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

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  • A sustainable refocus helps a historic Chicago community rebuild

    Green developement has breathed new life into a once-declining town that suffered from the exodus of manufacturers. A comprehensive 10-year plan revitalized the local economy of Pullman, creating jobs and bringing new manufacturers into its abandoned buildings. Housing, transportation, public safety, and recreation were also part of the plan which was funded by tax increment financing in addition to federal funding and investments from companies located there.

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  • How College Students Are Helping Each Other Survive

    Students across the country are dealing with food and housing insecurity, and financial loss, conditions that have been exacerbated because since the pandemic. In response, students in some colleges and universities created mutual-aid networks, raising and distribution thousands of dollars to their peers. “Students continue to lead the fight to address their basic needs.”

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  • Akron wants to help small business owners grow, but officials say they need more help from banks

    Motor City Match is an entrepreneurial development initiative that provides grants for historically marginalized business owners in Detroit. It also matches minority entrepreneurs with empty retail space in addition to providing business coaching and planning services. The program depends on nontraditional lenders to provide the funding. Motor City Match inspired the formation of Rubber City Match in Akron but that program has faced financing hurdles due to a lack of nontraditional lenders in the city.

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  • Meet the Bristol collective putting surplus wealth in the hands of people tackling injustice

    Bristol Redistro is an experiment in wealth redistribution that taps the social-justice consciences of people who pool what they see as their excess money to make grants to small community groups that are "challenging unfair power structures." An initial round made £1,000 grants to such groups as Mandem, an online artistic platform for young men of color, and No More Exclusions, which seeks to reform school discipline. Funding decisions get made by a collective, not Redistro's leaders, with the aim of driving social change and challenging inequality by sharing the wealth with grassroots community groups.

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  • Jumpstart trains developers to fight gentrification in Philly neighborhoods Audio icon

    Jumpstart Germantown and five spinoff programs trained about 1,000 people in the art of locally controlled neighborhood rehabilitation. The Jumpstart programs target particular neighborhoods, mainly mid-range housing stock with vacant and deteriorating conditions, and lend money to newly minted developers to fix and resell the properties. Housing rehabs maintain the character of neighborhoods, rather than gentrifying them or making wholesale redevelopment changes. Beyond the community improvement benefits, the program helps diversify the real estate business and provides employment opportunities.

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  • Three Approaches to Rural Rejuvenation

    Despite the pandemic-induced economic slowdown, three small cities have managed to thrive due to successful economic development plans that have led to “rural rejuvenation” in an effort to attract young families to live there. The city of Taos, New Mexico has used a regional strategy to increase tourism while Durango, Colorado, chose to diversify the economy by focusing on its other resources such as high education, natural gas, and healthcare. Bozeman, Montana focused on nurturing local business instead of enticing outside businesses.

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  • How a Charlotte Nonprofit Links Landlords With People Experiencing Homelessness

    A real estate developer has teamed up with homelessness service organizations to house working families. The Lotus Campaign gives landlords $1,000 a year to rent a unit to a family that is at risk of homelessness or is already experiencing it. Rent is paid by the organization and any damages to the unit are covered. Landlords taking part in the program waive security deposits, credit checks, records of employment, and provide a 30-day window before seeking evictions. The pilot program intends to demonstrate that the private housing sector can alleviate homelessness if given the chance and the incentive.

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  • Short on Money, Cities Around the World Try Making Their Own

    Complementary currencies are local alternatives to national currencies that help local economies when budgets are tight. Tenino prints “wooden dollars” and residents in need get up to $300/month to spend at local businesses from grocery stores to day cares. Cities across the US have reached out for advice on starting their own local currencies, which can take many forms including digital-only. There are 3,500-4,500 local currencies in 50 countries, including Brazil’s Maricá where it helped the under-resourced city build schools and hospitals. These currencies have no value outside of the local economy.

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  • 0%-interest loan program puts economic power in hands of Detroit homeowners

    Homeowners in Detroit can now access home improvement capital to fix up their historic homes, many of which date back to the early 1900s. The aid is in the form of a zero-interest loan which is paid back over 10 years. The program helps homeowners fix their homes, making them safer while removing blight from the community.

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  • It Takes a Village: How Coalition Work is Transforming Lives in Detroit - NationSwell

    A coalition of organizations in the Detroit region had “a goal of re-engaging the region’s 690,000 adults who had completed some college but hadn’t gotten a degree.” One of the programs they created was the Wayne State Warrior Way Back program, which allows students with school debt to re-enroll and “learn” off their debt at a rate of $500 for each semester completed.”

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