Convenience stores in lower income neighborhoods are notorious for their unsightliness and for carrying unhealthful foods. This article highlights one project that aims to help the corner store evolve into a healthy, community-oriented place.
"Stuffed with a cook book for bodega customers, a reusable shopping bag, bodega-style flags and party invitations, the $35 'Bodega [Party] in a Box' challenges people to reconsider their views of the corner store. Proceeds go to The Neighbors Project's concurrent goal, the Food and Liquor project, which encourages people to buy fresh produce from their local bodegas. If stores don't have fruits or veggies, the F&L project helps citizens collaborate with store owners to stock healthy food.
The benefits of the F&L project are considerable. When you buy food at a small business around the corner, and not from a Whole Foods in a different zip code, you support the local economy. You interact with your neighbors. You can walk or take a bus to the bodega, so you use less gas. And perhaps most importantly, you help to place healthy food on a local store's shelves, thereby fighting obesity in your neighborhood."
"'It's easy to go into a store and buy pop soda and a pickle. It's cheap and you get a high from it,' Kit Hodge, CEO of The Neighbors Project, says. 'We want to change that knee-jerk reaction, and give people the opportunity to eat good food.'"
FULL STORY: Rethinking the Bodega
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Coming Soon to Ohio: The Largest Agrivoltaic Farm in the US
The ambitious 6,000-acre project will combine an 800-watt solar farm with crop and livestock production.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
California Grid Runs on 100% Renewable Energy for Over 9 Hours
The state’s energy grid was entirely powered by clean energy for some portion of the day on 37 out of the last 45 days.
New Forecasting Tool Aims to Reduce Heat-Related Deaths
Two federal agencies launched a new, easy-to-use, color-coded heat warning system that combines meteorological and medical risk factors.
AI Traffic Management Comes to Dallas-Fort Worth
Several Texas cities are using an AI-powered platform called NoTraffic to help manage traffic signals to increase safety and improve traffic flow.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.