Several funding opportunities are open in March and April 2017 at Knight Foundation. We look for ideas that align with our mission of supporting informed and engaged communities, and embrace those that stretch the definition of what that means. Knight Community Information Lab. This opportunity is specifically for community and place-based foundations that want to […]
Article · March 16, 2017 by Andrew Sherry
Above: NFL veteran Israel Idonije with Rony Abovitz, president, CEO and founder of Magic Leap, during their discussion at Black Tech Week. Photo by Rosemary D’Amour. Top: A photo illustration of Magic Leap technology at work, Photo courtesy Magic Leap. Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz had a message for budding entrepreneurs at Black Tech Week in Miami recently, and it came right out of “Star Wars.” “Being an entrepreneur is a spiritual journey. Will you go Jedi, or will you go Sith?” The sci-fi analogy was fitting for the founder of a […]
Article · March 1, 2016 by Andrew Sherry
Photo by Tracy Russell on Flickr. A new tool is coming to the municipal playbook, behavioral science. It may sound like Big Brother or Mad Men manipulating the masses, but the applications are more prosaic: encourage recycling, college completion, energy savings, healthy eating, vaccinations. Chicago, one of the first cities to experiment with applying behavioral science […]
Article · July 2, 2015 by Andrew Sherry
Video: Dave Troy, “Segregation, Society, and the Future of Social Data” at PDF on YouTube The Personal Democracy Forum was born more than a decade ago out of the idea that the Internet’s power to connect us could transform democracy. At PDF15, held last week in New York, tech tools built on the Internet were ubiquitous, but […]
Article · June 8, 2015 by Andrew Sherry
Emily Munroe has heard the excuses so many times that the 8-80 Cities executive director includes a “myth vs. fact” section to the toolkit in her organization’s consulting reports. Everyone seems to love the idea of making cities more livable, but many believe their city or neighborhood is exceptional and what has worked elsewhere will […]
Article · February 5, 2015 by Andrew Sherry
Artist Phillip Adams of Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program took his talents off the streets last month to paint a mural titled “Communications Matters” at the Communications Network conference of the same name. Like good communications, the mural was engaging, with as many as four or five people helping Adams with it at a time. Knight Foundation was a sponsor of the […]
Article · November 18, 2014 by Andrew Sherry
This post has been updated. Knight Foundation uses challenges to find great ideas across its program areas. In addition, a few opportunities are available year round. Here are the opportunities open now: If you have a news or information idea you want to develop and test, the Knight Prototype Fund may be for you. This […]
Article · October 17, 2014 by Andrew Sherry
There are plenty of good reasons to plan cities so they attract more bikes and fewer cars. But according to 8-80 Cities Executive Director Gil Penalosa, many cities are going about it the wrong way. RELATED LINKS “No excuses: The myths vs. facts of building livable cities” by Andrew Sherry on Knight Blog (2/4/2015) “The […]
Article · October 10, 2014 by Andrew Sherry
For someone who is in such a hurry to change cities, Gil Penalosa talks a lot about going slow. That’s because for the executive director of 8-80 Cities it all starts with making cities and residential neighborhoods safe for pedestrians. RELATED LINKS “Want to build a bikeable city? Focus on those who don’t bike” by […]
Article · October 8, 2014 by Andrew Sherry
Above: Study group members discuss ideas to take home from Copenhagen as a fly fisherman practices casting. Credit: Torbjörn Larsson/Knight Foundation. Planning, designing and managing public spaces with human beings squarely at the center of the picture produces remarkably livable cities and economic growth. Does it also strengthen democracy by bringing people together to address […]
Article · August 29, 2014 by Andrew Sherry
A cyclist rides through downtown Copenhagen. Photographer: Torbörn Larsson/Knight Foundation Riding bikes through an unfamiliar city may be the easy part. Taking home lessons learned will take skill. The tour, organized by 8-80 Cities and supported by Knight Foundation, will also cross the Oresund Bridge to Malmö, Sweden, a port city that reinvented itself as […]
Article · August 25, 2014 by Andrew Sherry