Cities
This archive collects milestone stories where cities are the driving force behind positive change. From urban planning breakthroughs to local policy wins, these stories highlight how municipal governments, city agencies, and urban communities around the world are solving real problems.
Philadelphia water rate links payments to household income
City utility prepares nation’s first water rate based on annual earnings.
700MW solar project in Dubai hits record bid with $7.3 cents per KWh
The project is considered the largest concentrated solar power (CSP) project in the world.
L.A. City Council replaces Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day on city calendar
Over the objections of Italian American civic groups, the council made the second Monday in October a day in L.A. to commemorate “indigenous, aboriginal and native people.”
Orlando becomes 40th U.S. city to commit to 100% renewable energy
The Orlando City Commission unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday establishing a goal to move Orlando to 100 percent clean and renewable energy by 2050.
Seattle’s ‘democracy vouchers’ aim to amplify low-income voices
The city’s new “Democracy Voucher” program, the first of its kind in the US, provides every eligible Seattle resident with $100 in taxpayer-funded vouchers to donate to the candidates of their choice.
Philadelphia commits to 100 percent renewable energy by 2035
Weeks after Mayor Jim Kenney denounced the White House’s move to reject the Paris climate accord, Philadelphia announced today that it has committed to transitioning to 100 percent clean energy.
New York City divests pension funds entirely from private prisons
New York City has become the first government in the U.S. to divest its pension funds from private prisons.
The world cannot wait and neither will we, 61 U.S. mayors pledge in support of Paris Agreement
Responding to President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the historic Paris Agreement on climate change, dozens of state and local officials have vowed to lead where the president refuses to.
New Orleans begins removing white supremacist monuments
Workers dismantle an an obelisk dedicated to the Battle of Liberty Place, which commemorated whites who tried to topple a biracial post-Civil War government.