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Watch: Robots are becoming companions and care takers across Japan

Shiho Fukada

February 05, 2018 |

STAT |

Video |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Japan, Tokyo

With a rapidly aging population, Japanese senior services are turning to innovative technology to expand the capacity to care for seniors as well as increase quality of life. VR technology takes seniors on trips to locations around the world, while robots in living facilities provide companionship as well as protection for residents.

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Through boom or bust, Oregon small town rides theme to maintain identity

Katheryn Houghton

February 04, 2018 |

Bozeman Daily Chronicle |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Sisters, Oregon

The small town of Sisters, Oregon seemed doomed to being a bedroom community, a place where people lived but worked elsewhere, until the town tried something new. Developers found a creative way to work with the town to help it grow. They intentionally created a tourism industry in Sisters, and by creating western-themed decor and building up tourist sites, Sisters has grown substantially while still retaining its small-town charm.

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In 2011 Preston hit rock bottom. Then it took back control

Aditya Chakrabortty

January 31, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Preston

In 2011, when a huge plan for a sprawling shopping mall halted after the financial crisis, Preston’s future looked bleak. That is, until Matthew Brown, a local government leader, decided to spend money locally, an idea that drastically reshaped the city’s economy. The city council “ adopted a guerrilla localism,” and it paid off. By changing procurement practices and business methods, Preston has become a model for how to turn around a failing city.

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Tech Support for an Ailing Planet

Virginia Gewin

January 30, 2018 |

bioGraphic |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The advancement of technology has created the capability to consider solutions never before possible. Conservation X Labs, a startup based in Washington, D.C., has committed their focused on marrying the worlds of conservation and technology, to combat mounting concerns of international poaching and deforestation. While the scaling of the technology is stagnated largely due to the expense of technology, progress has been made and devices are actively being piloted.

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Thousands of poor young people are using Minecraft to redesign their cities

Odette Chalaby

January 29, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Mumbai

Too often, poor community members are not included in public discourse over how public spaces should look-- rather, the urban planning is more top-down. To change that, the UN’s Block by Block project is using the computer game Minecraft to include locals in shaping the physical spaces in their own communities by teaching them digital design skills. The UN program has engaged over 17,000 people, and 20 crowdsourced designs have already been built in cities around the world.

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New development pairs public housing, library with aim of fostering community

Elvia Malagon

January 28, 2018 |

Chicago Tribune |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

In Chicago, three new projects are mixing affordable housing and a library in the same building. It is hoped that this will foster a sense of community as well as create job opportunities and programming for residents.

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These kids are hoping to save Galapagos tortoises — and their own home — from climate change

Deepa Fernandes

January 23, 2018 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Ecuador, Galápagos

Tortoises as well as other species native to Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands are facing increasingly critical threats due to climate change. Thanks to a program that is embedded in the Galapagos school system, however, high school students are playing a major role in collecting important data on the species while also becoming experts in climate change mitigation.

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The controversial Silicon Valley-funded quest to educate the world's poorest kids

Jenny Anderson

January 22, 2018 |

Quartz |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Kenya

Founded by Silicon Valley veterans and funders in 2007 to serve the world's poorest students and most under-resourced teachers, Bridge International Academies now operates 600 low-cost private schools in Kenya, Nigeria, Liberia, Uganda, and India. In Bridge's model, teachers read scripted lessons developed abroad directly from their tablets. While supporters say Bridge is delivering an otherwise unavailable service, at scale, and is seeing improved scores and teacher attendance, critics fear Bridge takes the human element out of learning, strips teachers of agency and fails to teach critical thinking skills.

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Bioeconomy: A global trend?

Vijay Shankar Balakrishnan

January 22, 2018 |

Deutsche Welle (DW) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Finland

Bioeconomy is the practice of using biological processes and organic materials to reduce waste, and it's gaining traction as a means of business. Finland is home to one of the largest bioproduct mills, where "a whole ecosystem of companies" work together on projects such as converting sustainably logged wood into pulp before selling it to Europe and Asia and producing solid biofuels which will eventually create electricity.

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This Map of New Orleans Might Save a Life

Jared Brey

January 19, 2018 |

Next City |

Multi-Media |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

By relying more heavily on data analysis, New Orleans officials decreased ambulance response time in many parts of the city from 12 minutes to 8 minutes. This is just one successful project of many from the non-profit group Results for America. The group works with local governments to use data and evidence to solve urban issues, and it has seen successes in New Orleans, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Philadelphia.

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