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When Martin Aufmuth, a math teacher in Erlangen, Germany, read in 2009 that hundreds of millions of people worldwide suffered from vision impairment but could not afford glasses, he could hardly ...

This story was originally published by Next City, a nonprofit newsroom reporting on solutions for equitable and just cities. Get Next City’s stories in your inbox ...

In the May edition of our newsletter about creating positive change, we look at crafting for closure and the unexpected joy of Grief Discos.

Realizing that glasses could transform millions of lives, a teacher created an incredibly cheap, durable pair. Now, they’re all over the world.

Overhead chargers on key bus routes in Madison, Wisconsin are enabling the zero-emissions vehicles to run despite freezing conditions. As cities struggle with heat, Zürich offers a masterclass in ...

An app that analyzes cough sounds offers an ingenious way to screen for one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases.

The Butterfly Grove at Pismo Beach used to sound alive before you even saw it. The first time I visited on a winter morning over a decade ago, I stood beneath the towering eucalyptus and heard a faint ...

The Zero Waste Center in Kamikatsu, Japan, looks like a peculiar kind of flea market: everything from metal ring pulls to plastic bottle lids, mirrors and thermometers are neatly stored in a row of ...

Sepp Eisenriegler loves giving second chances: To the defunct electrical appliances awaiting repair or refurbishment, the hundreds of unemployed people he’s trained as skilled repairers over the ...

This story is one in a series about the confluence of capitalism, conservation and cultural identity in the Mississippi River Basin. It is part of Waterline and is sponsored by the Walton Family ...

hen Andy Johansen first visited Helsinki’s Oodi Library in early 2020 he was struck with amazement by the elegant three-story mass of wood, steel and glass, and the labyrinth of wonders within it. “I ...