Welcome back to What We’re Reading, a weekly behind-the-scenes peek at the stories our team has been discussing.
Building blocks
There’s something so satisfying about digging into solutions with deep roots. That’s the case with the stories RTBC founder David Byrne shared this week about the enduring success of social housing in Vienna: one in The Guardian about how Vienna became the world’s most livable city, and another in the Financial Times about how co-housing is helping families stay there.
“The Viennese solution didn’t happen overnight,” David points out. “It’s been in place for I think 100 years now, and amazingly despite changes in government it survives.” And David should know: He wrote a story about Vienna’s affordable housing for RTBC way back in 2019.
Travel with care
Contributing Editor Peter Yeung drew our attention to the 2024 edition of Fodors’ annual “No List,” a collection of places its editors suggest visitors “reconsider” this year. “I think it’s such a brilliant idea and something that is so lacking from the world of travel,” says Peter. “It uses robust reporting to show the damaging impact of tourism — the elephant in the room — but also suggests alternatives of what we can do instead.”
A frequent, impact-conscious traveler himself, Peter wrote for us last summer about some of the ways we can be better tourists.
What else we’re reading
🚿 The neglected clean heat we flush down the drains — shared by Editorial Director Rebecca Worby from the BBC
🚸 This Cheap Street Fix Saves Lives. Why Don’t More Cities Do It? — shared by Audience Engagement Manager Mariel Lozada from Bloomberg
🎓 Austin Community College considers offering free tuition to high schoolers who graduate this spring — shared by Rebecca Worby from KUT Radio
Elsewhere in our channels…
Contributing Editor Michaela Haas has received lots of enthusiastic notes from readers of her recent story about a surprising way to stop bullying. The story may have surprised us, but the response doesn’t — clearly this is a resonant topic! We love to hear from readers: Reach us at [email protected].
