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In Istanbul, You Can Pay Your Subway Fare with Recyclables

Rachel Kaufman

October 30, 2018 |

Next City |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Turkey, Istanbul

A pilot program in Istanbul, Turkey allows subway commuters to pay for their fares with bottles and cans instead of cash. While a one way fare via the "reverse vending machines" costs about 28 1.5 liter bottles, the government is working to make the recycling system more efficient and easy for travelers.

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Unfinished business? Vancouver mayor departs with 'Greenest City' goal uncertain

Gregory Scruggs

October 19, 2018 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia

In 2008, Vancouver’s mayoral candidate Gregor Robertson said he would transform the city to be the world’s greenest by 2020. One decade later, steps toward decreasing greenhouse gas emissions have been made, but the 2020 prospect seems much farther ahead. While the city has run into obstacles, the Canadian city is moving forward to achieve its next goal: for buildings to produce more energy than they use.

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Does solar power offer a brighter future for off-the-grid Navajo residents?

Fred de Sam Lazaro

October 01, 2018 |

PBS NewsHour |

Broadcast TV Programs |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, New Mexico

As a coal plant closes in Navajo Nation, and taking jobs with it, residents cautiously look to solar energy as a way forward. While the installation of the Kayenta Solar Project did provide jobs, those jobs were temporary. Beyond employment, the Navajo have historically lacked access to electricity, and so residents are installing off-grid solar units themselves.

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'For me, this is paradise': life in the Spanish city that banned cars

Stephen Burgen

September 18, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Spain, Pontevedra

Rather than attempt to change traffic flow, the city of Pontevedra cut straight to the source of their congestion frustrations; they eliminated cars from their streets entirely. The city center, which now fills to the brim with walkers and bicyclists each day, has seen a massive reduction in traffic accidents and carbon emissions since closing the streets to cars.

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The First Quieter Megacity, Thanks to Electric Vehicles

Blake Schmidt

August 30, 2018 |

Bloomberg |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: China, Shenzhen

Massive investment in electric vehicles has reduced noise and air pollution in China. The megacity of Shenzhen, for example, is surprisingly quiet with its fleet of electric buses and ban on gas-powered motorcycles. However, the country’s reliance on coal means that EVs still plug into a dirty grid.

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In a posh Bangkok neighbourhood, residents trade energy with blockchain

Rina Chandran

August 28, 2018 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Thailand, Bangkok

In Bangkok’s Sukhumvit neighborhood, solar panels generate renewable energy, which is traded using blockchain between an apartment building, a mall, a school, and a dental hospital. The pilot project demonstrates the potential of decentralized renewable energy systems.

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Paradise lost? What happened to Ireland's model eco-village

Killian Fox

August 10, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Ireland, Cloughjordan

Admittedly by no definition perfect, members of Ireland's model eco-village have learned many lessons since the community first came into existence and are vowing to use these lessons to improve. Over the last ten years, the Cloughjordan village has built 55 houses on the settlement as well as "a working farm, an array of well-tended polytunnels and a bakery" which offers those living there food year-round.

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The Upside of Underpasses

Rob Turner

August 01, 2018 |

Sactown Magazine |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Canada, Toronto

After the success of New York City’s High Line, several cities have tried to emulate that success with a twist--by transforming underpasses below highways into activated space for the community. Toronto’s Bentway offers an ice skating rink, art, and music, and Seattle’s I-5 Colonnade has a mountain bike course. Miami is on an ambitious plan to launch the Underline, a 10-mile stretch of bike and walking trails. Cities like Sacramento are hoping to emulate these success stories.

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So You Recycled Your Old Laptop. Here's Where It Might've Gone.

Dominique Mosbergen

July 20, 2018 |

The Huffington Post |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: China, Shanghai

As technology advances, so does the electronic waste that it produces as people throw out their old products to make way for the new ones. To reduce their e-waste footprint and keep the materials out of landfills, companies such as Dell are pushing for closed-loop recycling – a process that reuses the recycled product to make the same product again.

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Vienna's Affordable Housing Paradise

Adam Forrest

July 19, 2018 |

The Huffington Post |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Austria, Vienna

Unlike America’s struggle to provide high-quality affordable housing in sufficient quantities, Vienna has achieved an affordable housing system worthy of envy. The government-subsidized housing projects in Vienna need to meet certain design and sustainability requirements, and a competitive design process leads to quality buildings. An estimated 62 percent of citizens in Vienna live in some form of social housing, the European name for public housing. The success of social housing in Vienna has also helped it remain “one of the most affordable major cities in the world.”

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