Reasons to be Cheerful
Reasons to Be Cheerful is an online magazine founded by musician and activist David Byrne. It shares inspiring, solutions-oriented stories highlighting positive developments and innovative approaches to global challenges. The platform covers a wide range of topics, including environmental sustainability, social justice, urban design, health, and culture, emphasizing practical, replicable solutions that are making a difference. Reasons to Be Cheerful aims to counterbalance the often negative news cycle by showcasing stories of progress, resilience, and creativity. The website encourages readers to engage with and support these initiatives, fostering a sense of hope and empowerment. It also offers a newsletter to deliver uplifting content directly to its audience.
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What We’re Reading: A Spongier New Orleans
Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Let us know what you think at info@reasonstobecheerful.world. Water wise Nearly 20 years after Hurricane Katrina, green infrastructure projects all over New Orleans are proving their worth, as residents witness first-hand the way that rain gardens and...
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‘Shark Tank’ for Youth-Led Solutions
Christelle Kwizera was still a teenager and hadn’t even graduated from her engineering studies when she decided to tackle an urgent problem in her home country: safe water sources for local villages in Eastern Rwanda. “Crocodiles had migrated into the local lakes, and their only source of food was people...
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Women Plumbers in Jordan Are Breaking Taboos
Humiliating. Not a woman’s job. Shame on the family. Such comments were frequently directed at Tahani Al Shati and Yusra Mohammad Nmour when they started training as plumbers. In Jordan, the proportion of women in paid work is among the lowest in the world, due in large part to social...
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Stitch It, Don’t Ditch It: Resisting Fast Fashion Through Visible Mending
Once a month between April and October, a group of stitchers takes to the streets of Edinburgh, making themselves comfortable on camping chairs decorated with hand-embroidered banners inviting people to #stitchitdontditchit. Equipped with sewing baskets and mending skills, they repair their garments in public and teach interested passers-by how to...
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A Burden Lifted: Why One County Wiped Out Millions in Jail Debt
This article was originally published by Bolts, a nonprofit publication that covers criminal justice and voting rights in local governments. On July 7, 2022, days after Chad LaVia was freed from a year of incarceration at the jail in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, the county sent him a bill for $14,320 in “room and board”...
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What We’re Reading: How a Toronto Suburb Supercharged Its Mass Transit
Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Let us know what you think at info@reasonstobecheerful.world. Bus time How do you get more people to opt for mass transit in the sprawling suburbs found across much of North America? According to a Bloomberg CityLab story...
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Community Libraries Are Spreading Across Rural India
Every morning, Amit Sonkar sets up his little stall in a bustling vegetable market in Mirzapur, a small town on the banks of the Ganges in North India’s Uttar Pradesh. He piles up the tomatoes and carrots in inviting pyramids and lays out the beans, spring onions and green chili...
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How the Atlantic Mackerel Bounced Back From Overfishing
In the summer of 2018, while commercial tuna fishing off Maine’s Monhegan Island, Tim LaRochelle kept encountering a species different from the one he had set out to hook. “We were catching tons of mackerel,” he recalls. “Just vast, vast amounts.” Seeing profit potential in a fish that hadn’t previously...
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Deaf Nigerians Are Learning to Code Through Sign Language
Victor Oricha stands at the front of a small training hall in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, his fingers moving fluidly as he signs to the class. Behind him, a large screen displays lines of colorful code. He points to a specific line and signs, “This line controls the color of your...
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What We’re Reading: A Living, Breathing Freeway Crossing for Wildlife
Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Let us know what you think at info@reasonstobecheerful.world. Animal crossing It’s no secret that chaotic, multi-lane highways are dangerous for wildlife. That’s why the Wallis Annenberg wildlife crossing — the largest wildlife bridge in the world —...
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