Odds and Ends

Posted by Sheila Redick on February 27, 2006

Community Image

Dade County (Miami) has created a new "community image" office. Its director is Alyce Robertson, and one of her concerns is the community's tree canopy. Makes more sense to focus there than on a slogan.

Recycling

RecycleBank is the brainchild of two Philadelphia natives who decided to ramp up recycling by rewarding the suppliers (in this case, the people who generate garbage). The process is simple. Households get credit for the weight of materials they recyle, which is scanned and recorded through a computer chip embedded in the garbage bins when they are picked up the sanitation crew. Consumers then exchange that credit for coupons at various businesses. Participants can earn a maximum of $25 a month in coupons redeemable at national chains like Starbucks, Home Depot and Bed Bath and Beyond.

A six-month pilot of 2,500 homes in Philadelphia moved recycling rates in two neighborhoods from 35 percent and 7 percent to 90 percent!

Traffic

An unusual coalition of five business groups in New York joined in support of a new traffic study of Manhattan that recommends dedicating more space to buses and bicycles and freeing more sidewalk space for pedestrians.

Health Care

Discounts on travel, movie tickets and electronics are just a few of the perks awarded for healthy living to the South Africans in the Discovery Health plan. Clients who quit smoking, exercise or get an annual Pap smear earn points, similar to frequent flyer miles. Discovery has a 25 percent share of the private insurance market in South Africa, at least twice that of its nearest competitor.

Eminent Domain

More than 30 states are considering limits on the power of local governments to condemn private property and transfer it to real estate developers to spur economic growth. Some proposals would ban the practice altogether, some would make it harder to declare a neighborhood blighted and some would require governments to pay a 25 to 50 percent premium on properties they take. (I wonder if states are prepared to make up the foregone tax revenues that eminent domain make possible? I doubt it.)

Oversize Homes

Cities from Aspen to Atlanta to Arlington (VA) are moving to ban supersize homes. The average home built in the U.S. in 2005 was 2,412 square feet. Aspen's "ban" would limit homes to no more than 15,000 square feet.

Promoting Science Understanding

Cafe Scientifique meetings are popping up all over the nation, on campuses, in coffee shops, bars, even churches. It's an opportunity to put a scientist in front of a live audience for discussions on topics from nanotech to sleep. "It's almost like a continuing education," one enthusiast told The New York Times. "And the great part is, they don't test you." I want one of these in my city. Learn more here.

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