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Tahoe's Hot Commodities: Unraveling Decades of Development to Protect the Future

Amy Westervelt

November 28, 2017 |

Mountain Independent |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tahoe City, California

Lake Tahoe has been revered by planners as an area whose poor development was successfully halted with the creation of the Tahoe Regional Planning Association (TRPA). Now the TRPA has brought together a development rights working group to update how the land is used in order to confront a housing shortage and rules that are not in line with how the lake is used.

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Chicago Designer Offers a Model for Repurposing Closed Public Schools

Nina Feldman

October 27, 2017 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

In the aftermath of Chicago closing almost 50 public schools, urban designers are testing creative uses to keep the buildings functioning as community spaces. Overton Elementary is being transformed into the Overton Business and Technology Incubator, a space for local businesses. The developer is deliberately working with locals to involve the neighborhood in the building process and keep the space accessible to the community.

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With storms intensifying and oceans on the rise, Boston weighs strategies for staying dry

Eric Bender

October 24, 2017 |

Ensia |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

Boston and other flood-vulnerable areas are having to build for the future to prevent water damage from hurricanes and other natural disasters, especially as climate change makes storms stronger and bigger. Boston is researching the feasibility of a seawall as well as building other barriers at critical points, attention is being paid to preventive efforts in order to minimize future damages.

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Finding Our Power

Kirsi Jansa

September 14, 2017 |

Sustainability Pioneers |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is one of the 2500 cities and groups that are part of the "We Are Still In" network, supporting the Paris climate agreement. The city built what officials call "the greenest public building" in America, the Frick Environmental Center. By devoting funding to green construction and using an integrated design approach, the city and its leaders are showing the commitment needed to tackle climate change and create a more sustainable future.

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Should California look to Massachusetts to fix its housing crisis?

Matt Levin

September 13, 2017 |

CalMatters |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

The California Legislature, inspired by a decades-old Massachusetts affordable housing bill, recently passed SB 35. However, a few differences distinguish the two bills. In Massachusetts, the 40B bill fast-tracks development projects that include 20% affordable units in cities that have below the mandated amount of affordable housing. California’s bill rewards affordable housing projects, but it also rewards projects with above-average income housing. Still, the bill is a big step forward in the fight for more affordable housing at the state level.

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Solar roof tiles offer tech boost for Kenya's rural classrooms

Justus Wanzala

August 25, 2017 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Murang’a

In Kenyan schools, the use of “building-integrated photovoltaics” (BIPV) acts as an innovative way to get solar energy to schools. Variations of these solar tiles have spread internationally, aided by companies like Tesla. However, the impact in these Kenyan schools means students can do school work after dark and benefit from consistent computer accessibility, and schools can better plan and budget for energy use during the school year.

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Could underwater garages solve Boston's parking shortage?

Matt Rocheleau

August 22, 2017 |

The Boston Globe |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

Boston needs more parking spaces, especially in a neighborhood surrounded by water. It is looking to build an underwater parking garage, like the ones being built in Amsterdam, in order to free up street level space and add more parking to decrease car pollution from driving around searching for a parking spot.

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How Tampa Turned a Dead Zone Into a Downtown

Richard Danielson

June 15, 2017 |

Politico |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tampa, Florida

Tampa's downtown used to be an industrial wasteland. After six mayors, 40 years, and half a billion dollars of investment later, the city's downtown is thriving. That's just the tip of the iceberg, as Strategic Property Partners is investing $3 billion in development in the next ten years for hotels, offices, and apartments. The University of South Florida is also working with developers as an anchor institution to support more growth.

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Columbus, Ga., used as model in downtown Prattville's renaissance

Marty Roney

June 08, 2017 |

The Montgomery Advertiser |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Prattville, Alabama

Prattville, Alabama's city-run Historic Redevelopment Authority has emulated the downtown revitalization project successfully implemented by Columbus, Georgia in an effort to reverse the community's issues of vacant industrial sites and a visually blighted downtown region. Through a collaboration with area entrepreneurs, a private real estate company, the Chamber of Commerce, and other departments and members of the local government, the HPRA is transforming the small city. Several local business prepare to open, the old cotton gin mill will open new apartments, and recent community events demonstrate an increasing public interest in a revitalized downtown Prattville.

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How Did a Co-op Build Affordable Homes in Ballymun … and Can It Be Done Elsewhere?

Lois Kapila

June 06, 2017 |

Dublin Inquirer |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Ireland, Ballymun, Leinster

Drawing on his experience creating affordable housing abroad, Hugh Brennan created the Ó Cualann Cohousing Alliance just outside Dublin, Ireland, where state and city officials are grappling with a shortage of affordable housing. The OCCA has brought together local governing councils and private investors to remedy the issue.

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