how public spaces can help fight loneliness

Julia Hotz

November 19, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Cambridgeshire

Loneliness has become a valid public health problem. Too often, a lack of public spaces means people seeking connection have no place to gather. Luckily, a trend of creating public spaces has been able to prevent loneliness in the first place. From People’s Kitchen in the UK to hundreds of government-sponsored shared spaces in Australia, this preventative measure just might work.

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How Communities of Practice Make a Difference in Middle Neighborhoods

Oscar Perry Abello

October 22, 2018 |

Next City |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Community development groups are working closely with "middle neighborhoods" - areas "that aren't distressed today, but they may become so sooner than anyone expects." From Cleveland to Milwaukee to Chicago, CDCs are improving the lives of long term homeowners and helping interested parties generate the capital to move into these neighborhoods: “You're investing to a place that is on the edge, still has assets, still has people who want to be there, but need a nudge to get over the top, versus investing 60 homes in a non-functioning market."

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Tamarindo Revives and Transforms Abandoned Lots With Projects for the Community

Noelia Esquivel

September 25, 2018 |

La Voz de Guanacaste |

Text |

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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Switching to LPG for habitat recovery and wildlife conservation

Rishika Pardikar

September 25, 2018 |

Mongabay |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Karnataka

In rural communities, firewood extraction hurts both human health and wildlife habitat. In India, a group of conservationists are helping villages switch from wood-burning to liquified petroleum gas. While logistics around refills are still being ironed out, the program has already produced noticeable results.

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Homeless, But Part of Civic and Social Life in Montreal

Sophia Chang

September 11, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Canada, Montreal, Quebec

In Montreal, the city's multi-million dollar plan to combat homelessness includes a concerted effort to center homeless people as citizens first and foremost, deserving of social inclusion and community. To do this, Montreal has offered programs and workshops connecting the homeless to art, parks, and civic events -- but concerns about discrimination and criminalization remain.

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

Jared Brey

August 30, 2018 |

Next City |

Text |

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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New Orleans floods with heavy rainstorms. Magnolias could be part of the solution

Joseph Darius Jaafari

August 17, 2018 |

NationSwell |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana is infamously known as a place of cultural celebration and community, but it's also a city plagued by consistent flooding. To reduce the impacts of heavy rainfall, one city-backed initiative is incentivizing people to replace their anti-absorbent concrete with plants and flowers that are designed to take in large amounts of water.

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Michael Brown's death still galvanizes anti-racism efforts in Ferguson

Dawn Araujo-Hawkins

August 09, 2018 |

Global Sisters Report |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, St. Louis, Missouri

After the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Cathy Doherty, a leader at a local parochial school, became galvanized to do something. She started an after-school program bringing together youth from local schools with the intention to prevent them from developing racist attitudes. This is part of a broader effort in St. Louis by Catholic women to fight racism and work towards meaningful change.

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Despite spike in shootings, a Chicago community gets a handle on violence

Nissa Rhee

August 08, 2018 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Chicago has seen a decline in violence, and one neighborhood in particular has led the way, nearly halving its shootings and homicides. Police in Englewood have changed how they work with the community and where they send officers, focusing on the places and people experiencing the most violence, informed by data and surveillance systems. Community organizations are also providing job training, services and counseling to those most likely to be caught up in the violence.

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