June 2025: vibrant cities
Each month, we break down our topic into four weekly modules. Catch up on previous editions here.โ
This week's module: LEARN
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CONNECT | Conversation prompts for climate action that work for everyone
- ๐ฏ LEARN | Urban design, solarpunk cities, and streets for humans
- ACT | What you can do towards cities of the future
- REFLECT | Art, poetry, & commitments!
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Here's what we'll learn today Reader
If you're paying any attention to the world right now (which, you probably are since you've come here), there's a good chance your heart is breaking. Mine is too, especially for all the children who've had no say in the horrors they're forced to live through. Palestinian kids who are going hungry or worse, trans kids who are being denied their humanity, immigrant kids who live in fear of deportation... all of it.
It's ugly stuff.
And it's up to each of us to try our best to create a better world, even when we feel like it doesn't matter. Because it does! It's like the story about the old man throwing turtles back into the sea.
I've been reflecting a bit about our June topic, Vibrant Cities, and as we enter into our Learn module, I'm hoping we can connect the dots on how the place we live can keep us safe. (Or not.)
At Soapbox, when we talk about climate change, we're not just talking about carbon molecules floating around and choking in greenhouse gases. We're talking about struggling towards a planet where we can all have access to a healthy, resilient, and joyful future.
There is no climate justice without recognizing that everything we care about is deeply interconnected.
Today's LEARN module is on the lighter side: we'll be highlighting some things that have worked, because I could personally use some bright spots.
Though a lot of it is centered on city-level design and planning, I hope this comes as an opportunity to interrogate what YOU can do to keep yourself, your neighbors, and your community safe.
Thank you for caring. On some days, it's all we can do. On others, we can gather the energy to rise up. On all days, we can do our very best, and it's so much easier together.
We can't do this without you Reader
A wee lil note: if you enjoy getting these Changeletters and you would like to make a gift of reciprocity, a $9 contribution would go such a long way. Especially if you make it monthly! 100% of this work is me sitting behind my keyboard stressing about if anyone cares about this stuff, so encouragement and financial support is so greatly appreciated!
Thank you Brandon and Stacie from last week <333
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Your bite-sized action plan Reader
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LEARN with 4 options that create a vibrant city
In terms of content, this might be our most fun LEARN module yet. (At least, I think so, based on how exciting it was to compile this for you today.)
- Read how Philly launched its first School Street pilot. A school street is basically what it sounds like: closing a street near a school to car traffic so it can be safe for walking, rolling, and vibing. Some obvious pros of school streets: socializing on your walk, enjoying the outdoors without breathing in fumes, not having to worry about getting hit by a car. Paris has 200+ of these, but it's not as much of a thing in the U.S. and car-centric cities around the world. Pilots are awesome, because they can be easy(ish) to organize, and once a pilot is in place, people are far more attuned to the real-life benefits. I hope this inspires you!โ
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- Learn how Barcelona is reforming time. No, not a typo. And not time travel, either. Not exactly. Barcelona "has been adopting revolutionary time-use policies since 2003. The idea is that time is, first and foremost, a right for all citizens and that everyone should be able to reconcile work and personal life." If you're asking how the heck does this relate to climate change or vibrant cities? read the article and think about it for a few minutes. What would your life look like in a world without rush? How different would your city be if everyone had an abundance of time?
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- Browse the solarpunk postcard to-do list. If you were inspired by the pilot idea above, Jacob Coffin has a whole list of ideas for you! Go through the list and see what you might actually be able to implement in real life, and we'll come back to this in our ACT module next week.โ
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- Watch this video about how to build a solarpunk city. I'm pretty sure I link something from Andrew Sage every month, but it's not my fault he's one of the best climate-imaginers of our time. This one's outside our usual bite-sized parameters, but I'd suggest watching at least a segment of it!
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โHappy learning and see you next week when we'll take action together!
Love,
Nivi
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