These Cities are Trading in Cigarette Butts for Cash

Huge numbers of students lack the chance to go to college because of financial problems. Recently, Kalamazoo schools received more funding allowing them to have the chance to help and pay for students to then go to college and receive a higher education.

An ambitious plan for the 69-acre Regent Park neighborhood is disrupting entrenched notions of class, race and religion, at a time when concerns over income inequality and immigration are growing.

The Anacostia, which has long been one of the most polluted rivers in the country, has been given a new lease on life, thanks to cleanup efforts and a recent sewer upgrade in D.C. Since water quality has improved, there's been renewed interest in waterfront recreation and development. Now local groups are working to mitigate displacement from gentrification, with some success.

Innovative mine reclamation projects across five states in the Appalachian region allow local organizations, schools, and businesses to clean up and utilize abandoned mine land. From a school that's transforming abandoned mine land into a field of solar panels to a housing development project that uses abandoned mine federal grant money to build affordable and energy efficient housing, the Appalachian region is using a comprehensive approach to renew blighted mines.

Investments into the arts serve as significant economic catalysts. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, legacy foundations like the Heinz Endowments, Benedum Foundation, and Richard King Mellon Foundation pooled their resources to create the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, which supports art and culture in the city’s downtown districts. By purchasing and refurbishing existing real estate, as well as lending support to smaller initiatives like the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company, PCT’s investments have served as an engine of growth for the city.

Package-free shopping encourages more sustainable consumption. In Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cleenland offers package-free household products, including shampoo and cleaners. Customers use their own containers and pay by weight. Asking consumers to pay more attention helps reduce waste generated by packaging and contributes to municipal zero waste strategies.

Mosaic Development Partners (MDP) seeks to create wealth for the black community in Philadelphia by providing affordable housing and creating opportunities in neighborhoods that are considered risky investments for typical real estate companies. The black-owned company has created housing as well as retail opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses who historically have a harder time accessing capital and loans. The company is mission-driven but operates on a for-profit model, finding economic solutions for systemic problems that have kept black communities from creating generational wealth.

In order to attract and sustain pollinators, communities in Ohio and Wisconsin are resorting to a more "unkempt" approach. In Mansfield, Ohio the community started planting "butterfly and pollinator gardens" in various areas of the city, as well introduced new mowing patterns which include mowing less areas and letting some areas overgrow. In Appleton, Wisconsin, the city council has instituted "No Mow May" during which "communities suspend the enforcement of their long-grass rules for the month, allowing property owners to delay lawn care as a way to promote pollinator-friendly habitats."

When organic materials like wood chips and manure are heated in the absence of oxygen they create a black powdery substance called biochar. This material prevents the release of carbon into the atmosphere from the natural decaying process. And it has other beneficial uses like improving soil fertility, too.

Communities across New Hampshire are implementing “pay as you throw” trash-collection systems to reduce the garbage sent to landfills and increase the use of alternative options like recycling. The programs use several different methods like special bags, stickers, or punch cards, but all require some form of payment per collected trash bag.