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Change on tap: Brewery reshapes the face of a Birmingham neighborhood

Brad Harper

May 11, 2018 |

The Montgomery Advertiser |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Birmingham, Alabama

A surprising anchor business in Birmingham helped bring growth to the city: Avondale Brewing Co. Since the brewery opened seven years ago, restaurants and bands have flocked to the city, and the population as well as home prices have increased. Montgomery just attracted its first brewery, and the city is looking to Birmingham as a model for the type of growth it hopes to see.

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These Citywide Behavioral Science Experiments Are Paying Off

Ben Paynter

May 08, 2018 |

FastCompany |

Multi-Media |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Ideas42, a nonprofit behavioral design firm, has advised cities such as New York and Chicago on creative ways to use behavioral design to improve the quality of city life. From helping students sign up for financial aid to decreasing traffic after a sporting event, these creative design tweaks are inexpensive and have clear benefits. If the cities can continue to improve their design successes, other cities will soon follow their lead.

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How Detroiters Are Shaping a Post-Industrial Riverfront Park

Serena Maria Daniels

May 02, 2018 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

In an effort to brainstorm ideas to revitalize Detroit's West Riverfront Park, the city sent community members around the country to see what's working in other cities. After coming back with ideas, the community members worked with world-class architects to draw up plans for community improvement in the riverfront development.

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Copenhagen Mastermind Jan Gehl Isn't Sold on 'Smart' Cities

Annette Becker Lessano Negussie

April 30, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Denmark, Copenhagen

Copenhagen is a highly livable city, thanks to policies that focus on making streets safe and convenient to walk. The bigger the city, the worse it is to design urban spaces only with cars in mind, says planner and architect Jan Gehl. His top advice is to gather data about people and their movements, making pedestrians as visible in city planning as automobile traffic.

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Stuck in traffic? These folks found a solution by joining a vanpool

David Gutman Michelle Baruchman

April 28, 2018 |

The Seattle Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

When public transportation is not an option and commuting alone is undesirable, vanpools are a great option for shared commuting. Seattle’s vanpool program is the largest in the country, with 1,469 vanpools, followed by Los Angeles and San Diego. Company buy-in helps, such as when Boeing and Microsoft offered subsidies to those using vanpools. The goal is to decrease costs and drive-alone rates in major cities.

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Is this the future of Seattle transit? A look at Vancouver, B.C. — a city that figured it out years ago

David Gutman

April 19, 2018 |

The Seattle Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia

The mantra of public transit officials in Vancouver is: “The best transportation plan is a good land-use plan.” Their ideology, clearly manifested in public transit development over the last several decades, has led to construction that is intentionally centered around transit stops. By making public transit stops convenient along with providing a world-class transit system, it is easy for residents to use it. Seattle, with similar demographics and severe traffic challenges, can learn from this model.

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Real-world Minecraft mod: How the popular video game is transforming parks and other public spaces

Gregory Scruggs

April 19, 2018 |

GeekWire |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Serbia, Pristina

Popular video game Minecraft, an easy-to-use game where users construct the world around them, has been used by UN-Habitat in 40 projects across 35 cities in 25 countries to design public spaces. The accessible platform allows laypeople to quickly mockup what they would want in a public park or space, which is valuable community input for architects and urban designers.

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Capitalism for Good: Kensington Avenue Storefront Challenge

Roxanne Patel Shepelavy

April 10, 2018 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Shift Capital, a mission-driven real estate group in Philadelphia, tried a new tactic to bring business back to an old neighborhood. The Kensington Avenue Storefront Challenge asked businesses to apply for open storefront space as well as funding, and nine winners were selected based on financial viability and ability to impact the community. This form of development aims to fight gentrification in an inclusive way.

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Apple Now Runs On 100% Green Energy, And Here's How It Got There

Mark Sullivan

April 09, 2018 |

FastCompany |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Reno, Nevada

In 2014, Apple reached a milestone by turning their Nevada data center into a 100 percent renewable energy-powered structure thanks to the implementation of solar farms. Just four years later, the company has just reached another milestone - all of its facilities are powered by renewable energy. This step is all part of their efforts to spearhead a focus on environmental initiatives in the tech industry.

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How to bring a high street back from the dead

Kevin Rushby

March 29, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, York

Revive local high streets by creating informal spaces for people to linger. That’s the lesson from Bishopthorpe Road in York. Once barely hanging on, Bishy Road’s fortunes changed when shopkeepers decided to band together, close off the road, and host a street party. Thousands of people showed up. The shops have continued to build spaces for people to relax and hang out, and the high street is now voted one of Britain’s best.

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