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In times of deep darkness, we not only need light -- we need to be light for one another. --Parker J. Palmer
Hello! With all that is happening in our world, it’s easy to forget how creative we are. Yet, when we quell the fear, ignore the doubts and open to what is possible, life finds a way. All around the world, people are ‘creating from adversity’ and bringing forth new ideas. Hope you enjoy the stories this week and find inspiration in our shared creativity!
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Tamara Merino | Bloomberg
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Chile's newly elected president, Gabriel Boric, has moved into Yungay, a Santiago neighborhood filled with abandoned lots infested with garbage, overcrowded homes, and traffickers peddling drugs. "We want to recover those neighborhoods that today are threatened by voracious real estate developers, criminals or drug traffickers," he said in a TV interview. Boric campaigned on improving government and state services, reducing income inequality, and ending "neoliberal" practices. In Chile, the president chooses where to live, and Boric has made a choice very different from his predecessors. His presence in the neighborhood has had a dramatic effect. The local economy has picked up, the police presence has increased, drug traffickers are moving shop, and real estate searches in the neighborhood have doubled.
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Marrovi | Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5 mx
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Barcelona's innovative 'superblocks' strategy could make modern cities more sustainable and resilient - and safer and healthier for residents. Car traffic is mostly banned inside the groups of 3×3 city blocks, and spaces for parks, pedestrians, and cyclists are expanded. Surrounding streets are open to car traffic but have speed limits of just 10 to 20 km per hour. Superblocks let residents walk to shops, schools and restaurants, without dodging traffic or queueing at corner crosswalks. Over the long term, Barcelona plans to introduce superblocks across the entire city. To help other cities see if it would work for them, a Swiss analyst has developed an automated system to evaluate the potential for such transformations in different cities.
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MCI-Cedar Junction
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Massachusetts' prison population is at a 35-year low because "at-risk individuals [have been given] pathways to positive life choices, creating new re-entry services, and empowering returning citizens to rebuild their lives in meaningful ways," says Public Safety and Security Secretary Terrence Reidy. There are only 6,000 people incarcerated in prisons. And one of oldest prisonsis about to close for good. The MCI-Cedar Junction facility, which opened in 1956, operates at 68% capacity. It houses about 525 men, but needs$30 million in repairs in order to continue operation.
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Scott Webb | Unsplash
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Rupy Kahlon is a university worker who lives in Walsall, UK. She openedher home to people fleeing violence, hostingvulnerable young adults as part of the YMCA'ssupported lodgings program. The program places young people with nowhere to live in households with spare rooms. Kahlonopened her homebecause she was once one herself.In the 1990's, Kahlon and her two infant children fled from an abusive relationship. "I can empathize when people come here with only a few bags of belongings because I've been there," she says. Kahlon, whoput herself through college and university while working nights at a chicken factory,now finds herself in a position to help others get on their feet. So far, she has hosted 15 young people, serving a bit like a surrogate family while also helping the young people learn life skills like cooking and managing a budget.
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David Castor | Wikimedia
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Sweden sends only a tiny amount of its waste to landfillsit recycles nearly half and burns the other half to generate electricity and heat. This waste-to-energy proceduremakes it possible to phase out landfillsand replace Russian gas while earning Sweden $100 million per year. Its 34 waste-to-energy plants supply 1.4 million households with heat and 780,000 households with electricity. While most Swedish power comes from hydro and nuclear, the plants reduce greenhouse gases by keeping trash out of landfills. Across Europe, 492 waste-to-energy power plants burn 96 million tons of waste annually, supplying almost 20 million people with electricity.
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