In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, necessity has bred an interesting kind of financial invention for the New York MTA: the world’s first “catastrophe” bond - a reinsurance for the insurer - designed to protect public transportation infrastructure, specifically against storm surge. These bonds privatize risk for public gain, creating a kind of tool that may protect economic development against all kinds of natural and man-made disasters around the world.
Read MoreAn increasingly popular way to attract foreign direct investment is to let the world’s wealthiest trade cash and property investments for citizenship. The $2 billion-a-year industry allows the ultra-rich to buy passports that permit visa-free travel to nearly the entire world, often with no residency requirements. Highly controversial, the industry is marked by a lack of transparency and concerns about what happens to civic ties when citizenship can be bought and sold.
Read MoreLanded will pay for half a teacher's down payment on a home in exchange for a quarter of profits when the house is sold down the line. The San Francisco-based startup has recently arrived in Bellevue, where the median home price is hovering around $1 million.
Read MoreLong-term housing support helps end the cycles of displacement that lead to chronic homelessness. Although permanent supportive housing programs are usually associated with older individuals, such programs can be directed toward the prevention of homelessness. In Philadelphia, Project Home’s program offers long-term subsided apartments to young adults at risk of being on the street.
Read MoreA solar workgroup in Virginia is inviting developers to present information on the best ways to build solar and battery storage projects for the region; a new approach they are taking after previous failures in getting solar projects off the ground. Despite a lack of funding and local developers in the area, solar advocates are hopeful that the passage of a new energy law in the Commonwealth could be an economic incentive for commercial-scale solar projects.
Read MoreEste reportaje cuenta y explica la solución energética de Ticino, un pueblo de la provincia argentina de Córdoba. Quemando biomasa (cáscara de maní), la manicera de la localidad, que es también la empresa más grande del lugar, genera energía eléctrica que vende al Estado para abastecer al pueblo y a zonas vecinas. Esta solución beneficia a cientos de familias y permitió que durante el gran apagón nacional de 2019, Ticino continuara con luz.
Read MoreDuring the pandemic, indigenous communities received massive federal funding through the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, and the Relief and Economic Security Act for a number of needs, like infrastructure and tribal housing improvements. Many indigenous entities received smaller funds too. But COVID exacerbated several long-pending and neglected issues, local officials and tribal members say, and the funding does not sufficiently address them in the longterm.
Read MoreSeveral community organizations and municipalities like the Office of Transgender Initiatives (OTI) have come together to decrease homelessness rates among the transgender population. OTI formed a Trans Advisory Committee which focused on budget and policy advocacy based on input from the transgender community to address homelessness and partnered with efforts like the Transgender District. All in all, these combined efforts have decreased transgender homelessness by 15% since 2019.
Read MoreFortify Life takes a holistic approach to addressing homelessness and also provides emergency and long-term stays in a renovated motel for people experiencing homelessness. Long-term guests participate in a micropayment program that teaches them how to budget and become financially self-sufficient. Since 2021, Fortify Life has helped 179 families with emergency or transitional housing.
Read MoreA Berlin-based non-profit, Access to Energy Institute (A2EI), is providing traders at Wuse Market in Abuja :solar generators," which has reduced noise and fumes while also saving the community money by no longer having to buy fuel for generations. The installed solar panel system sends real-time data back to Berlin for monitoring and maintenance.
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