Sustainable Urban Development
With cities expected to host about 70 percent of the world's population, sustainable urban development is key to making communities worldwide more resilient against the growing threat of climate change. Find out about the latest urban practices from across the world aiming to make our cities more sustainable and inclusive in these good-news stories from The Optimist Daily.
New York Harbor: an unexpectedly popular feeding ground for dolphins
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) released a new study that reveals some surprising news about the New York Harbor—it’s an unexpectedly popular feeding ground for bottlenose dolphins from spring through fall. At a glance, the New York Harbor seems anything but ideal for dolphins. Read More...
Seattle installs EV chargers on utility poles for residents
Electric vehicles are the transportation of the future. In the meantime, cities are struggling to install the infrastructure that we will all need to charge our cars. This is an important issue for EV owners away from a home or office charging port, or if they live in an apartment complex. If Read More...
Gaza beachgoers enjoy crystal clear waters for the first time in years
People in the Gaza Strip who wanted to take a refreshing dip while visiting the city’s beaches would be hard-pressed to actually get into the water. Beachgoers who did brave the waves would sometimes end up getting ill due to the untreated sewage that was flowing straight into the waters off Gaza Read More...
Google’s new tool lets us witness the planet changing in near real-time
Planet Earth is changing, transforming, and shifting faster than we can keep track of these days. Human development continues to spread, The Alps are turning from white to green, massive solar farms are being erected, and droughts are shrinking lakes and drying out rivers. All of these major Read More...
Tree cities: regreening and making cities more climate-resilient
We decided to revamp a story about a wonderful solution: tree cities. At The Optimist Daily, as you’ve probably guessed, we love solutions for urban green spaces. We’ve written quite a bit about these, with their ability to offset carbon emissions, help grow food, and help animals and Read More...
Making spongier and more climate-resilient cities
We decided to revamp a story about a wonderful solution, with a few updates. The world’s cities and population centers are overwhelmingly located near water. This makes good sense since water is essential for living, and throughout history, people have built their settlements where water is Read More...
VR study shows bright colors and green spaces bring joy to cities
We at The Optimist Daily have written a great deal about the positive effects of greenery in cities. They sequester carbon, boost climate resiliency, and they cheer people up. Now, there is research to support greenery, along with bright colors, making cities more enjoyable. A study from the Read More...
Chicago will give 500 dollars each to 5,000 households
Sometimes, getting money to those who need it can become a complicated task. Organizations aiming to provide health or living relief can do great work, but not everyone needs help with healthcare or rent. Additionally, organizations that require oversight require staff, and that costs more Read More...
Lower traffic accidents linked to urban emissions laws
From the 1970s to the mid-1990s, the US and France were more or less the same in traffic fatality rates. In fact, they had both declined by 31 percent from 1979 to 1994. Today, though, people getting around in the US are three times more likely to die than in France. What happened? Bloomberg Read More...
A garden designer’s top 6 tips for rewilding your own garden
Rewilding is a progressive form of ecological restoration and conservation that returns a region to its natural, wild, and “unkempt” state. Here at The Optimist Daily, we love to spotlight the amazing rewilding initiatives that are taking off worldwide, and exactly how each project helps boost Read More...