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Can we design neighborhoods to survive wildfires?

Adele Peters

November 14, 2018 |

FastCompany |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, California

Wildfires are inevitable, especially as forests become drier due to climate change, but it is possible to design the built environment so that fires don’t destroy as much property or as many lives. Architects now can choose different materials that resist ignition from wind-borne embers and can put more distance between homes. Spacing homes farther apart and burying power lines can help, but the changing climate is also making some places unsuitable for rebuilding destroyed communities.

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In Amsterdam, a Unique Housing Agency Managed to Transform a Neighborhood

Deborah Nicholls-Lee

November 12, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Netherlands, Amsterdam

Residents of a street in Amsterdam called Zeedijk took it upon themselves to rid the street of heroin abuse and blight by creating a public-private real-estate partnership. The partnership rehabilitated the street while ensuring locals weren't pushed out or displaced. Now, other areas in the city, including the Red Light District, are using this same approach to protect the rights and safety of their residents.

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A Seattle ironworker fell eight floors and survived. Here's why

Anna Boiko-Weyrauch

October 24, 2018 |

KUOW Radio |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Worker injuries are on a steady decline in Seattle despite a construction boom. Companies are incentivized to create safe working conditions by lower insurance rates and high competition for job bids.

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Going the Extra Mile to Connect Local Businesses to Major Construction Projects

Leslie Nemo

October 22, 2018 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

The Contractor Assistance Center in San Francisco “provides local contractors with the resources to compete with larger companies for project bids.” Many construction projects have certain standards to meet: a certain number of local workers, minority owned-businesses, and more. The Contractor Assistance Center helps businesses register properly, whether as locally-owned or owned by a disadvantaged group. They also provide other services, all hoping local businesses can compete on a bigger scale.

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"We can all be placemakers": The programs training Detroiters in development

MJ Galbraith

October 19, 2018 |

Model D |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

When Chase L. Cantrell realized the overwhelming majority of development financing in a Detroit real estate project was going to white, wealthy developers, he opted to create a program that would train developers who better reflect the demographics of the city. Building Community Value aims ”to create a more equitable development ecosystem in the city of Detroit” by training people of all ages in real estate development. This is one of several successful programs popping up in Detroit that aim to spread wealth and increase equitable development efforts across more Detroit neighborhoods.

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NYC Pilot Program Hopes to Beautify Miles of Scaffolding

Rachel Kaufman

October 12, 2018 |

Next City |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

New York City has launched City Canvas, a program to commission artwork to beautify sidewalk sheds set up to protect pedestrians in construction sites. Arts organizations partnering with the project will pick locations and select artists to create artwork on vinyl.

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Why do we demolish buildings instead of deconstructing them for re-use?

Nate Berg

October 09, 2018 |

Ensia |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Each year, roughly 500 million tons of waste from the tearing down of buildings goes into landfills in the United States. Deconstruction, the idea of dismantling old buildings instead of the traditional method of tearing them down, diverts some of the waste, provides jobs, and makes affordable building materials more accessible. Though deconstruction does not work in all scenarios, it is a growing alternative with many benefits.

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England has more than 200,000 empty homes. How to revive them?

Mattha Busby

September 25, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Stockton-on-Tees

There are an estimated over 200,000 vacant homes across England, and Community Campus 87 is one group attempting to bring those homes back to life. By employing apprentices, some who have experienced homelessness, to learn skills such as house painting, the social enterprise is helping homes as well as homeless people bounce back. This is just one example of a handful of social enterprises that are funding the rebuilding of vacant properties with the goal of filling the old homes with more affordable and sustainable housing.

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This real estate company figured out a simple way to offer the homeless a house and a job

Adele Peters

September 21, 2018 |

FastCompany |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

Chris Finlay, who manages a real estate company in Washington, D.C., decided to try hiring homeless people to work in his buildings. His goal was to provide a job alongside significantly discounted housing as a benefit of the job. Seeing the concept’s success, he started a nonprofit called Shelters to Shutters to help spread the idea around the country. The organization has helped hire people in 15 cities, and 93% of those hired are still employed in these jobs.

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How a pastor improved his west side neighborhood one house at a time

Andrew Yawn

September 19, 2018 |

The Montgomery Advertiser |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Montgomery, Alabama

Reverend Welch moved to Montgomery in 1985 and sparked a decades-long fight to revitalize the neighborhood surrounding his church in an affordable and inclusive manner. Since then, the Greater Washington Park neighborhood has been transformed. Families are moving back, and people who previously couldn’t own a home now have the chance to achieve that milestone. Though there’s still work to be done, the neighborhood achieved what many others can’t: rebuilding without displacement.

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