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Social Progress

Insightful coverage of the trends and individuals driving meaningful change in this field.

Micro-volunteering: why bite-sized service is rising
Social Progress

Micro-volunteering: why bite-sized service is rising

Volunteering is not disappearing; it is changing shape. Across communities, workplaces, and digital networks, people are increasingly choosing forms of service…

August 30, 2026 · 16 min read

Community-led urban design: five keys to success
Social Progress

Community-led urban design: five keys to success

A neighborhood can meet a formal density benchmark and still fail the people who live there. UN-Habitat has proposed at least 15,000 people per square…

August 27, 2026 · 15 min read

Cash transfers vs in-kind aid: which helps more?
Social Progress

Cash transfers vs in-kind aid: which helps more?

Here's a question that sounds almost insultingly simple: if someone is poor and hungry, do you hand them cash — or do you hand them a bag of rice?

August 23, 2026 · 15 min read

Micro-volunteering: 5 ways to make a quick impact
Social Progress

Micro-volunteering: 5 ways to make a quick impact

The hardest part of volunteering is often not motivation. It is logistics. People want to help, but the available options can demand a weekly commitment, a…

August 19, 2026 · 12 min read

Community repair cafe setup: a practical guide
Social Progress

Community repair cafe setup: a practical guide

In 2009, Martine Postma sat down in a small Amsterdam theater with a broken toaster, a handful of volunteer fixers, and a simple premise: repair should be a…

August 14, 2026 · 10 min read

Gender Equality Day: The Shift Toward Real Impact
Social Progress

Gender Equality Day: The Shift Toward Real Impact

Gender Equality Day begins with a date that is both simple and heavy with unfinished meaning: August 26. In the United States, it marks the 1920 certification…

July 08, 2026 · 16 min read