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

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  • Los Angeles voters just delivered a huge win for the defund the police movement

    By framing their police-reform proposal as an investment in community services rather than a bid to take money away from policing, the Re-Imagine L.A. County coalition of racial and criminal justice advocacy groups won voter approval for what could be the most significant realignment of public safety spending since the 2020 policing protests began. Los Angeles County voters approved Measure J, which mandates that the county allocate 10% of its $8.8 billion discretionary local budget to "direct community investment," and not to law enforcement. The Sheriff's Department accounts for $2 billion of that budget.

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  • Electronic ballots are effective, fast and used all over the world — so why aren't used in the U.S.?

    Electronic voting, used in 25 countries, has proven safe and efficient. In Brazil, with about 150 million voters, the 2018 presidential results were announced just over two hours after polls closed. Election officials test the system regularly, which even the machine manufacturers are not allowed to do, and hacking the machines is almost impossible because of at least 30 digital barriers to overcome. The machines are not connected to the internet, which means a hacker would have to physically possess the machine to breach it. Electronic receipts for each ballot also allow for an easy recount if needed.

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  • Gamification in Urban Planning: Participation Through Minecraft

    Urban planning using gamification is a viable way of engaging diverse parts of the population and placing people and communities at the center of the process. “Block by Block” is a collaboration between UN Habitat and the game company Mojang that holds participatory workshops, where people design public spaces using the game Minecraft. Over 25,000 people from diverse backgrounds and age groups have participated. Professional advisers are present and they adjust the designs for implementation. The method has been used by the City of Stockholm and to create the first skatepark in Kosovo.

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  • How to Combat Disinformation Targeting Black Communities

    Several groups are working to counter disinformation aimed at the Black community by spreading accurate information and elevating local voices as trusted messengers. Organizations have disseminated accurate information via social media, used hackathons and video game launches to get Black and other youth of color interested in voting, provided shareable content to progressive organizations, and created a guide to help people identify fake accounts and bots. Nonprofit First Draft also provides a two-week disinformation training course in English and Spanish with daily lessons sent by text.

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  • An Ohio Mill Town Lost Its Identity. Can Youth Sports Restore It?

    The promise of a youth sports facility in Hamilton, Ohio, is already prompting financial development in the once-bustling city. The indoor sports complex, Spooky Nook, will be the biggest of its kind in North America. Currently, a complex by the same company has provided a significant boost to the economy in Mannheim, Pennsylvania. In Hamilton, vendors who had once given up on the economic revival of the Rust Belt town are now returning with high hopes for the local economy, especially now that 35 weekends in 2022 are already booked for events at the stadium.

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  • What the US can learn from how African countries handled Covid

    The death toll and infection rate from the coronavirus pandemic have been extravagant in the U.S., especially compared to that of other countries. The difference is largely explained in how different governments handled the early days of the pandemic. In many African nations – such as Senegal, which has been touted as having one of the best COVID-19 responses – "leadership, disaster preparedness, conformity to scientific advice, and coherence in pandemic response strategies" have played a significant role in the outcomes.

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  • How AI Can Help Save Forests

    Satellite-based forest monitoring, paired with other sophisticated measures of a forest's health, is transforming the speed, precision, and economics of finding and eradicating infestations and pinpointing acreage where preventing wildfires and deforestation will prove most effective. Rather than rely on ground-based, manual surveys of vast tracts, forest managers are refining their ability to observe more useful data from space. As success stories pile up, however, the science still must rely on the political will to enact needed policies for a healthier climate and forests.

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  • HIV/AIDS Network Helps Build Black Clevelanders' Trust In COVID-19 Studies

    Black and Latinx enrollment in clinical studies has nearly doubled in HIV vaccine clinical trials due to the HIV Vaccine Trials Network in Cleveland implementing an engagement model that addresses community distrust through education and community participation. Now, as clinical studies are launched for a COVID-19 vaccine, the organization has pivoted to ensuring that institutions don't engage in "helicopter research," but instead involve the communities in the research efforts.

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  • Take Me Out To The Ballot Box

    The coronavirus made cramped or high-risk polling locations untenable so at least 39 sports arenas have opened up their facilities for voting. Their expansive size allows them to welcome large numbers of voters while maintaining social distancing protocols. Many are outdoors, which lowers the risk of transmitting the virus even further. Prompted by calls from athletes, arena owners’ site the summer’s racial-justice demonstrations as inspiration for supplying the spaces since voting is a key way to create definitive changes. Voters were thrilled to cast their ballots in a sports arena.

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  • How Norway Built an Economy That Puts People First

    Despite a nationwide months-long coronavirus lockdown in Norway, the economy was able to remain stable due to a "decades-long effort to create an equitable economy" that helped the government to enact a package that provided businesses and self-employed individuals' tax relief and deferrals. Although Norwegians pay roughly the same amount of taxes that Americans do, their taxes largely pay for social welfare programs which include unemployment benefits, retirement pay, and health care coverage. This "national ethos of economic equity" is what helped the country to navigate the pandemic.

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