Today’s Solutions: July 26, 2024

How swimmable cities could cha

How swimmable cities could change the face of urban cooling

DECEMBER 21ST, 2023 UPDATE: This solution is a Reader’s Choice selection of 2023! Thank you for nominating the solutions that left you feeling optimistic this year. Swimming in floating pools in the Hudson and East Rivers was formerly a popular way for New Yorkers to escape the oppressive Read More...

NYC E-Bike

How e-bikes are transforming New York City

New transportation technologies literally transform cities. Beyond the obvious construction of subways, the innovation of the automobile gave rise to the prevalence of suburbs, industrial areas outside of cities, and the remodeling of American streets.  We might soon see a similar change in Read More...

New York City water

New York City makes plans to become “spongier”

Cities evolve. They expand to accommodate growing populations. They alter their infrastructure for new technologies, such as automobiles and trolleys. Today, we even see cities like London, Paris, and Berlin moving traffic away from their city centers, and some are making changes to become sponge Read More...

New York new mom

In New York, 500 new moms will soon get monthly stipends

Everyone needs a helping hand every now and then. We’ve all been able to live and prosper because we live and cooperate as a community, and this means giving and getting help when necessary. We go farther together.  In New York City, where the cost of living is expensive, new and expecting Read More...

New York City skyline at dusk

New York City moves away from natural gas in new buildings

As cities scramble to meet their ambitious emissions reduction goals, local governments are increasingly looking to shift from fossil fuels to cleaner forms of energy. New York City, for example, has become the latest major city to ban the use of natural gas in new buildings, reports Reuters. As Read More...

New York City buildings from below

New York City bans the use of fuel-burning systems in new construction

Following in the footsteps of green cities like San Francisco, New York City voted last week to pass a bill that will ban fuel-burning systems, like stoves and heaters, from all new construction. A huge source of emissions and indoor air pollution, gas stoves are being replaced with electric models Read More...

New York Harbor

New York Harbor introduces 11.2 million oysters

Looking for more sustainable ways to protect waterways and protect themselves from climate risks, more communities are turning to the humble oyster to strengthen their coastlines. Seaside cities throughout California use oysters to dampen storm surges and purify water, and now, New York City is Read More...

People walk towards voting site in New York City

New York City will allow noncitizens to vote in local elections

For long-time residents of the US who have difficulty acquiring citizenship, elections can be a painful reminder of the difficult road to fully establishing oneself in the US. In an unprecedented move to support those seeking citizenship, New York City has approved a bill that would let noncitizens Read More...

New York skyline as seen from Brooklyn

New York City opens the country’s first safe injection site

Harm reduction strategies are gaining traction as a more effective way to quell the ever-growing opioid crisis. These strategies, like making clean needle exchanges available and decriminalizing drug possession, understand that criminalization alone will not reduce drug abuse, nor does it protect Read More...

NYC to build one of the countr

NYC to build one of the country's biggest EV charging networks

Electric vehicles aren’t a common sight on the streets of New York City. In fact, this fast-paced city seems to have finally slept on EV adoption. It lags behind Los Angeles, a city that boasts four times as many registered EVs and around eight times more chargers—but NYC plans to turn this Read More...