Using Data to Understand – and Help Reduce – India’s Air Pollution
March 28, 2019
Together with key partners – TERI, Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, CSTEP, WRI India, and ADRI – Bloomberg Philanthropies will work to support India’s National Clean Air Program by developing better data and understanding of the sources of air pollution in the country. We’ll also work closely with a group of Indian cities to develop clean air action plans aimed at tackling air pollution at the local level.
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Art Leaders Making Impacts in Local Communities: Spotlight on Jennifer Evins
March 26, 2019
In June 2015, the City of Spartanburg was selected as one of four projects nationwide to take part in Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge. Jennifer Evins, working with key partners including digital media artist Erwin Redl, city police officers and the city’s residents brought their winning project, “Seeing Spartanburg” to life. In the wake of shootings and protests across the country, community-building between police officers and the municipalities they serve become a focal point in the nation. Through “Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light,” Spartanburg police officers hoped to harness the power of public art to repair and strengthen police-community relations in the city. They also hoped to shine a light on Spartanburg’s commitment to safety and vibrancy, enhance crime prevention efforts and cultivate partnerships to increase public trust and confidence in local law enforcement.
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Setting the Table – A Conversation about Food Access and Art
March 21, 2019
Through the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge, the City of Jackson Mississippi aims to address complex food access issues in the city. Their project “Fertile Ground: Inspiring Dialogue About Food Access,” will enlist an interdisciplinary team of local and national artists, landscape architects, filmmakers, farmers, chefs, nutritionists, and community members. The project teams will come together to create a city-wide exhibition with installations, performances and programming. Workshops and panels will address challenges stemming from a proliferation of fast food restaurants in the area and the need for healthy food opportunities for the community.
Read moreA Model for Preventing Maternal Deaths
March 8, 2019
By Dr. Neena Prasad of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Health team
Tanzania’s Kigoma region is about the size of the average American state. In 2006, when we launched our Maternal and Reproductive Health Program, it was home to 2 million people—that’s about the number of people in Nebraska. But not a single one of those people was an obstetrician. And that’s important to note because, around the world, deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth are unacceptably high.
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Follow the Data Podcast: Black Wall Street – Historical Resilience in Tulsa, OK
March 5, 2019
In Part One of a two part episode, we hear from Hannibal Johnson and Rick Lowe, detailing work in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the most recent winner of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Public Art Challenge.
Hannibal Johnson is an author, attorney, professor and consultant. He is an expert of the African-American experience in Oklahoma and its broader historic impact on American history.
Rick Lowe is an artist, best known for Project Row Houses, which he started in Houston in 1993. He has worked with communities and exhibited all over the world.
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Global Health Checkup: Optimism for Pakistan’s Continued Success in Reducing Tobacco Use
March 4, 2019
By Dr. Kelly Henning of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Health team
I was fortunate to meet in Dubai with our partners from across the globe working to combat the tobacco epidemic in Pakistan — a country where more than160,000 people die every year from tobacco-related diseases.
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5 Women Mayors to Watch for Climate Leadership
February 21, 2019
Today in Paris, Mayor Anne Hidalgo is convening mayors, business leaders, and others to bring attention to a troubling problem: While women globally are more impacted by climate change than men, they’re underrepresented at decision-making levels in government. The good news is, that’s changing. The Women4Climate gathering in Paris is part of a C40 Cities effort to empower and inspire a new generation of women leaders taking on this issue around the world. A report released this month outlines strategies for boosting women’s leadership in climate action and identifies data gaps that need to be filled to better understand the gender dimensions of climate change in cities. Meanwhile, in the U.S., some of the boldest leadership on climate is coming from women mayors. Here are five who recently won the Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge because of their efforts to reduce climate pollution from the transportation and buildings sectors.
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Follow the Data Podcast: “Your Shot” and Local Climate Action
February 20, 2019
Inspired by our most recent film, Paris to Pittsburgh, National Geographic launched a new Your Shot photo assignment, calling for citizen photographers to document local climate leadership in their communities for the chance to be featured online on National Geographic’s digital platform.
This episode of the podcast features a conversation with Katie Orlinsky, National Geographic Photographer and Your Shot Editor and Katherine Oliver, of Bloomberg Philanthropies and executive producer of Paris to Pittsburgh.
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Honoring the Past and Shaping the Future through Public Art — Five Questions with Artist Rick Lowe
February 19, 2019
By Anita Contini, Bloomberg Philanthropies Arts team
Through “The Greenwood Art Project,” MacArthur Fellow Rick Lowe will work alongside local artists to bring the story of the Black Wall Street to light. In creating a series of art installations located at significant sites throughout the historic district, Lowe and his team hope to tell a story of vulnerability and resilience.
We sat down with Lowe during Black History month to discuss the racial and economic disparities that still exist in the area today, the power art can have to bring communities together, and the importance of reconciliation.
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On A Path Toward Healing
February 15, 2019
By Christine Hunschofsky, Mayor of Parkland, Florida
Last year, an unimaginable tragedy struck our community when a shooter entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, killing 17 people, severely wounding many and tormenting over 3,000 students and faculty. Following the initial shock and pain, city leaders were faced with a formidable question: what can we do to support the healing process of an entire community? Beyond Parkland, officials in neighboring Coral Springs and throughout Northwest Broward were facing the same question.
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