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Temperatures in Los Angeles continue to risethe number of annual extreme heat days has tripled over the past century, and average summer temperatures have increased more than one degree Fahrenheit in the past 20 years. To provide some relief from the sun, StreetsLA is deploying 3,000 bus shelters across some of the highest-ridership areas in L.A. Some of the citys most vulnerable communities live in these neighborhoods and yet green space with natural shade is scarce. Since the shelters started being rolled out, an average of 63,800 riders are seeing the benefits every weekday. It became a very human-centric effort of understanding who the transit riders are and understanding their needs, says Carlos Madrid III, senior associate principal at SOM LA studio, the architecture firm that designed the project. Inspired by California modernism architecture, the shelters are simple and functional, with clean lines and a clear indoor-outdoor connection. Explore the full list of Fast Companys World Changing Ideas, 100 inspiring projects that are making the world more accessible, equitable, and sustainable for everyone.
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A decade ago, as bike commuting surged in London, three U.K.-based designers started thinking about how to improve safety. What if a helmet could fold flat when it wasn’t in use so a cyclist could easily carry it around? We knew it was on the edge of impossibility, says Colin Herperger, an architectural designer who led the project. But we had a suspicion that it could exist. After years of R&D, their new design, the inflatable Ventete aH-1, hit the market in the U.K. last year and sold out within hours. Later this year, its expected to roll out in the U.S. The helmet, which retails for 350 (about $450), folds down to a tenth of its size to slide into a backpack. When youre ready to jump on a bike, a small USB-C pump attaches to a valve and fills the helmet with air. (Any tire pump can also do the job.) Within 30 seconds, it expands, accordion-style, and the ballistic fabric becomes rigid and strong. In a safety study at Imperial College London, the design outperformed 30 conventional competitors in tests of linear impact absorption. As the designers expected, the development was challenging. The team initially experimented with 3D printing, then pivoted to fabric, partnering with other companies to create custom materials that could meet their complex performance requirements. Because nothing like this had been produced before, the process also involved innovative manufacturing techniques, such as creating new tools for high-frequency welding. The startup went through more than 100 iterations before getting to the design that came to market; the company now holds 26 patents. The final helmet has other advantages beyond its portability and strength. Unlike a foam helmet, it doesnt hold in heat, so its more comfortable to wear. And while foam helmets become less effective if theyre dropped, the Ventete helmets pressurized air makes the new version more resilient. It arguably also looks better than a typical helmetmaking it more likely that riders will actually want to wear it. Explore the full list of Fast Companys World Changing Ideas, 100 inspiring projects that are making the world more accessible, equitable, and sustainable for everyone.
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In 2012, when a tree fell on her familys car, Jessie Owens life transformed. Both of her parents died, and the then-27-year-old Owen was paralyzed. I lost everything overnight: my independence, career, home, she says. And its hard to rank them, but losing my autonomy to control my own body was up there. Her spinal cord injury left her with some limited movement, but fine motor skills were especially challenging. Then, a few years ago, she took part in a clinical study of new technology: a device called ARC-EX, which temporarily attaches electrodes to the skin to stimulate sensory nerves in the spine. After a few weeks of therapy, Owen could tie her shoes, open a jar of peanut butter, and drink from a glass without a straw. Theres a quiet dignity in needing less help, she says. Results of the study appeared in <i>Nature Medicine</i> last year, showing improvements in hand strength or function among 90% of participants. Owen also saw her blood pressure stabilize, and she no longer had neuropathic pain. In the past, after an injury, patients with quadriplegia typically got three months of rehab and were then told nothing more could be done. The study showed it was possible to help people with 34-year-old injuries. The device, which spun out of research at UCLA, became the first of its kind to get FDA clearance last December. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the medical tech company Onward is bringing ARC-EX to market, with plans to use it at 10 clinics before it becomes widely available later this year. The company is also running studies on an implantable version and a third platform with a brain-computer interface that can help people move again using their thoughts. Explore the full list of Fast Companys World Changing Ideas, 100 inspiring projects that are making the world more accessible, equitable, and sustainable for everyone.
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These days, on any stretch of highway, youre likely to encounter an assortment of electric vehicles, from passenger cars to buses, trucks, and motorcycles. Likely absent? An electric RV. This is a tall order for three main reasons, according to McKay Featherstone, senior vice president of global innovation at the RV manufacturer Thor Industries: RVs need to travel long distances without stopping, U.S. EV chargers aren’t always readily available along highways, and many drivers want to enjoy their vehicle off-grid. This year, a Thor subsidiary is set to debut the countrys first-ever hybrid electric RV, and Featherstone says it solves those problems in one fell swoop. Thors prototype hybrid RV, a 2024 test model made in collaboration with the EV company Harbinger Motors, is a Class A motorhome (essentially a truck and home in one). Its hybrid construction means it works like a regular EV, with an added gas generator that can charge its batteries in a pinch. Other companies, like Lightship and Grounded EV, are currently focused on making electric RVs for the U.S. market (the company Bowlus has a luxury model that’s commercially available), but Thor believes its new vehicle will be the first-ever hybrid model in the country. Thor’s hybrid RV delivers 150 miles of electric range and 500 miles with the gas range extendermore than double the average range of EV vans and trucks in the U.S. It can charge at any campsite hookup, and all of its amenities can be powered up off-grid. The generator can provide electricity so you can go further down the road, or so you can stay at the campsite longer, Featherstone says. Harbinger helped Thor modify an existing electric chassis design into a hybrid model tailored to the dimensions of the RV. The chassis is a series powertrain, meaning that all of the energy used by the vehicle comes from the RVs 800-volt lithium-ion batteries. As long as the batteries have some charge, all of the RVs systems will be functional, including heating, cooling, and lights. Featherstone says the hybrid chassis will be available to Thors subsidiary companies, including brands like Airstream, Jayco, and Tiffin. The first commercially available model is expected to debut sometime this year. Explore the full list of Fast Companys World Changing Ideas, 100 inspiring projects that are making the world more accessible, equitable, and sustainable for everyone.
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Theftosterone (noun): When a woman shares an idea with her colleagues, perhaps in a meeting, and five minutes later, a man says almost the exact same thing, posing it as his own original idea in an effort to bolster his professional reputation at the expense of hers. (This aggression is exacerbated when the collective response to the woman is lackluster but the man gets credit for his great suggestion and is all too happy to bask in the praise without the slightest sense of guilt.) It doesnt matter how smart or accomplished the woman is, men still conversationally steamroll them and sometimes outright steal their ideas. We call this phenomenon theftosterone.It happens even in the highest court in the land. Transcripts of fifteen years of Supreme Court oral arguments show that as more women have joined the court, male justices have increased their interruptions of the female justices. Many male justices interrupt female justices at double-digit rates per term, but the reverse is almost never true. During a twelve-year span, when women made up 24% of the bench, 32% of interruptions were of the female justices, but only 4% were by female justices. Strangely, as the gender imbalance on the court has lessened over the past several years, the incidents of this have not gone down. In fact theyve increased. When we asked people in a survey for their firsthand experience observing original-thought theft, over 72% said they had indeed seen it take place. Reassuringly, the percentage of times it was called out, either on the spot or reported afterward, was 10% higher than incidents when the perpetrator was not called out on it. THE MOST VULNERABLE Kate White, the legendary editor in chief of Cosmopolitan, says that if youre a good idea person, you need to be extra vigilant in anticipating theftosterone and warding it off before it happens. I came up the ranks as an idea person. And let me tell you, those who are not idea people often steal your ideas out of desperation.There are two ways to protect against that, White says. Whenever possible, put ideas in writing and cc people. If your boss wants you to generate ideas in meetings, use a claim-the-floor strategy.You can say something like If I could have everyones attention, Id like to take a moment to provide some vital information that I think will be eye-opening and of tremendous value. Dont just blurt out something like Maybe we should employ that strategy in California too. It might get lost in the back-and-forth and then someone (probably a guy) will bring it up five minutes later as their own.Instead, gain the floor, and say, I have an idea. I think we should consider employing this strategy in California, and let me offer some research that explains why. Dont start with all the research. Women tend to show their homework first. BLOCKING THE PUNCH But what if the theftosterone has already been perpetrated? Here are three possible courses of action: Amplification: This requires the cooperation and involvement of women colleagues. Juliet Eilperin, a reporter for the Washington Post, spoke with women who worked in the Obama administration who devised an antidote to theftosterone. Its a technique they called amplification. Heres how it works. If a woman in a meeting makes a suggestion or presents an idea, another woman immediately acknowledges it, repeats it, and gives her credit. This shuts down any possibility that a man in the meeting can later stake claim to the idea for himself. The plan was executed with so much success that women in the administration noticed that Obama began calling on women in meetings more often. Claiming Affirmation: If assembling a team of female support isnt possible for amplification, and youre forced to go it alone, its up to you to speak up. The lines you should have in your back pocket are Im glad you agree with the point I just made or Its so gratifying to get your affirmation of my suggestion from a moment ago. Male Advocates: Women would benefit from a more equitable enforcement of communication justice. This requires that men also be on high alert for the appropriation of womens ideas at work. When they spot it, they can say, That sounds like exactly what Kristin said just a few minutes ago. Do you have anything more that you could add to that? or Im glad to see that youre aligned with the idea Kristin shared a little earlier. BALANCING GENDER COMMUNICATION Unlike imitation, theftosterone is not the sincerest form of flattery. It is what its name suggests: an unjust appropriation of a womans voice. Given how long men have been engaging in this behavior, the prospect of eliminating or even dramatically curtailing these aggressions seems remote. For years the struggle to be properly respected seemed to be solely a battle for women to fight, and when they elected to go to the mat, often the consequences of being labeled militant or nasty outweighed the benefits. Men need to recognize the role they can and must play in combating this scourge to bring about more equity in communication in the workplace.Adapted from SPEAK, MEMORABLY: The Art of Captivating an Audience by Bill McGowan and Juliana Silva. Copyright 2025 by Bill McGowan and Juliana Silva. Reprinted courtesy of Harper Business, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Available wherever books are sold.
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E-Commerce
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