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San Francisco shares its schoolyards, opening communities to green spaces and one another's lives

Nina Feldman

February 06, 2019 |

WHYY |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

Access to green spaces improves the well being of individuals and neighborhoods alike. By turning schoolyards into publicly accessible green spaces, the city of San Francisco’s Shared Schoolyard Program created spaces where not only children, but also urban communities, can interact with and experience nature. The schoolyards provide a vital recreational resource and meeting space for entire neighborhoods and communities.

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Why your neighborhood school probably doesn't have a playground

Nina Feldman

February 06, 2019 |

WHYY |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Making schoolyards and public spaces green improves the health and wellbeing of communities. But without a way for schools in Philadelphia to allocate more funding toward schoolyard construction, the city’s school district relies largely on philanthropy. In public-private partnerships, the school district contributes a portion of funding to projects lead by nonprofit organizations. Creating greener spaces has many positive second-order effects, acting as an investment the in community.

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Turning Blight into Play Spaces

Jessica Press

February 05, 2019 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

A nonprofit in New Orleans transforms cheap vacant and underutilized lots into playgrounds and spaces for community events that teach children "design thinking" in the process.

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One Black Woman's Vision to Save Her Struggling Atlanta Neighborhood Through Greenspace

Brentin Mock

February 01, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Atlanta, Georgia

A new community center and greenspace are reviving a West Atlanta neighborhood by providing a safe space for children to play. Developers have also received suggestions from community members to expand the greenspace with new additions such as bird habitats, basketball courts, soccer fields, park lights, fountains, and a fully equipped playground.

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Rebuilding a City from the Eyes of a Child

Feargus O'Sullivan

December 17, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Albania, Tirana

Making adults change their habits and viewpoints is hard. Helping children change is easier. That’s the basic principle around which the recent recreational development of Tirana, Albania is based. By making green spaces more pedestrian and kid-friendly, government leaders and urban planners are starting to see benefits, starting with the youth. In turn, they hope children will be able to positively help their parents change, seeing the value of green and car-free development.

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What Happened When This Spanish City Went Car-Free

Jaime Velazquez

November 26, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Spain, Pontevedra

Nearly two decades ago, Pontevedra, Spain, made a radical shift away from cars and focused on redesigning the center from the sight line of a child walking on the street. Combined with affordable residences in the urban area, the strategy has revitalized the center, luring young families and creating an atmosphere where parents feel supported and children flourish. CO2 emissions have also dropped as fewer people drive cars and the town has experienced more growth than others in the region.

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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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A New York City Park Built to Weather a Storm

Karim Doumar

November 01, 2018 |

Pacific Standard |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Hunters Point South Park, a newly built park in Queens, NY, is functioning as a community space even before the addition of low- and middle- income housing slated for the area. But even more than that, the park has already proven that its storm resilient design is efficient and necessary.

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Fixing Montreal's Raccoon Problem

Emma Jacobs

October 26, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Canada, Montreal, Quebec

Feeding the raccoons in Montreal’s Mount Royal Park was a tourist activity promoted by websites and supported by park vendors selling cat food. When the result was overpopulation of raccoons unafraid of people, steps were taken to protect the raccoons including banning vendors and educating tourists about their impact.

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What Democratic Design Looks Like

Barbara Brown Wilson

October 12, 2018 |

CoLab Radio |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

In the Denby neighborhood of Detroit, the “Detroit Future City” framework led to a community-driven project to improve safety and schools. First, community organizers created the Denby Neighborhood Alliance. They next improved the high school curriculum, transformed a playground, and highlighted safer walking routes for children. “The power of the Denby project lies in the fact that it was rooted in, and driven by, neighborhood residents—not outside ‘saviors.’”

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