People Fixing the World

Have you ever wanted to donate to a homeless person, but found yourself without any cash, or concerned about how they may spend the money? A potential solution is being proposed in Oxford, England, through a scheme issuing homeless people with barcodes which can be worn around the neck or printed on a sign.Members of the public can scan these barcodes on their smartphones and read the homeless person’s story, before deciding whether or not to donate. Any money pledged goes into a special bank account managed by a support worker, helping the homeless person save towards long-term goals.Some think the project solves a number of problems but others fear the act of scanning someone using a smartphone could be dehumanising.We visit Oxford to meet homeless people using the barcodes, and speak to the people behind the big idea.Presenter: Harriet NoblePhoto Caption: One of the homeless people helping trial the new system in Oxford Photo Credit: BBC

In the northern Italian town of Bologna, a new public transport system is rewarding citizens for taking sustainable modes of transport. Each time locals walk or use the bus, train, car pooling or car sharing, they receive ‘mobility points’, which can be cashed in at cafes, cinemas, bars, bookshops and a number of other locations across the city. We explore the social and environmental benefits of taking Bologna’s residents out of their cars and onto the streets, moving about the city in a greener way.Presenter: Dougal Shaw Reporter: Nicola KellyPicture caption: Bologna’s citizens are rewarded for using green transport like bikes Picture credit: GreenMe Italy

A vast and expensive system with the sole purpose of keeping things cool exists across the developed world. This “cold chain” includes fridges in kitchens, refrigerated lorries and cold store warehouses for supermarket produce and medicines. It costs billions to run and has a big environmental cost. But in poorer countries, this cold chain is just in its infancy. People are dying as health clinics lack the fridges to keep vaccines safe. New cold chain technology is needed and two inventors think they’ve figured it out. World Hacks looks at their innovative ways of keeping things chilled. Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporter: Tom Colls

Across the Italian countryside, villages are becoming deserted as people migrate to towns and cities. A sustainable tourism model known as the ‘Albergo Diffuso’ is attempting to reverse this trend. Tourist services, restaurants and hotels are spread around the village to encourage visitors to eat and stay with different families, boosting the local economy. We travel to the town of Santo Stefano di Sessanio in the Abruzzo region to meet the local business owners, restaurateurs and hoteliers profiting from the steady increase in tourism that this model has brought them.Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporter: Nicola KellyPicture Caption: Santo Stefano di Sessanio, a hilltop village that was once abandoned, now a thriving tourist town Picture Credit: Sextantio Albergo Diffuso

A nine-year-old child announcer has been recruited on the London Underground. The idea is that her voice will surprise passengers, so they listen to her safety message. It’s an example of nudge theory in action, the art of subtly persuading large numbers of people to change their behaviour, by adjusting their environment. People Fixing the World also visits a university campus, which is nudging its students with a subtle price change, encouraging them to use fewer disposable coffee cups.Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporter: Dougal ShawPhoto Caption: Nine-year-old announcer Photo Credit: BBC

It’s thought that more than half the people claiming to be doctors in India have no medical qualifications. They are known as “quacks”, operating illegally, but often ignored by the authorities because of a shortage of qualified doctors. They regularly misdiagnose diseases and prescribe the wrong drugs, and some even perform surgeries in makeshift clinics. One prominent, qualified, doctor has started a controversial scheme, offering a quick crash course in medicine to thousands of his untrained counterparts. In return they have to stop calling themselves doctors, and rebrand themselves as “healthcare workers”. At the very least, he says, they will do less harm to their patients, and the West Bengal government has agreed, rolling the project out across the state. But many in the medical establishment are appalled by the idea, arguing that a crash course isn’t enough, and the scheme legitimises criminals who have operated illegally for years. World Hacks visits two villages outside of Kolkata - one with a newly reformed “healthcare worker”, and another with a self-confessed fake doctor - to ask if the controversial scheme can really work.Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporter: Sam JudahPhoto Caption: Abhijit Choudhury Photo Credit: BBC

Wildfires can have a devastating impact, destroying land, homes and lives. Scientists say that as the planet gets warmer, they are only going to start more often. World Hacks looks at three projects in Spain and North America that are trying to prevent forest fire destruction, by making the landscape itself more fire-resistant.Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporters: Ammar Ebrahim and Richard KennyPhoto Credit: Getty Images

As scientists and companies work on cleaning up cars, there’s also a team developing new technology along a road in rural Georgia in the United States, with the aim of making a truly sustainable highway. The Ray, an 18-mile stretch of road near the Alabama border, is a “living laboratory” where eco-friendly projects are being tested. It’s got pollination gardens, a tyre-monitoring system to help reduce fuel consumption and solar panels embedded in a section of the road. A large solar installation also generates power and revenue, helping to reduce carbon emissions and encourage investment. We meet the team behind the project and explore whether cleaner roads can be rolled out elsewhere in the United States and further afield.Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporter: Nicola KellyPhoto Caption: An electric vehicle’s battery gets charged at a station along The Ray Photo Credit: The Ray C. Anderson Foundation

Rubbish littering the streets is a problem all around the world but collecting it can also be a vital source of income. Two projects, thousands of miles apart, are trying to clean up the streets and make life better for rubbish collectors at the same time. In Nigeria, a start-up called Wecyclers is helping people profit from their waste, with the help of bicycles, tricycles and an incentives system. In Brazil, a phone app called Cataki is helping connect litter pickers and people with rubbish in an attempt to professionalise these informal recyclers. Presenter: Tom Colls Reporters: Amelia Martyn-Hemphill, William KremerPhoto Caption: Wecyclers in action in Lagos Photo Credit: BBC

The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely-populated tracts of land in the world. In addition to the ongoing violence there, it has an unemployment rate of more than 40 percent, and problems with access not only to clean water and electricity, but also basic construction supplies. The United Nations has described the situation there as “a constant humanitarian emergency”. Despite these challenges, a young Gazan engineer has developed a new and innovative way of making bricks, which she hopes could make Gaza less dependent on outside help. She uses rubble and ash to create a cheap, light brick that can be made locally. World Hacks goes to visit the factory and to learn more about how this award-winning new brick, called ‘Green Cake’, could make a difference.Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporter: Elizabeth DaviesPhoto Caption: Green Cake Photo Credit: BBC