Using Giant Mirrors to Light up Dark Valleys

Refugio, Texas was ravaged by Hurricane Harvey, leaving behind damaged houses, schools and businesses and people who can not afford to rebuild their lives. However, this town has used its community and found strength in their love of football and their support of one another to keep moving forward.

In a rapidly gentrifying Mexico City neighborhood, two artists refurbished an icon and set up an altar for Santa Mari La Juaricua, a saint to protect residents from eviction. The saint raises awareness and acts as a reminder about housing issues and the icon has been taken up by the residents and has been used in processions and protests.

En Belgique, des éco-chèques sont distribués aux salariés pour les inciter à consommer des produits plus écologiques. Bien qu'inégalitaire, ce dispositif permet de réduire les émissions de CO2, permet aux salariés de faire des économies et d'inciter à une consommation plus responsable. En 2017 et 2018 leur utilisation a respectivement permis une économie estimée entre 216 665 tonnes de CO2 et 229 797 tonnes de CO2, soit environ 0,23 % des émissions totales annuelles de la Belgique.

Este 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.

Aus menschlichen Ausscheidungen lässt sich viel mehr machen als bisher. Zum Beispiel Dünger. Die Böden könnten so Nährstoffe zurückerhalten, die ihnen zuvor entnommen werden. Verschiedene Akteure arbeiten bereits daran.

El proyecto Una Lata de Agua es una inciativa que busca instalar en las comunidades de Caracas, Venezuela, sistemas de recolección de agua que permitan abastecer a las familias de agua potable, porque en el norte del país la escases del agua es crítica. Con el proyecto instalado en Barrio Nuevo se benefician más de 1600 familias.

Two insurance companies, Discovery and Dialdirect, implemented a smartphone app for drivers to report potholes in their city. The companies then fill the potholes and brand them with their logos.

Cornerstone Baptist Church is spearheading the redevelopment of Struggs’ Cornerstone Heights Neighborhood. In 2019, the church opened a laundromat and bike shop and last year the Cornerstone Community Kitchen began serving free hot meals to locals experiencing homelessness. The Church is soon launching a community market where local residents can access fresh, affordable food.

The Kansas City Streetcar provides fare-free transportation for residents, which helps to get them downtown and promote more economic development. The fare-free streetcar also makes transit more equitable by removing barriers for low-income passengers and improving mobility for people with disabilities.

The International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards trains employees in the tourism industry to become autism certified, ensuring they know how to care for neurodivergent youth and their families when they’re at places like restaurants or theme parks. Several of these businesses have practices in place like offering noise-canceling headphones, access to quiet rooms or even hosting autism awareness weekends, helping to make the city the first Autism Certified City in the world.