Carbon Neutrality Through Retrofitting Housing
With the election of their new Mayor in 2021, Boston, MA committed to a radical rethinking of their systems to begin addressing these issues through Boston’s Green New Deal. Under this plan, almost 80% of Boston’s buildings will need to undergo deep energy retrofits and decarbonization in order to meet... Read more
Building a Cohesive Network of Violence Prevention and Intervention Programming in Kansas City
Over the past year, the United States has seen the collision of two major public health crises – Covid-19 and gun violence. Unfortunately, Kansas City has seen the deadly impact of these crises firsthand. Despite some efforts by community groups and government agencies, Kansas City struggles with violent crime and... Read more
Community-Centered Approaches to Expanding Birmingham’s Broadband Infrastructure
In Alabama’s Black Belt the digital divide has compounded issues related to racial discrimination, high poverty, and limited access to healthcare services. Nine counties in the Black Belt have less than 30% access to broadband, and even in Black Belt cities with established infrastructure, like Birmingham, many residents face cost... Read more
Implementing Strategies to Mitigate Disaster and Build Long-Term Urban Resilience
In 2020, Nashville weathered the worst disasters in the city’s 238-year history. This included being hit by a category EF3 tornado in early March – the largest natural disaster in the city since the area’s 2010 flood. Then the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which briefly debilitated the city’s tourism... Read more
Strengthening and Expanding Out-of-School Learning Opportunities for Nashville’s Youth
Over the past year, the Covid-19 pandemic has interrupted the daily lives of millions of Americans, and schools and students have felt these interruptions acutely. As schools return to normalcy, students, parents, and educators must now focus on the paramount challenge of learning loss, and strategies like afterschool, summer enrichment,... Read more
Creating Equitable Pathways to Quality Jobs in Furtherance of L.A.’s Green New Deal
The City of Los Angeles knows that taking immediate action to sustain clean air, water and healthy living conditions is a moral imperative. Building on its initial Sustainable City Plan (2015), the City’s Paris-compatible Green New Deal (2019) laid out ambitious targets to directly address issues ranging from inequitable access... Read more
Systematically Deploying Federal Funds to Combat Racial Inequities
The City of Kansas City, Missouri (KC) has experienced immense growth over the last decade. However, the Covid-19 pandemic now threatens this advancement, leaving KC’s low-income and Black residents particularly vulnerable to both the economic and health fallouts of the crisis. With this in mind, City leaders have, and are,... Read more