Paris offers a model to bring swimming to Charles River

Air and water pollutants have an adverse impact on the health and well-being of citizens. Protecting the air and water, by increasing the usage of solar energy, can have a tremendous impact on reversing the impact of pollution on health. The Sunshot Initiative, launched by the Department of Energy, has already begun seeing improvements.

At the vanguard of initiatives to increase diversity among visitors to the National Parks are groups like Oakland-based H.E.A.T. (Hiking Every Available Trail), which uses social media and group expeditions to increase minority groups' awareness, use, trust and enjoyment of the outdoors. Emerging alongside changes in policy, such as the Park Services' creation of a Diversity and Inclusion Office, H.E.A.T. demonstrates how local organizers in minority and, often, urban regions around the United States are moving the needle on diversity within the National Park system.

Gathering Place is the name of a new park in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is a large-scale creative park project that, rather than receiving funding from the local government, was funded entirely through a local philanthropic foundation. One goal of the park is to bring different areas of the city together--though it remains to be seen if this will work as well as if privately-funded public spaces are effective in the future.

The Anacostia, which has long been one of the most polluted rivers in the country, has been given a new lease on life, thanks to cleanup efforts and a recent sewer upgrade in D.C. Since water quality has improved, there's been renewed interest in waterfront recreation and development. Now local groups are working to mitigate displacement from gentrification, with some success.

San Diego residents may be seeing more placemaking projects, like murals or pedestrian plazas, because of a more streamlined permitting process. The city, notorious for making such projects difficult and expense to install, passed legislation and will be reviewing it to assess whether it should be expanded. San Diego has also created a fund that can help offset the costs of permit fees and other expenses.

After falling behind in urban planning and innovation in the 1990s and early 2000s, Oklahoma City created a limited-time sales tax called MAPS to pay for capital projects, like the new Scissortail Park. The tax consisted of a series of one-cent sales taxes and has brought in over $1.5 billion and has helped fund convention centers, other urban green areas, and more.

A new submersible machine produced by the Mote Marine Laboratory in Florida allows scientists to more effectively spot phytoplankton blooms which can cause red tide. This harmful algal bloom event can wreak havoc on ecosystems and the Programmable Hyperspectral Seawater Scanner is an improvement on an older model. While the maintenance cost can be high, scientists hope the instrument will be able to detect harmful algal blooms early in order to prevent outbreaks.

The nonprofit Coombs Outdoors runs summer and winter camps for youth to experience and learn about the outdoors. The camps are in high demand because of the affordable price made possible by donor subsidies.

An artificial intelligence model developed by researchers at Standford University analyzes aerial photographs to detect fields with manure illegally spread on them in the winter. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources can use that information to manually check fields for compliance with regulations that are meant to prevent water contamination.

Amidst water scarcity and increased waterborne diseases, community members are using sand dams, an innovative water management system, to conserve rainwater for daily use. Sand dams offer extended water storage capabilities, lasting up to a year, ensuring community members have consistent access to clean water for farming, cooking and general hygiene. There are currently six sand dams in the community serving 600 households.