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'Visible women': Feminist mappers bridge data gap in urban design

Anastasia Moloney

March 07, 2020 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Mexico, Mexico City

The underrepresentation of women in technology and computer science has led to the creation of Geochicas, a group of women who recruit and train female, open source mappers across the world. Open source mapping is a male-dominated pursuit but one that informs urban design and public policy. When mapping a city, women tend to add services that are overlooked by men, such as childcare services, hospitals, and women's health clinics. Diversifying the volunteers who do this work to include more women leads to mapping that is more inclusive and minimizes crowdsourced-data bias against women.

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What Would a World Without Prisons Look Like?

Patricia Leigh Brown

March 06, 2020 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

Deanna Van Buren and her nonprofit firm Designing Justice/Designing Spaces use architecture to advance social justice and criminal-justice-reform ideas, designing workplaces, meeting places, and homes nationwide founded on the notion of "what a world without prisons could look like." The firm's projects, often planned with input from the people directly affected, have included privacy-enhancing temporary living units for people recently released from prison, a "peacemaking" space in Syracuse, N.Y., and two of the first restorative-justice meeting places for crime victims and those who harmed them.

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How the Knox County Land Bank is affecting local communities

Cheryl Splain

March 02, 2020 |

Knox Pages |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Mount Vernon, Ohio

The Knox County Land Reutilization Corporation, also known as the Knox County land bank, takes abandoned properties that are vacant and tax delinquent, revitalizes them, and then sells them to new owners. This eliminates blight around the county and encourages economic development. The Land Bank President estimates that for every $1 the land bank spends, they generate $33.82 in redevelopment. Operating in earnest since the fall of 2018, the land bank has brought $3.5 million in reinvestment into the county. They are now looking to acquire even more buildings and financially support individual homeowners.

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The Great Tulsa Remote Worker Experiment

Sarah Holder

February 28, 2020 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tulsa, Oklahoma

In an attempt to spur the economy and reverse years of a declining population, Tulsa, Oklahoma is paying remote workers $10,000 to live in the city for a year. The carefully-selected 100 members of this project, known as Tulsa Remote, are treated to subsidized housing, several perks, and a curated experience designed to create a sense of community and belonging in hopes that they choose to remain in Tulsa. The first phase resulted in 25 percent of participants purchasing homes, a step toward the long-term economic and social boost the experiment was designed for.

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Jacksonville Organization Attacks Violence, Blight With Holistic Approach

Claire Goforth

February 27, 2020 |

Juvenile Justice Information Exchange |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Jacksonville, Florida

After the residential real estate market collapsed a decade ago, a developer that had been revitalizing an impoverished Jacksonville neighborhood with single-family homes pivoted to a broader approach to reducing crime and blight. Progress has been difficult, and violence in the neighborhood remains high. But, by building larger complexes and offering an array of services and interventions, Northwest Jacksonville Community Development Corporation is achieving slow but steady social change.

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Growing together: Mansfield microfarm cooperative heads into second year

Sarah Donaldson

February 20, 2020 |

Farm and Dairy |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Ohio

An urban sustainable food system project at the Ohio State University enabled 10 newly established farmers to start microfarms, which produce crops year-round, at only the cost of their time and labor. The individuals formed a cooperative so they can sell to larger institutional buyers together, while the cooperative handles marketing and finding buyers. With the potential to make up to $30,000 a year, the program aims to provide economic options to city residents, including formerly incarcerated individuals. The coop needs to find extended funding, but 6 microfarms were already built with 4 more planned.

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How America's shrinking cities can 'rightsize'

Matt Krupnick

February 13, 2020 |

The Guardian |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Once-bustling cities contend with population decline by rethinking their use of space for those who remain. Baltimore, New Bedford, and Youngstown have implemented strategies that range from knocking down abandoned houses and factories to developing community gardens and creating public waterfront spaces. Racial and class tensions have arisen when choosing where to spend limited government funding.

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Graffiti-removal company hires only homeless or formerly incarcerated workers

Terri Akman

February 11, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Network) |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Powered by a workforce made up exclusively of the formerly incarcerated and people experiencing homelessness, Philadelphia start-up company Graffiti Removal Experts gets paid to clean up signs of blight while giving people an employment opportunity they otherwise might lack. Besides cleaning up graffiti, the team removes stickers and fixes broken glass throughout Center City and surrounding neighborhoods. The company’s clients include neighborhood associations, property managers, and individual businesses who pay monthly or one-time fees that turn into $20-per-hour wages for the company’s employees.

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How The Carbon Disclosure Project Is Fostering Transparency For City-Level Environmental Policy Design

Chad Small

February 03, 2020 |

Blavity |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

Collecting data about environmental risks and resiliency projects facilitates investment and funding. The Carbon Disclosure Project’s (CDP) Cities Program and Cities Vulnerability Assessment encourage participating cities to report actions they are taking to address climate risks. CDP then uses the data to help cities invest in socially equitable solutions, advising community level projects through its Matchmaker project. The project has led to results in cities such as Baltimore and Cleveland.

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Mountain Towns Face Big-City Traffic. Maybe It's Time for Big-City Transit.

Jake Bullinger

January 31, 2020 |

Bitterroot |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Park City, Utah

With rural areas and mountain towns increasingly facing traffic issues during peak outdoor season or other temporary population growth periods, some have modeled responses after urban transit plans. Park City, the host of the Sundance Film Festival offers free buses throughout the weekend to cut back on commuter traffic; other towns have planned shuttle services between towns and dedicated e-bike routes to reduce car usage in their communities.

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