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Kendall businesses to try a different kind of experiment — fixing traffic

Jon Chesto

October 09, 2019 |

The Boston Globe |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Cambridge, Massachusetts

In 2016, MIT’s Transit Lab made huge changes in the transportation benefits it provided, including subsidizing public transportation for close to 11,000 employees and increasing the costs of employee parking. As smaller business in Cambridge’s Kendall Square come together to address the city’s transportation issues, it looks to MIT as a source of inspiration and hopes its collective approach can be used across the country.

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Fill, Build and Flood: Dangerous Development in Flood-Prone Areas

Laurie Mazur

October 08, 2019 |

U.S. News & World Report |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Charlotte, North Carolina

To combat excessive flooding in low-plain areas, cities like Charlotte are passing critical legislation that regulates fill-and-build development, a type of construction that leads to more intense flooding in vulnerable neighborhoods. Charlotte bases flood control plans off future conditions rather than current or past flooding areas, and the city charges a fee for homeowners that, in turn, provides dedicated funding for stormwater management

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Street by Street, Amsterdam Is Cutting Cars Out of the Picture

Feargus O'Sullivan

October 07, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Netherlands, Amsterdam

In order to cut back on automotive emissions and traffic within the city center, Amsterdam has introduced road-dividing "cuts" - called "knips" in Dutch - along major roadways to make travel in the city center easier for pedestrians and public transportation users. These cuts consist of barriers set to close off short sections of a street, therefore disabling through-travel to cars. The city notes that a "knip" effectively cuts automotive traffic on a blocked-off road by 70 percent.

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Erie Hit ‘Rock Bottom.' The Former Factory Hub Thinks It Has a Way Out.

Ruth Simon Kris Maher

October 07, 2019 |

Wall Street Journal |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie, Pennsylvania, uses creative financial incentives for companies and businesses that invest capital gains in low-income areas of the city in order to pull itself out of economic hardship caused by the decrease in industrial jobs. The city looked to Cincinnati as an example of a city that turned around a failing neighborhood through collective action, sustainable funding practices and investment in nonprofit organizations that support development efforts.

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What Does This Street In Zürich Mean?

Norman Garrick

September 30, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Switzerland, Zurich

In Zurich, Switzerland, urban planners designed streets that put pedestrians and streetcar riders first as an effort to cut back on car usage and promote sustainable transportation. While cars are limited to one lane and often wait in lines to get through the city, the tram carries nearly seven as many passengers as cars in a given hour, making the layout sustainable and efficient for urban travel.

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Lessons From a Car-Free Street Fight in London

Laura Laker

September 27, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: England, London

In an effort to promote safe streets and bicycle and pedestrian safety, Officials in Tower Hamlets, an East London neighborhood, closed down a main community road to car traffic - and it didn't go well. But local officials learned from the pilot, recognizing a need to better prepare the community for any road closures as well as plan for alternative routes for car traffic.

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Should Calgary have free-fare transit?

Hadeel Abdel-Nabi

September 24, 2019 |

The Sprawl |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Calgary, Alberta

Though Calgary already goes further than some cities in the public transportation sphere by offering a free-fare downtown zone, other cities that offer free transportation -- often through added taxes -- have seen drastic decreases in carbon emissions and cars on the city streets. One of these cities, Tallinn, Estonia, saw a 10% reduction in cars in the city center after introducing a free public transit system.

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Community hopes 'Purpose Built' revitalization model enlivens into Ridgecrest neighborhood

Krista Johnson

September 20, 2019 |

The Montgomery Advertiser |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Woodlawn, Alabama

Eighteen "purpose built communities" across America have revitalized neighborhoods through a comprehensive approach that includes building mixed-income housing, providing better educational opportunities and offering health and wellness services. The model focuses on establishing a strong "cradle-to-college education pipeline" which attracts upper-income families and creates socio-economic diversity. Community centers, green spaces, and grocery stores all revitalize and bring new development to these neighborhoods. Rivercrest, a neighborhood in Montgomery, Alabama is seeking to replicate the model.

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CT's small solutions to climate change: when flood control spurs economic development

Jan Ellen Spiegel

September 18, 2019 |

The Connecticut Mirror |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Meriden, Connecticut

Climate change adaptation efforts and economic development can go hand in hand, according to one Connecticut town. Meriden transformed a former mall into a large park, a natural solution that helps mitigate the town's routine flooding and has encouraged housing and retail development in the surrounding area.

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Fighting Gun Violence in Chicago, With Trees, Rakes, and Cleanup Crews

Brian Freskos

September 18, 2019 |

The Trace |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Chicago is trying something new when it comes to violence prevention: beautifying public spaces that have been known to be places of violence. The city has launched an official pilot program called Grounds for Peace, which partners with READI Chicago to provide jobs within the initiative to at-risk men. While the effort to beautify has shown a decrease in gun violence in other cities, Chicago residents approach this with caution, as the neighborhoods its working within are often neglected.

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