Close your eyes and picture idyllic tree-lined streets in a cheery suburban neighborhood. If you open your eyes, however, you might still see that image — only there might be a lot of “for sale” signs posted in front yards or dark houses due to vacancy.
That’s because cities are now seeing a population influx. According to census analysis by William Frey of the Brookings Institution, this could be the decade of big-city growth.
Analyzing data from 2010-2013, Frey was able to figure out that cities themselves — not just their metropolitan areas — grew at a measurably faster rate than suburbs, with “primary cities” (those with a population over 1 million) growing 1.13 percent from 2011 to 2012. At the same time, suburban areas grew at only .95 percent.
While the difference (and growth rate itself) may seem minimal, it reflects more significant changes that are happening in a select number of cities such as New Orleans; Washington, D.C.; San Jose, California; Austin, Texas; Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina; Denver; and Seattle. All those cities have even faster growth rates even faster than the national average!
Although there are a variety of reasons that people may be migrating back to cities, one that we’ve mentioned before is the rise of the innovation district – urban areas that are easily accessible and combine a variety of organizations and people advancing ideas and promoting ingenuity. These areas attract not only jobs, but because of their cosmopolitan and integrated feel, residents too.
Another specific driver of growth could be the new transportation initiative in Minneapolis-St. Paul, another booming city, according to City Lab.
So, does this mean the demise of white picket fences and two-car garages? Hardly. As the study points out, the suburbs are continuing to grow, albeit at a slower pace. But with growth, comes innovation — giving cities the upper hand.
Tag: Washington D.C.
The Washington PAC Fighting to Save Detroit
We all have a bit of pride when it comes to our hometown. But a group of Detroit natives are proving their allegiance runs beyond local sports teams and are using the power of politics to show their loyalty.
Two Washington, D.C. residents have launched Detroit XPAC, a political action committee funded by donations from the Motor City’s expatriates across the country. The goal is to tap the influence of Michigan’s professional youth that have left the state but still have a vested interest in rebuilding its fledging city.
“We are just a bunch of people from Michigan, from Detroit, who really love this city and want to see it doing well,” Farber said. “It can be amazing. And it’s getting there again.”
Registered at both state and federal levels, the PAC uses contributions to support candidates who have progressive ideas about rebuilding Detroit through economic and sustainable environmental policies, according to the National Journal.
Though the group is still small, it operates a national advisory board as well as a Capitol advisory board to assist with reaching lawmakers on the hill. Most of its members are volunteers who work in urban design or on environmental issues.
The PAC is currently focusing on four or five state, local and federal races, but hasn’t made any endorsements just yet. This year’s pilot run is a precursor to 2016, when the PAC hopes to use its influence for the larger election.
Farber is hoping to reshape the city that shaped her by helping decide who will lead Detroit out of decline. While some current residents may find outside influence on elections a bit disconcerting, Farber argues the PAC’s interest is genuine.
“Part of the reason we thought we should tap into the expats is because it’s a community that isn’t being focused on, and yet we’re all over the country,” she said. “We wanted to prove that the borders of Michigan don’t stop people’s love for the state or where they grew up.”
The group bills itself as nonpartisan but Farber confesses the group leans toward Democratic candidates, who tend to have more progressive ideas. For now, the PAC is readying questionnaires to send out to candidates to hear more about their ideas in the races it plans to endorse.
The PAC is also aiming to create similar advisor boards for New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles.
“There are people on the wrong side of the aisle who think you can defund Detroit, you can cut off its resources, you can ignore it, you can pretend it doesn’t exist,” Dorsey said. “We believe that we must have people who are thinking through how to deliver for the economy in the best interests of citizens of Detroit and to protect the environment.”
Clearly, just because those citizens don’t live within Michigan state limits doesn’t mean they care any less about its long-term success.
MORE: Detroit’s Newest Parking Garage Becomes An Unlikely Canvas
The Doctor’s Order? Spend More Time in Nature
We’ve all fallen victim to spending too much time cooped up inside, hunched over computers and binge-watching television shows. So in an effort to curb those nasty habits and get young people moving, one innovative Washington, D.C., doctor is teaming up with the National Parks Service to treat sickness with sunshine.
Dr. Robert Zarr is the chief evangelist for Park Rx — a database of parks and greenery that doctors can access when treating patients. The service allows physicians to locate a patient’s electronic record, ask them about what they like to do to keep in shape, and make recommendations to nearby parks based on their preferences.
With the help of the National Parks Service, the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation and others, Zarr mapped out and rated 380 parks for activities, cleanliness, safety, and transportation accessibility, according to Fast Company. Doctors can print out recommendations with maps and pictures as a sort of natural alternative to prescriptions.
“We wanted to know whether actually prescribing a park during a doctor’s visit would change behavior,” Zarr said. “And the answer was ‘absolutely yes.'”
The program, which launched last July, has already acquired 30 participating doctors at Unity Health Care. The results have garnered around 550 prescriptions and feedback revealed an average increase of 22 minutes of activity per week among 400 children.
MORE: These New York Seniors Are on the Cutting Edge of Telemedicine
Zarr claims his inspiration stems from Last Child in the Woods, a book about “nature deficit disorder” and its impact on our youth’s health. But the idea is also part of a National Parks Service movement to promote the outdoors as a health prevention strategy. Thanks to the doctor’s advocacy, the program is successfully combining medicine with nature.
While encouraging patients to spend more time outside as a means to improve health is nothing new, Zarr acknowledges it can require some convincing. “Once you get over the conceptual hurdle of prescribing park, and you believe the scientific literature that clearly says being outside is good for health, then all it takes is to push a button on a computer. They have to do that anyway.”
The nature evangelist is aiming to develop a mobile app and one day, hopes to add, “have you been outside recently?” as a primary question in patient pre-interviews when checking vitals. For many of us, that answer is probably be “not as much as I should.” But hopefully, the Park Rx program is helping to change that.
From Garbage to Greens: How This D.C. Lot Plans To Make History
The vacant lot tucked away in the District of Columbia’s Anacostia community has long been a wasteland for the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Department of Transportation — serving as a storage facility and a temporary space for leaf collection, respectively.
More recently, construction companies have taken to using the space for illegal dumping, painting a picture of desertion in a struggling neighborhood. But by early next year, city officials are expecting the overgrown area to be transformed.
Into what, you’re probably asking? Impressively, the wasteland is going to be turned into the home of the world’s largest urban greenhouse.
Washington D.C.’s Department of General Services and the Anacostia Economic Development Corporation have teamed up with BrightFarms, a New York-based firm that builds and manages greenhouses and rooftop farms across the country. (BrightFarms has spearheaded urban greenhouses and rooftop farms in New York, Chicago, St. Paul, Minn., and St. Louis, Mo., among others.)
Authorities expect the 100,000 square-foot greenhouse to produce 1 million pounds of produce — such as tomatoes, leafy greens and herbs — to be sold at 30 Giant grocery stores throughout the greater Washington, D.C. area, according to the National Journal.
The Anacostia community itself, which grapples with high unemployment and crime as well as a lack of fresh-food options, will also benefit from the new project. Some of the greenhouse produce will be sold to local merchants at a subsidized rate while also providing between 20 and 25 new permanent jobs as well as 100 construction jobs, according to BrightFarms.
MORE: From Windowsills to Rooftops, Check Out the Rise of Urban Farming
“We can make a meaningful impact on the food supply chain and help improve it, lessen the environmental impact, and improve the health, the safety, and the quality of our produce that’s available,” said Toby Tiktinsky, BrightFarms’ director of business development.
The transformed space will also serve as a classroom for students to learn about sustainable farming and healthy eating.
Construction is expected to start late this summer and take up to five months to complete, turning this community blight into a neighborhood bright spot.
Providing Assistance to “the Forgotten Heroes of America” is Top Priority for This Veteran
Even if you’ve had lots of bad luck come your way, there’s probably someone out there that can top it. Captain Jaspen Boothe of the Army National Guard is one of those people.
While this single mother served in Iraq in August 2005, she lost everything back home in New Orleans to Hurricane Katrina. And the hits didn’t stop there.
The very next month, she was diagnosed with “aggressive head, neck, and throat cancer,” according to her website. As a result, she could no longer be deployed overseas and needed a job to support her young son and to pay for her medical care. She inquired about around about assistance, but was told that there aren’t any organizations dedicated to specifically helping female veterans.
While undergoing radiation treatments for her cancer, Boothe managed to keep a position in the Army Reserves. Once she felt better, she joined the Army National Guard, in which she now serves, based out of Washington, D.C.
Now that she had climbed back on her feet, Boothe wanted to do something to help other female veterans caught in difficult circumstances. So in 2010, she founded the nonprofit Final Salute, Inc., with the goal of housing homeless female veterans. “When Americans think of veterans, they’re only thinking about the men. Women veterans are the forgotten heroes of America. A lot of them have fallen on hard times,” Boothe told Denise Hendricks of HLN Morning Express.
To date, Final Salute, Inc. has helped 200 veteran women and their children, and now runs three transitional homes for them in Alexandria, Virginia; Martinsburg, West Virginia; and Columbus, Ohio. Through its S.A.F.E. program (Savings Assessment and Financial Education), the organization assists women vets achieve financial stability and offers emergency assistance, and through its H.O.M.E. initiative (Housing Outreach Mentorship Encouragement), it offers housing assistance and help with food, diapers, and other essentials.
“We are not a pity party environment. We give you all the tools that you need, but your success in this program is up to you.” Boothe’s tireless efforts, she said, are “the right thing to do as an American and the right thing to do as a soldier.”
MORE: Fighting for the Women Who Fought for Their Country
This Former Drill Sergeant Wants to Introduce You to Homeless Vets
True to drill sergeant form, Jerry Tovo wants to be seen and heard, loud and clear. A 68-year-old veteran and photographer, Tovo hopes to give faces to the mere facts and figures of veteran homelessness in the U.S. So far, he has photographed more than 100 veterans in Chicago, Indianapolis, Nashville, Washington D.C., and New York City. Tovo has undertaken the project as part of his nonprofit, They May Have Been Heroes: The Homeless Veterans Project.
An exhibit of the photographs, called “I Was a Soldier,” is on display at the Missouri History Museum in St. Louis, but Tovo hopes to gather enough support and acclaim to display it at the Newseum in Washington D.C. Tovo has invested more than $35,000 in the project and isn’t stopping there — he’s also working on a book about his travels. Any money donated to his campaign goes to his travel costs and to National Veterans Homeless Support. Tovo wants people to see what these veterans go through and doesn’t want anyone to assume the worst about them. “People tend to generalize that these guys are all just a bunch of drunks and alcoholics,” Tovo told Florida Today. “That they’re happy where they are. But every one of these people, every one of them, have their own story. There’s a reason why they are where they are.”
MORE: This Injured Veteran Healed Himself. Now He’s Bringing His Secret to Others
What These D.C. City Workers Are Doing Will Make You Smile
Not everyone has a warm place to sleep every night — that’s something we must remember during this especially cold winter. But even during unusually severe weather, many of D.C.’s homeless are beating the cold, thanks to a roving set of city workers who provide blankets for the region’s less fortunate.
The efforts of these city heroes nearly went unnoticed until a passerby recently posted a photo of a pile fresh and clean blankets that a worker left on a park bench in McPherson Square. According to Good News Network, 29-year-old Danika Oriol-Morway took the photo and captioned alongside, “Yesterday this pile of blankets was all over the ground filthy, partially wet and frozen having been slept in the night before. I saw a D.C. city worker putting the stuff into what looked like a trash bag. Then this morning I walk by the same spot and see the blankets had been washed and folded… Made me smile.”
MORE: Not Even Brain Cancer Could Stop This 10-Year-Old From Caring About the Homeless
It turns out that D.C. provides blankets to homeless people who are not in shelters, GNN reports. The program also picks up the blankets and has them cleaned. In these below freezing temperatures, it’s compassionate efforts like these that help us all feel a little warmer.
It Started as a Winter Chore. Then It Turned Into a Movement
D.C. dad Kenny Wright had no idea that assigning his two young sons a simple winter chore would spark a civic movement. After a recent onslaught of snow on the east coast, Wright asked Kenny Jr. and Darin to shovel the walkways outside their elderly neighbors’ homes. Their generosity caught the attention of local TV station FOX 5, which then aired a segment on the brothers for its “Pay It Forward” campaign. After the story aired, a whole army of citizen volunteers stepped up to help. Jeffrey Richardson, who leads the volunteer group Serve DC, told the station, “Between the last 24 hours, we have had over 170 new volunteers sign up to be a part of the District’s snow team and support seniors and others who have access and functional needs.” Some of the new volunteers were immediately sent to wards that needed shoveling, but the influx was so huge that many were put on a waiting list to help on future projects. As the Wrights demonstrated, even a small act of generosity can snowball into some much bigger.
MORE: A Boston group brings people together to shovel driveways for those who can’t.
He Started a ‘Grassroots’ Movement to Help Vets With One Very Simple Act
During the federal government’s shutdown last year, South Carolina’s Chris Cox felt there were some national chores too important to let slide. So he mowed the lawn between the Lincoln and World War II Memorials. Now he’s using his notoriety to start a foundation that will help disabled veterans with even more mowing. He plans to enlist veterans to trim the lawns of disabled vets and complete other chores that are difficult for them. “It doesn’t take a lot to make them feel good,” Cox told the South Carolina Radio Network. He’s heading back to Washington, D.C. this month to gather support for the cause, with lofty goals. “I’d like to see a memorial militia in each state,” Cox said.
Can Software Close the SAT Achievement Gap?
Dan Driscoll started City Football Club, a nonprofit soccer program for middle and high school students in Washington, DC. To play soccer, students had to participate in SAT tutoring and college counseling. Driscoll found that his tutoring techniques helped his students gain an average of 100 points on each of the three sections of the SAT. And while many of his students were heading to college, he wanted to find a way to give the same opportunity to other students. So he started Prepify, a cloud-based service that teaches students to take the SAT and ACT. The program adapts to students’ progress—for example, if a student misses a question, an easier version of a similar question will pop up next—and could close the gap in test scores between low-income students and their affluent peers. Prepify is a for-profit company, and Driscoll plans to reinvest all profits back into the software to create tools like a progress dashboard to connect low-income students with top universities.
MORE: The Bay Area groups that are trying to close the STEM gap