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

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  • From Rustbelt to Brainbelt

    July 23, 2020 |

    The Economist |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States

    Universities are a source of innovative economic activity for neighboring towns and cities. The entrepreneurial activity spurred by academic programs and the effect a large student body has on a college town's main street is significant. Cities become incubators for high-tech ideas that turn into money-making and employee-hiring companies and cities that retain college graduates can even refocus a city's failing economy like in the case of Pittsburg. Universities successfully make the case for investing in high-tech and innovative research centers to "jumpstart America."

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  • This tech is bringing water to Navajo Nation by pulling it out of the air Audio icon

    July 22, 2020 |

    FastCompany |

    Text |

    Under 800 Words

    Response Location: United States, Navajo Nation, Arizona

    Zero Mass Water partnered with the Navajo Nation to bring water into the homes of rural residents who may not have easy access to a water source. Hydropanels that connect to a tap inside the home use sunlight to absorb enough water vapor to make at least 10 liters of water per day. While people at first were skeptical about the idea during a pilot test, the company and Navajo officials are hoping to scale the solution.

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  • Waiting for water: On the Navajo Nation, long lines, scarce resources, a cry for solutions

    July 22, 2020 |

    AZ Central (The Arizona Republic) |

    Multi-Media |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Monument Valley, Utah

    As the coronavirus spreads throughout the Navajo Nation, many people don’t have access to water to even wash their hands. For generations, the Navajo people have suffered with this lack of water infrastructure, but some solutions have been implemented. For example, the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health has built about 100 hand-washing stations and delivered them to homes in need. Many people are hopeful they will receive more funding to build a more robust water system, but the scale of the problem and the cost of building it are big challenges to overcome.

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  • How Lightfoot and housing activists reached an uneasy détente in the battle for Woodlawn's future

    July 22, 2020 |

    The TRiiBE |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

    After tense negotiations and protests, the Coalition for a CBA (Community Benefits Agreement) and the mayor of Chicago agreed to an ordinance guaranteeing a percentage of affordable housing for tenants making below 50% of median income. The coalition expects gentrification to accelerate due to the nearby $500 million Obama Presidential Center, making housing unaffordable for current residents. In addition to negotiations, the coalition organized a blockade of the mayor’s office and set up a “tent city” to emphasize their message. Not all residents want the ordinance and neither side got everything they want.

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  • The hidden hand that uses money to reform troubled police departments

    July 19, 2020 |

    NBC News |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    Smaller cities that cannot afford costly payouts for civil settlements in police misconduct cases rely on liability insurance, which can act as a regulator when insurers demand reforms up to and including disbanding troubled departments. While police killings have decreased in large cities over the past six years, they have increased in the suburban and rural areas served by the vast majority of police departments. “Loss prevention” measures that require policy and personnel changes have been proven to work, but insurance that fails to police the police can also shield cities from accountability.

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  • Tackling a notorious waste problem in Africa's largest informal community

    July 16, 2020 |

    Ensia |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Kenya, Nairobi

    Kibra Green, a grassroots organization in Kenya, mobilizes the young people in the community to clean up their neighborhood. At times, the group has as many as 500 participants for a community-wide clean up. Yet, a lack of steady funding and socioeconomic barriers for volunteers to regularly contribute to the group has made it difficult to scale the organization.

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  • The Promising Results of a Citywide Basic-Income Experiment

    July 15, 2020 |

    The New Yorker |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Stockton, California

    Universal basic income, or UBI, was implemented in Stockton, California through a pilot program known as SEED. Each participant was given $500 with no conditions on how to spend it. The data shows that the largest expense was food, especially as the pandemic began. Participants report being able to quit second jobs and third jobs, pay off debts, and cover medical bills. A key feature of the UBI was the absence of the requirement to be employed in order to receive the money. The basic-income pilot has caught the attention of programs across the country who reached out for advice.

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  • Blockchain technology to boost power access in rural areas

    July 14, 2020 |

    Nation Africa |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Kenya

    A micro-grid system has been paired with blockchain technology to easily sell and buy affordable and clean energy in rural Kenya. Residents living in the countryside don't generally have access to reliable and affordable electricity but this new technology allows rural Kenyans to install solar panels on their homes and easily sell surplus electricity to neighbors. The pilot program is a result of a collaboration between an NGO and a local tech company.

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  • Democracy Reform: Voters Not Politicians

    July 10, 2020 |

    How Do We Fix It? |

    Podcast |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, Michigan

    Voters Not Politicians is a grassroots initiative that, with the help of hundreds of volunteers, ran a successful campaign to defeat gerrymandering in Michigan. The state has a citizen-led ballot initiative option, so the group held townhall meetings and gathered over 410,000 voter signatures to get the initiative on the statewide ballot. The measure was challenged in courts, but the group raised funds for legal help and the initiative passed by a margin of 61-39 percent. The new law requires that an independent group of average citizens will decide district boundaries with full transparency.

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  • The Pandemic Proved That Cash Payments Work

    July 10, 2020 |

    The Atlantic |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    American households were able to avoid income loss when the federal government implemented an extra $600 a week for anyone facing unemployment in addition to $1200 for those who qualified, regardless of their employment status. Despite an almost total economic shutdown, the universal payments have kept poverty rates from increasing. The money has provided a security net for households while also preventing a collapse by generating economic activity.

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