In a Virtual Classroom, How Do You Care for Kids Threatened by Gun Violence?

https://www.thetrace.org/2020/09/covid-remote-learning-gun-violence-philadelphia-schools

J. Brian Charles

The Trace

24 September 2020

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Remote learning during the pandemic robs teachers and counselors of face-to-face contact that can reveal serious problems in children's lives, and so Philadelphia schools created the Healing Together program to train teachers to spot problems in a video connection. With gun violence raging in the city, many children are suffering trauma that can affect their performance and well-being. Because physical school presence provides safety from the streets' dangers, there's an urgent need for trauma-informed teaching that requires new skills and strategies.

Do We Need Police To Curb LA's Traffic Violence? Some Cities Are Saving Lives Without Them

https://laist.com/how-to-new-la/reinvent/traffic-safety-los-angeles-police-roles-reexamined-vision-zero.php

Ryan Fonseca

LAist

24 September 2020

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Five years after Los Angeles launched its Vision Zero program to reduce traffic fatalities, the numbers of pedestrians and cyclists killed on city streets have soared. By relying too heavily on the racially fraught and often ineffective practice of police stops of vehicles, and by not spending enough on street redesigns and automated enforcement technologies, LA has failed to make the kind of progress that cities like New York and Seattle have made with engineering innovations, stricter speed limits, and camera enforcement.

Waiving Regulations for Affordable Housing Shows Results in Austin

https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/waiving-regulations-for-affordable-housing-shows-results-in-austin

Jared Brey

Next City

22 September 2020

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Affordable housing requirements for developers were eased in Austin through legislation known as Affordability Unlocked. As a result of less stringent parking, set-back and height codes, developers are able to maximize the number of units per building and deliver a bigger impact per project. These projects are generally built through government subsidies, therefore giving tax payers a higher return on investment.

How a housing-first strategy could save domestic violence survivors during a pandemic

https://www.thelandcle.org/stories/how-a-housing-first-strategy-could-save-domestic-violence-survivors-during-a-pandemic

Conor Morris

The Land

22 September 2020

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To provide emergency housing to domestic violence victims without crowding them into shelters during the pandemic, Ohio victim-aid groups have helped hundreds of families to flee violence and find safe housing in subsidized apartments or short-term hotel stays. One program, the REACH Rapid Rehousing program, has given rental assistance to more than 100 families in rural counties who need but cannot afford permanent alternative housing. Another, the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, has housed 126 families in hotels for up to two weeks at a time.

The state's emergency child-care centers kept COVID-19 in check. Here's how

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/09/22/metro/states-emergency-child-care-centers-kept-covid-19-check-heres-how

Stephanie Ebbert

The Boston Globe

22 September 2020

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Emergency child-care centers in Massachusetts have recorded only a small handful of cases of COVID-19 due to strict adherence to safety measures. Most notably, the centers have implemented a combination of contact tracing and mandatory two-week quarantine for anyone who could have been exposed, which applies to all school personnel, students, teachers, and family members.

How Did These Students Get The City To Change The Name Of Douglass Park? They Built Collective Power And Didn't Back Down

https://blockclubchicago.org/2020/09/22/how-did-these-students-get-the-city-to-change-the-name-of-douglass-park-by-building-collective-power-and-not-backing-down

Pascal Sabino

Block Club Chicago

22 September 2020

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Chicago students organized and, for the first time, convinced the city to rename a park in honor of Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass. The former Douglas Park was named after a Civil War era Illinois senator who advocated to expand slavery, and whose wife owned slaves. Not daunted by the city’s bureaucracy, the students canvassed in their community and gathered over 10,000 signatures for a petition to change the park’s name. The campaign, which began in 2017, was much harder and longer than the students anticipated, but by forming a coalition and continuing to speak out they persevered.

The Shared Spaces program: a crisis-driven experiment that could permanently change San Francisco's urban landscape

https://missionlocal.org/2020/09/the-shared-spaces-program-a-crisis-driven-experiment-that-could-permanently-change-san-franciscos-urban-landscape

Hayden Manseau

Mission Local

22 September 2020

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The Shared Spaces program is a pandemic-driven initiative that increases outdoor dining space in commercial areas. The initiative made the permit process more user friendly and less expensive. Over 1,200 outdoor dining applications were approved in three months, which is more than the city approved in 2018 and 2019 combined. The increased capacity of outdoor dining seating takes away other public spaces, usually parking and driving space, but the program’s success has helped businesses survive pandemic-related restrictions and officials are assessing the program to maintain it moving forward.

How teachers are bringing lessons from the racial justice uprisings into the classroom

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/09/18/metro/how-teachers-are-bringing-lessons-racial-justice-uprisings-into-classroom

Deanna Pan

The Boston Globe

21 September 2020

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Teachers across Massachusetts are finding ways to incorporate antiracist practices into their curriculum. An English teacher at Newton High School is replacing required reading materials produced by white male authors with texts from authors like Sandra Cisneros, Langston Hughes and other authors of color. A physics teacher at Brookline High School is sharing more stories about scientists of color and teaching students about "naming conventions in scientific laws and theorems rooted in European colonization."

How a neighborhood collaborative transformed a small town

https://www.richlandsource.com/solutions/how-a-neighborhood-collaborative-transformed-a-small-town/article_5d61ed4e-f3a2-11ea-b74e-67f1af5b5a12.html

Katie Ellington

Richland Source

21 September 2020

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Residents are using dollar-for-dollar matching grants to spruce up their homes in Fulton, NY, resulting in higher home values, higher morale and the formation of neighborhood collaborations. The grants are granted to entire neighborhoods with the condition that at least half the residents sign up for the challenge. The initiative strives to create a ripple effect that eventually revitalizes the city.

Scientists work in Arizona to reshape desert food production

https://tucson.com/news/state-and-regional/scientists-work-in-arizona-to-reshape-desert-food-production/article_a7dcbbe1-9c5d-5951-b799-b0b7de632aca.html

Henry Brean

Arizona Daily Star

20 September 2020

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In an experimental garden in Arizona, scientists are seeing how to produce sustainable and local food in a desert environment. They’re growing plants under a photovoltaic “canopy” of solar panels that provide necessary shade for the crops and, at the same time, generate cheap, renewable energy for irrigation systems and farm equipment. So far, they’ve been able to grow basil, Anasazi red beans, and a special bell pepper. While not all crops will work in this system and scaling the garden has its challenges, learning how to grow food in the desert is necessary to adapt to a future with climate change.