London’s first community fridge launches Powered by a crowdfunding campaign, London’s first community fridge launched this week in Brixton, south London. The People’s Fridge is a public fridge in which local residents and businesses can leave spare, edible food for those who need it. The People’s Fridge is run by a group of volunteers who…
Woman leaves jackets, sweatshirts around Pasco for homeless One woman in Pasco County is on a mission to keep the homeless warm this winter. When it gets cold out, Melissa Cohee gets to work. She’s trying to keep people warm in her own unique way. “Thought this would be a good idea. It’s for…
A new crowdfunding platform is helping homeless people train up and get into work Founded by Alex Stephany, also CEO of JustPark, Beam crowdfunds employment training. It launched with a pilot in September and is backed of The Mayor of London and Nesta, with James Bowen, author of A Street Cat Named Bob as ambassador. Beam partners with…
Intergenerational senior homes More retirement and nursing homes are asking college students to move in, an arrangement that benefits everyone. On his way home from class, Jurriën Mentink takes a slight detour to pick up some fresh fillets from the fishmonger. His neighbor has an affinity for fish and, since he cycles by the market…
US: 1 million smart thermostats to low-income families Smart thermostats like Nest do appear to pay for themselves in energy savings, but the upfront cost of several hundred dollars can be pretty hard to swallow for many households. That got a little easier recently with the launch of Nest Thermostat E (review coming soon), which…
Bhopal Junction, 1st India’s railway station to install a sanitary napkin vending machine While it is common to see most railway stations equipped with ticket counters, passenger helpdesks, toilets, refreshment stalls and waiting rooms, Bhopal has made yet another necessity available for its women commuters by making low-cost sanitary napkins available at the railway station.…
Denmark’s reduce recidivism with architecture “We truly believe, and evidently the statistics support us in this, that a hard and less-stimulating environment creates more re-offenders,” Mads Mandrup, an architect and partner at C.F. Møller Architects About 70 miles southeast of Copenhagen, in the town of Gundslev, Storstrøm Prison looks more like a university campus than a…
New cancer studies aim to treat those chemotherapy has failed One of the first line treatments for cancer is chemotherapy, which can be a long, stressful process. While some patients certainly benefit from the treatment and see their cancer go into remission, others may not see the same effect. For those chemotherapy has failed, as…
Thoses floating homes are hurricane-proof Dutch architect Koen Olthuis and Miami-based livable yact company Arkup collaborated to build a 4,350-suqare-foot home that floats on the water. It’s completely off the grid, and is capable of withstanding a category 4 hurricane. According to Inhabitat, Olthuis — with his studio Waterstudio — collaborated with “avant-garde life on…
Residents move into crowfunded tiny house community for a pilot project Last July 21, fourteen residents moved into their new community. Denver’s crowdfunded tiny home project has run into more than a few road blocks, but those home are now disponible. Eleven 8-foot by 12-foot homes and a bathing house fill the Urban Land Conservancy-owned…