A suicide-prevention group is generating smiles to the faces of commuters and pedestrians in Boston with their Happier Boston Campaign, which involves social interventions such as singing in elevators and asking everyone in the baseball stadium to give high-fives to everyone nearby.
Vancouver is rated first among North American cities for quality of life, in a closely watched annual survey, followed by Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal in second, third and fourth places. San Francisco won the fifth spot. On a global basis, once again, the top city in the world for quality of life is Vienna.
Commuters in a Chicago area train station were asked to participate in an experiment. Instead of remaining isolated, like most commuters do, they agreed to talk to the stranger next to them. Cy the end of the train ride, commuters who talked to a person nearby reported having a more positive experience than those who had sat in solitude.
Biological diversity does not come easily in one of the most crowded and disadvantaged neighborhoods of Los Angeles County. One school, wanting only to beautify their campus, got an unexpected result after ripping out concrete and planting native flora. Kids' test scores in science rose sixfold.
A Los Angeles-based fashion designer is starting an urban garden revolution in his neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles. Instead of vacant lots -- the city owns miles and miles of these in LA county -- Ron Finley wants to help residents to plant a million tomato plants. He is co-founder of LA Green Grounds, a company that plants gardens at low-income homes as a part of a recovery system to transform neighborhoods.
In one of the world's biggest and most polluted cities, rooftop gardens are springing up in an effort to battle the smog, part of an initiative driven by Mexico City's government --mainly targeting schools and hospitals.
A former landfill in a Rio de Janeiro slum has been turned into a park thanks to a group of dedicated volunteers. People came here to get rid of old refrigerators, stoves, tires and even their dead dogs, said Mauro Quintanilha, a musician and craftsman who started the initiative to create a green oasis out of the pungent garbage dump.
By the time Cesar Gutierrez was 16, he had already gone to jail twice, experimented with gang life, sold drugs and ran away from home. Today, the 22-year-old works at a popular Manhattan restaurant as a sous chef and has cooked with renown chef Daniel Boulud.
The Original OKRA Charity Saloon in downtown Houston operates a lot like other taverns. Booze is purchased and poured, bartenders get paid and take home tips. But the owners give all their profits away. Proceeds from OKRA's are donated to a different Houston-based organization each month. With every drink purchased, bar patrons vote on which charity is chosen from among four new nominees each month.
London's homicide rate has fallen steadily over the last decade, dropping 47 percent since 2003. Figures from the Metropolitan Police showed 117 murders recorded in the capital last year, down from 222 in the year 2011.
The city of Boulder, Colorado has won the right to take its power supply—and carbon emissions—away from corporate control and redirect it toward the sun. The change for Boulder came in November when voters passed two ballot measures that allow the city to begin the process of forming its own municipal power utility to take advantage of the 300 days of annual sunshine.
Boston's new bike-sharing program officially launched last week, with bicycles available at 61 stations for jaunts around the city.
When it comes to tackling San Francisco's entrenched panhandling problem, City Hall has tried just about everything. But it's never tried puppies - until now. Starting Aug. 1, the city - in a program believed to be the first of its kind in the country - will exchange a small stipend for fostering problematic puppies, readying them for adoption
Tech job openings rose 82% in Detroit, with companies like Google and Ford hiring engineers in droves. And, college grads in Detroit say they are set on an immediate career path upon graduation.
More suburban downtowns are burdened with empty storefronts, but a growing number of Chicago area communities are encouraging artists to dress up the vacant buildings' windows with art under glass.
Newsweek rated American cities on their job creation, sustainability, livability and transportation-infrastructure, to cull a list of the nation's top performing metropolises. And, the 10 cities topping the list represent diverse areas of the country.
Created one year ago by a 61-year-old librarian who became homeless, a large red tricycle that carries a small library through the city of São Paulo, Brazil encourages reading among people who live on the streets and cannot otherwise access libraries typically requiring ID and proof of residency.
The Mayor's Challenge is a contest run by Bloomberg Philanthropies to find the best ideas bubbling out of our cities--from data mining to turning foreclosed houses into urban farms. New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg is funding the best ideas of local governments using the competition that will result in the winner taking home $5 million and four runners-up getting $1 million each.
You can still see more than 10,000 coin-operated phones around New York City today. What seems a relic of the past in this age of mobile technology, became a vital link in an emergency for those who had no power to charge their devices during Hurricane Sandy. Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched a design contest to reinvent the lowly payphone and bring it into the 21st Century.
Officials in Paris this week looking for a greener way to keep its lawns mowed, replaced the fleet of noisy gas-guzzling lawnmowers with a small flock of sheep that are grazing the city's open spaces. The scheme also cuts down on the need for chemical herbicides.
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