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A look at how Ohio's land banks are battling blight

Tracy Geibel

June 15, 2018 |

Richland Source |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Mansfield, Ohio

Ohio has more than 50 land banks, which are best known for reducing blight by demolishing old buildings, but several land banks are trying creative ways to enhance their land on a budget. Successful projects include a program for locals to redevelop old lots, a pop-up art gallery in a condemned house, and urban forests to make communities more welcoming. The collective effect of these projects is to revitalize cities all across the state.

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A Motel Gets a Noble Second Life on Route 66

Ben Ikenson

June 14, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Albuquerque, New Mexico

A new trend is transforming old motels into new affordable housing units. NewLife Homes, a real estate group, first turned the Sundowner motel in Albuquerque into apartment units reserved for low-income people, formerly homeless people, or people with special needs. This trend has spread to California, and many of these residential buildings have added supportive staff and community engagement efforts, as well.

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Netherlands to build world's first habitable 3D printed houses

Daniel Boffey

June 06, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Netherlands, Eindhoven

After facing a shortage of bricklayers, the Netherlands found a housing solution which also doubled as a way of cutting development costs and damage to the environmental. Project Milestone, a development that creates 3D printed houses, is the first of its kind and is already drawing a steady residential candidate pool.

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A Tiny House To Help With Boston's Big Housing Costs

Anthony Flint

May 11, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

In Boston, one solution to homelessness could be as simple as the new Plugin House, a prototype of a tiny house that is affordable and easy to assemble. As cities across the country struggle to provide enough affordable housing, Boston is taking a step forward with a pilot program to test the concept of small affordable housing units.

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Can this rural town go from a youth exodus to an art epicenter?

Jeffrey Brown

April 17, 2018 |

PBS NewsHour |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Green River, Utah

A nonprofit called Epicenter uses small-scale architecture and design projects to bring new life to Green River. The town of 950 people has experienced a loss of mining and other jobs. Ambitious young people typically move elsewhere to build their futures, but that may be changing. Epicenter repairs local buildings and is behind a variety of other projects such as a welcome sign, art installations, and a mountain bike trail.

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The Opposite of Gentrification

Jill Harkins

April 02, 2018 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

A new program in a Philadelphia neighborhood is offering opportunities for locals to curb gentrification. Gentrification occurs when outside developers come to an area and change it without leaving room for locals to remain. The nonprofit Jumpstart Germantown provides training, mentoring, and loans to community members who want to learn to develop their own neighborhoods in an inclusive and sustainable way. So far, 235 people have graduated from the program, and the model has inspired other Philadelphia neighborhoods to start similar programs.

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‘They are our salvation': the Sicilian town revived by refugees

Lorenzo Tondo

March 19, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Italy, Sutera, Sicily

Immigrants are reviving the local economy in Sutera. Before 2014, the Sicilian town was shrinking fast. All but a few hundred people had moved to look for work in bigger cities. Welcoming asylum seekers from Nigeria, Syria, Sri Lanka and elsewhere has proved to be a popular and effective way to grow commercial opportunities and add new life to the town.

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Reading, Writing, Evicted: How Austin, Texas, hopes to combat student turnover

Bethany Barnes

March 01, 2018 |

Oregon Live |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Austin, Texas

When families are priced out of their homes in hot housing markets because of increasing property values/rental prices, they often have to move to new educational districts, pulling children out of their schools in the middle of the year and stalling progress. In Austin, the Austin Independent School District is using a new tool, Mobility Blueprint, to help families find affordable housing within their educational district.

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The 'Most Hopeful' New Housing in Turkey

Jennifer Hattam

February 23, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Turkey, Düzce

After an earthquake devastated the town of Düzce, Turkey, residents banded together to create a housing cooperative and later Düzce Hope Studio, a group of pro-bono architects and engineers working to help rebuild the town. What makes the building team unique is that the design process included and valued residents’ voices. Yaşar Adanah, an urban researcher, states, “What’s happening in Düzce is a rare example of a holistic approach to housing that can be a model for other neighborhoods.”

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How one community beat the system, and rebuilt their shattered streets

Aditya Chakrabortty

February 14, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Liverpool

Eleanor Lee is one of many women leading the charge to restore the Granby neighborhood in Liverpool. The few households that remained inhabited after the neighborhood was forgotten came together and formed a community land trust. This major step allowed them to get private development funding. Now, the Granby area is offering affordable housing and attracting business back to Liverpool.

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