Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • How to turn a struggling small town around

    Boulder, Montana struggled upon learning that a major local employer, the Montana Developmental Center, was going to close. However, the news pushed the town toward a path of redevelopment. The Boulder Transition Advisory Committee stepped up by launching the “Make Boulder’s Future Bright” campaign, which involved citizens in creating goals and strategies to achieve them. Since earning a major grant, the town has been working to revitalize the downtown area. This story is part 1 of a series about housing for rural Montanans.

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  • In Medellin, cable cars transformed slums—in Rio, they made them worse

    In the 20th century, Colombia’s city of Medellin was a center for drugs and violence. Then the city developed a cable car system that enabled cheap transportation for people to find employment. The cable car system revitalized the economy of the city and made it much safer. However, other cities have tried cable cars for revitalization and found less success, even failure.

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  • How Medellín went from murder capital to hipster holiday destination

    Medellín is a hub of growth and innovation, re-born after years of devastating violence. Building a metro system was an early step in the city’s transformation. “It was the first positive thing that had happened in this city for decades,” says Julian, a local guide. “With this metro, we suddenly realized things could be different, that progress and change were possible.”

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  • Murder in America: What Makes Cities Safer

    Certain cities in the United States are facing startlingly high rates of homicide and violence that haven't been seen since the height of gang activity in the 1990s. But certain cities, including Los Angeles, have continued to see declines in or stable crime rates, thanks to a community-based policing approach that uses tactics such as working with former drug dealers, hosting neighborhood events, cleaning litter from the streets, and mediating sit-downs between formal gang rivals.

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  • How the Cuyahoga County Land Bank revitalizes homes

    At the worst point in the 2008 housing crisis, up to 30,000 houses in Cuyahoga County were vacant. The Cuyahoga County Land Bank aims to fix this problem by acquiring houses, eliminating blight, and transforming the houses into more useful spaces. Already, the Land Bank has turned old, empty properties into a Children’s Museum and an Amazon Fulfillment Center, and it has decreased the number of empty homes to about 7,000.

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  • Can putting the least-experienced teachers in the highest-risk schools ever result in success?

    High rates of teacher turnover plaguing McDowell County were the reason behind a new initiative, Reconnecting McDowell, to reverse the trend. The district began creating a number of incentives to attract teachers, such as student loan support, higher salaries, and providing mentors for younger teachers. Two other efforts—to improve roads and build an apartment complex for younger residents—were stalled due to funding cuts. This article was written on the sixth anniversary of Reconnecting McDowell, and while there have been many challenges, change is slowly coming and people are still optimistic.

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  • New, $1 billion program will bring rooftop solar to California renters

    Renewable energy has largely been associate with wealthier consumers, but that is changing with a new initiative that will install solar panels for apartment buildings with low-income residents. The hope is that the money saved from the solar energy panels will benefit the low income residents, while also being beneficial in fighting climate change.

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  • These Planners Stepped Away From the Spreadsheets and Into the Community

    The Regional Plan Association is a research and urban planning organization. They are deeply influential in the urban planning in the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut metropolitan area. The regional planning process has historically represented the needs of mostly white, affluent people, so this time RPA partnered with eight grassroots organizations, and involved immigrants from Long Island to take part in the regional planning process through focus groups, surveys, and discussions. As many as 1,600 people were engaged.

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  • How Effective Is Your School District? A New Measure Shows Where Students Learn the Most

    Too often people use standardized test scores as the only measure of how good a school system is. A new measure looks at the growth and proficiency of the students as a measure of performance and may be more accurate in comparing public schools across the USA.

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  • Art & Gentrification: What is "Artwashing" and What Are Galleries Doing to Resist It?

    In some communities, the founding of art galleries in historically impoverished neighborhoods has led to development, the severing of community ties, and displacement. “Artwashing” signifies how culture can aid in the process of gentrification. Some New York City galleries, including HOUSING, have resisted artwashing by developing relationships with their neighbors and programming exhibitions and events related to gentrification.

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