A new program in India is teaching women in tribes that live in remote areas how to make and use solar panels.
From Inhabitat:
"Throughout India there are many rural villages that are completely removed from the grid. With no source of power for cooking, light, and heating they currently must rely on firewood, kerosene or diesel for fuel. Now green jobs are blossoming throughout these remote areas as the Orissa Tribal Empowerment & Livelihoods Programme trains women and youth to become barefoot solar engineers. This brilliant initiative provides a bright future for the semi-literate and illiterate rural poor by teaching them to harness the sun through the construction of photovoltaic systems and solar powered lanterns."
Read the full story: India’s Barefoot Solar Engineers Are Building a Brighter Future
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
One of Denver’s busiest corridors to gain BRT
The project will span 18 miles and contain 74 bus rapid transit stations.
275,000 bus trips are at stake on Seattle's ballot
If passed, the Seattle Transit Measure would trigger a 0.3% sales tax and raise an average of $138 million per year to maintain and expand Seattle’s bus services.
Texas may pay Israeli company billions to ease water woes
Texas awarded IDE Technologies the contract for its Harbor Island project, which is slated to become the Western Hemisphere's largest desalination plant.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
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