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Increasing Voter Turnout for 2018 and Beyond

Tina Rosenberg

June 13, 2017 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Voter turnout in the United States is far below that in most democracies. States and cities are trying a variety of ways to increase turnout, with mixed success. Eight states and Washington, D.C., are moving to automatic voter registration, for example, which is commonplace in nearly every other advanced democracy, and 32 states are debating instituting or expanding it. But not all registered voters are actually casting ballots.

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Pilot program to help young women run for political office

Alison Graham

June 07, 2017 |

Indiana Daily Student |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Bloomington, Indiana

After calling roll at an all-male city council meeting in Bloomington, Indiana, city clerk Regina Moore recruited a group of women to run for office with the Democratic Women's Caucus in 1999. In 2017, she worked with a national organization called Rise to Run to start the recruitment pipeline younger by targeting high school and college-aged women to be more politically engaged.

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311: From a Hotline to a Platform for Citizen Engagement

Tod Newcombe

June 01, 2017 |

Government Technology |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Kansas City, Missouri

Boston's 311 mobile application, launch in 2009, exemplifies the new customer service-oriented era of the citizen service, which allows users to request services, take photos of potholes, and offer data to city planners. Neighboring Somerville, Massachusetts has a successful 311 app of its own, where an analytics team crunches the wealth of data generated by the app service. But Kansas City, Missouri's 311 services are even more developed, and citizens can access the city via the app, clal-in, Twitter, and social media.

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Chicago Youth Help Decide Where Public Funds Go

Martín Xavi Macías

May 30, 2017 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Chicago is asking its citizens, including youth, to help determine how to spend public money. Participatory budgeting involves communities identifying their greatest needs and guiding spending towards solutions.

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Directly Impacted Youth Are Leading Fights Against Racism and the Criminal Punishment System

Jean Trounstine

May 30, 2017 |

Truthout |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Across the country, young people are taking an active stand in criminal justice reform. Organizations like Assata’s Daughters and Teens Leading the Way have invested in young voices to shift make changes in things like the prison industrial complex and juvenile record expungement. In doing so, they have centered civic participation, racial justice, and activism as core educational tools to empower youth participants.

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Lessons from India in building urban resilience

Patralekha Chatterjee

May 29, 2017 |

Citiscope |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Surat, Gujarat

TARU, an Indian thinktank, has found that Indians cities have combined decentralized action and "multi-stakeholder engagement" in public policy to respond to problems of scarcity in water and power as well as climate change-related natural disasters. Municipalities are putting responsibility for improving local lives at the grassroots level; integrating disruptive technologies from the private sector; and fostering collaboration between government and citizens.

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How Cities Fought the White House, and Won, in the 1980s

Brentin Mock

May 24, 2017 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

In 1986, the city of Baltimore battled the Reagan administration over its local anti-apartheid ordinances—and won. How they prevailed may have important lessons for cities trying to resist Trump today; from his policies regarding immigration to climate change.

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How a Small Town Is Standing Up to Fracking

Justin Nobel

May 22, 2017 |

Rolling Stone |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Grant Township, Pennsylvania

While the US economy gluttonously enjoys the cheap fuel prices afforded by fracking, the consequences of the practice on the environment and communities like Grant Township in Pennsylvania reveal the ugly underbelly of the oil and gas industry and the broken regulatory infrastructure of state and federal government. But Grant wasn't willing to roll over and just let their woodlands and water sources be polluted, so they worked together and took a creative defense against the installation of a toxic injection well in their town: by granting the trees, animals, and streams rights to protection and battling it out in court. Their efforts may provide hope and a model for other communities at risk of being taken advantage of.

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Cracking Washington's Gridlock to Save the Planet

David Bornstein

May 19, 2017 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

Climate change is a growing issue, but the Citizens' Climate Lobby (a group of volunteers who work to get Republicans and Democrats to work in unison) is aiming to curb carbon emissions. So far the group has had a large increase in number of volunteers and politicians joining and willing to work together.

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How to hire more black principals

Lillian Mongeau

May 12, 2017 |

The Hechinger Report |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Although the diversity of the teacher pool is low, several nonprofits are successfully recruiting and training more principals of color from this same group. New Leaders has shown particular promise - 64 percent of principals that have gone through its program are educators of color. Leaders at the program say that they are able to recruit a more diverse class by "focusing on mindset, a willingness to share leadership with other adults and a proven track record of success" in lieu of GPA and college "prestige." The outcome of the selection process is "naturally diverse," according to the CEO.

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