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Inside the Battle to Close Rikers

Maurice Chammah

March 22, 2019 |

The Marshall Project |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

New York City plans to close the eight jail complex located on Rikers Island and replace it with a series of four smaller, community-integrated facilities in the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. While the administration has faced community pushback, the city has gleaned insights about the process, including jail reform and design and how to receive feedback from the community. The goal is for this plan could lead to further decarceration, financial savings for the city, and facilities that incorporate job-training, substance abuse treatment, and counseling into its services.

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Pittsburgh's ‘living building' focuses on eco-friendly construction

Karen Hao

March 20, 2019 |

Quartz |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Creating sustainable buildings requires rethinking many of the norms in construction and city planning. The Center for Sustainable Landscapes, part of the Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, received the first Living Building Challenge (LBC) certification. To achieve this, CSL advocated for changes to Pittsburgh’s laws on the use of public water utilities. CSL also had to seek out construction materials that avoided the use of harmful chemicals-a task easier said than done.

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The gardens of Quito: Urban farming in one of the world's highest cities

Katja Döhne

March 19, 2019 |

Deutsche Welle (DW) |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Ecuador, Quito

AGRUPAR, a program funded by the Quito local government, supports 4000 urban farming plots across the city. One of its goals is to make healthy, organically-grown produce more accessible to marginalized groups, including Venezuelan refugees and women. For 17 years, the group has provided education, support, and resources to make urban farming a reality.

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These five cities are taking bold steps to rein in sprawl

Robert Kunzig

March 14, 2019 |

National Geographic |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Germany, Hamburg

The sustainable city of the future involves public transit and a revitalized downtown - at least, that’s the common thread between what five cities are working towards across the globe. Los Angeles, Atlanta, Shanghai, Hamburg, and La Paz have all taken efforts to invest in building cities where families can work and live without commuting in a car, and where walking is encouraged. Some have made more progress than others, but government investment in sustainable design bodes well for the future.

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The Street Corner Answer

Bruce Katz Ross Baird

March 14, 2019 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Louisville, Kentucky

Access Ventures, a community development organization founded in a Louisville neighborhood, uses a comprehensive investment approach that encourages funds to be dispersed in all issue areas. Instead of creating one "affordable housing fund" or "homeless services fund," the group interweaves investment strategies, making sure to look at the bigger community picture when laying out an investment plan.

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Could Designing a Better Bus Lane Be Done With a Simple Can of Paint?

Laura Bliss

March 09, 2019 |

Pacific Standard |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Everett, Massachusetts

The implementation of "tactical transit lanes," or bus-only lanes, has allowed for decreased commute times for both buses and drivers in cities across the country. Many cities, like Everett, Massachusetts, choose to conduct a rough pilot of the TTLs, relying on community feedback and commute statistics to guide more permanent plans.

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Why History Matters in Equitable Development Planning

Oscar Perry Abello

March 07, 2019 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

A new park plan in Washington, D.C. addresses systemic racism and inequity in current city infrastructure, digging deeper than traditional urban planning landscapes. The new plan takes into account perspectives from minorities and low-income households to ensure the community space is built by the people, for the people - establishing economic justice along the way. This D.C. park plan is helping people purchase homes, finance businesses and get jobs.

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‘Scrap it, start fresh, and think:' What Milwaukee can learn from New York City on housing young offenders

Allison Dikanovic

March 06, 2019 |

Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

As Wisconsin’s Milwaukee County seeks to transform how it handles young offenders, it looks to New York City as a model for change. In New York, the city has shifted its focus from large, state-run facilities to community-based programs and secured, residential homes. Milwaukee County weighs the lessons learned from this initiative and seeks to re-evaluate the services and long-term effects of its criminal justice programming.

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From video game to day job: How ‘SimCity' inspired a generation of city planners

Jessica Roy

March 05, 2019 |

Los Angeles Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

SimCity, a popular simulation game created in 1989, inspired a generation of future city planners with its ability to make urban design accessible and fun, While the simulations have their inconsistencies with real life urban planning, designers and architects around the country based their foundational understanding of city planning in these simulation games and look to simulation as tools for future planning.

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This new neighborhood in Amsterdam is made of floating houses

Adele Peters

March 04, 2019 |

FastCompany |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Netherlands, Amsterdam

A community in North Amsterdam tackles the issue of rising water levels head on by building homes that can float. The houses are built to include solar energy grids using blockchain so neighbors can share electricity, and the structures rise and fall with the ebbs and flows of flooding.

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