Today’s Solutions: October 31, 2024

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.

This ancient Arabic technique

This ancient Arabic technique is saving Alicante from floods

In Alicante, it never rains, but it pours. The city in southeast Spain goes without rain for months on end, but when it comes, it’s torrential, bringing destructive and sometimes fatal flooding - or, at least, it used to. In San Juan, a low-lying area of the city, authorities have built a new Read More...

Paris will soon be home to the

Paris will soon be home to the largest rooftop urban farm in the world

With 65,000 square feet of warehouse rooftop space dedicated to growing all sorts of produce, New York City’s Brooklyn Grange is one of the largest urban farms in the world. Next year, however, the urban farm will seem like a dwarf in comparison to a new urban farm soon to open in Paris. The Read More...

Commuters in Rome can now pay

Commuters in Rome can now pay for metro rides with used plastic bottles

You may not be so motivated to pick up littered plastic bottles when you walk around the city, but if those plastic bottles paid for your ride on the metro, you might be more inclined to collect those bottles. That’s the idea behind a new scheme in Rome where residents can deposit plastic bottles Read More...

This green oasis is actually a

This green oasis is actually a hospital that uses nature to promote healing

Communal gardens, landscaped rooftops, and wide-open windows aren't features of your typical hospital—but maybe they should be. Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in Singapore is a case study in what can happen when a nature-inspired design is applied to the medical setting to promote healing. The Read More...

What it’s like to ride on NY

What it’s like to ride on NYC’s first self-driving shuttle

We write quite a lot about the development of self-driving vehicles, but it will surely feel a bit strange the first time we actually step foot in one and watch the steering wheel turn itself. In New York City, autonomous car company Optimus Ride just debuted the first public self-driving vehicle Read More...

In the climate change era, the

In the climate change era, these geodesic domes could be the homes of the future

The home of the future needs to be prepared for the harsh weather events that will surely come about as a result of climate change. That’s why a startup by the name of Geoship is designing buildings made from a new material that can withstand disasters: bioceramic. Geoship is using the new Read More...

How school playgrounds could g

How school playgrounds could give 20 million Americans access to parks

At a public elementary school in Hell’s Kitchen in New York City, a playground that used to be a barren asphalt lot is now a green space filled with plants and trees—and when school isn’t in session, it’s open to anyone in the neighborhood to use as a park. It’s one example of a Read More...

A new study has revealed an ef

A new study has revealed an effective way to help poor families escape poverty

Housing vouchers help millions of American families weather the crushing experience of poverty. With housing choice vouchers, low-income households receive federal aid to pay their rent. Also known as Section 8, the program has been a simple and effective alternative to America’s troubled Read More...

Singapore tower replaces green

Singapore tower replaces greenery it has taken with indoor and outdoor gardens

Back in 2014, Singapore authorities passed a law stating that any greenery lost because of new development must be replaced with publicly accessible greenery of an equal area. This has resulted in many lush projects sprouting in the city-state. Now informed by the rule, Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), Read More...

This is what happened when Mad

This is what happened when Madrid’s new government tried repealing the car ban

When Madrid’s new administration came to power this past May, it seemed European city car bans were in peril. It’s become somewhat of a trend to ban cars from major city centers in Europe, but the city’s new government promised to scrap the law that had seen almost all private cars disappear Read More...