Above: Spruce Street Harbor Park. Photo credit: Flickr user Kevin Jarrett. Every city has one. It’s the civic space that once held so much promise, but is now moribund, lacking people and energy. Until last summer, Philadelphia’s Spruce Street Harbor was one such place. That is, until David Fierabend and his colleagues at Groundswell Design […]
Article · August 19, 2015 by Carol Coletta
Miami is buzzing about new plans for a 10-mile forgotten stretch of public property beneath its elevated metro rail. Manhattan has its High Line, and Miami will soon have its Underline. Meg Daly is founder and president of Friends of The Underline. Here are five things you should know from my conversation with Meg: 1. […]
Article · August 5, 2015 by Carol Coletta
If you serve on a nonprofit board this week’s “Knight Cities” is especially for you. Raising money is part of the job for nonprofit board members, but there’s also a significant opportunity that isn’t taken advantage of nearly enough: influencing policy. BoardSource is the go-to resource for funders, partners and nonprofit leaders who want to […]
Article · July 22, 2015 by Carol Coletta
Can an old barge sitting in Biscayne Bay help the city of Miami come face to face with the challenge of climate change? That’s the intent of the Miami Science Barge, a creation of CappSci and one of 32 winners of the Knight Cities Challenge in its first year. Alissa Farina is an innovation associate […]
Article · July 19, 2015 by Carol Coletta
Growing up in South Memphis, I spent countless hours at a tiny storefront branch library right around the corner from my home. I loved to read and the place was jammed with books. Perfect! But libraries today are as likely to be occupied by people studying for their GED, applying for jobs, figuring out small business startup […]
Article · July 8, 2015 by Carol Coletta
Can behavioral science nudge us into better behavior? A growing number of government leaders think so. And they are being assisted by ideas42, a firm that uses behavioral science to design scalable solutions for social impact. Our guest this week on “Knight Cities” is Ted Robertson, managing director at the firm. Here are five things […]
Article · July 2, 2015 by Carol Coletta
It’s summer, and who doesn’t like to hang out at the pool? In most American cities, that used to mean heading down to the neighborhood pool where you found familiar faces and lots of strangers. In fact, prior to 1940, private swimming pools were almost exclusively the province of the extremely wealthy. In 1950, the […]
Article · June 24, 2015 by Carol Coletta
When big development comes to a neighborhood, how can the neighbors benefit? It’s a thorny question that communities are trying to address with all sorts of new legal, financial and taxing mechanisms. One such mechanism is a Community Benefits Agreement. Ralph Rosado is an expert on the subject, particularly when agreements are used for affordable […]
Article · June 17, 2015 by Carol Coletta
Last fall Knight Foundation opened the first Knight Cities Challenge to capture the best ideas on how to make cities more successful. It was thrilling to see the response we received from across the country: more than 7,000 ideas from people wanting to improve their communities. We chose 126 finalists and this week we’re gathering […]
Article · June 17, 2015 by Carol Coletta
Photo: Cyclists in Museum Park near Perez Art Museum Miami. Credit: Robertson Adams. For more than 30 years, I’ve lived in the heart of downtown. Three cities, three downtown homes. So I especially enjoy living life in public and with strangers. It’s easy enough. In Miami, I just walk out my front door. I visit […]
Article · June 11, 2015 by Carol Coletta
Roberta Brandes Gratz is the author of a new book on post-Katrina New Orleans on the 10th anniversary of the hurricane. It’s titled “We’re Still Here Ya Bastards: How the People of New Orleans Rebuilt Their City,” and Richard Florida calls it an “absolute must read.” Roberta also wrote “The Battle for Gotham: New York […]
Article · June 10, 2015 by Carol Coletta