Advanced filters

Search Results

You searched for:  -

There are 946 results  for your search.  View and Refine Your Search Terms

  • 311: From a Hotline to a Platform for Citizen Engagement

    June 01, 2017 |

    Government Technology |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Kansas City, Missouri

    Boston's 311 mobile application, launch in 2009, exemplifies the new customer service-oriented era of the citizen service, which allows users to request services, take photos of potholes, and offer data to city planners. Neighboring Somerville, Massachusetts has a successful 311 app of its own, where an analytics team crunches the wealth of data generated by the app service. But Kansas City, Missouri's 311 services are even more developed, and citizens can access the city via the app, clal-in, Twitter, and social media.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • How a Small Town Is Standing Up to Fracking

    May 22, 2017 |

    Rolling Stone |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Grant Township, Pennsylvania

    While the US economy gluttonously enjoys the cheap fuel prices afforded by fracking, the consequences of the practice on the environment and communities like Grant Township in Pennsylvania reveal the ugly underbelly of the oil and gas industry and the broken regulatory infrastructure of state and federal government. But Grant wasn't willing to roll over and just let their woodlands and water sources be polluted, so they worked together and took a creative defense against the installation of a toxic injection well in their town: by granting the trees, animals, and streams rights to protection and battling it out in court. Their efforts may provide hope and a model for other communities at risk of being taken advantage of.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Bringing the Dream of an Elite College to Rural Students

    May 21, 2017 |

    The New York Times |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, North Carolina

    Recent college graduates are working as full-time college counselors in low-income, rural communities across the country. The program, College Advising Corps, aims to provide students with ready access to information about deadlines, school options, and financial aid forms. In one North Caroline school equipped with a young advisor, the college enrollment rate has increased by 10 percent over the course of two years and is projected to continue to rise.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • As Palestinian #DignityStrike Passes One-Month Mark, New York Artists Illuminate the Struggle

    May 17, 2017 |

    Hyperallergic |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, New York, New York

    As a hunger strike was taking place among political prisoners in Palestine, the New York City-based project Visibility Sustains the Struggle created art in solidarity with strikers and raised awareness around the issues informing the strike.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Leveling the playing field in rent court

    April 30, 2017 |

    The Baltimore Sun |

    Multi-Media |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

    This is an opinion piece by the paper's staff based on a large series of investigative stories about evictions and substandard housing in Baltimore. It critiques a system that was designed to protect tenants, where they can get a judge to set up an escrow account to collect rent while landlords make repairs, because it usually favors landlords over tenants. The column outlines specific fixes that would address this imbalance, including more code inspections, a more transparent process and laws that hold landlords accountable for substandard properties.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • A private sector 'productivity tool' to eliminate poverty is catching on around the world

    April 27, 2017 |

    Devex |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Paraguay, Asunción

    Fundación Paraguaya is helping drastically redefine the way that poverty is identified, defined, and addressed. Through a simple, interactive, mobile-based survey called "Poverty Spotlight", workers can self-assess their level of poverty. They are then paired with microfinance agents to develop a plan to tackle their own unique challenges, with assistance in the form of training, technology, or small loans.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Making Primary Care Trans-Friendly

    April 21, 2017 |

    The Atlantic |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Atlanta, Georgia

    Oftentimes, transgender health care is treated differently from standard health care because many primary care physicians believe it requires additional medical knowledge, but a clinic in Atlanta is fighting against this perception. Built on the premise that any doctor should be able to offer trans-competent care, the clinic has not only filled a void in the area but has also helped other doctors in the area realize their potential to treat this population.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • As the U.S. Wrests Greater Control Over HIV, What's the Key to Success?

    April 05, 2017 |

    POZ Magazine |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    As HIV rates rise, various states within the United States are working to address underlying issues that contribute to this increase by improving surveillance methods. Based on the premise that better record-keeping will lead to better solutions, some cities are already seeing success in reducing rates because they’re better able to target specific populations and communities.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • A How-to Book for Wielding Civic Power

    April 05, 2017 |

    The New York Times |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    Recognizing a pervasive sense of powerlessness in the US, Eric Liu authored "You’re More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen’s Guide to Making Change Happen.” By connecting stories of various groups across the political spectrum exercising their civic muscles, he lays out concrete ways that power can be reclaimed by the seemingly powerless citizen.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • The High Price of Leaving Ultra-Orthodox Life

    March 30, 2017 |

    The New York Times Magazine |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, New York, New York

    Young adults who decide to abandon their cloistered Jewish communities have only one another to help them navigate the alternate reality of modern-day New York. 'Footsteps', is a nonprofit organization that brings formerly ultra-orthodox people together to talk and learn to navigate their new worlds, while also bringing in social workers and providing GED classes. For individuals leaving their families, life can be extremely difficult, but this group seeks to create a more positive transition to the secular world.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

Solutions In Focus

Discover curated content about themes that matter to you, exclusively from the Solutions Story Tracker. Explore collections, resources and more.


Go to All Solutions in Focus