Challenges

This Year's Challenge Areas

Space for Environmental Justice

Challenge Partner: DevelopmentSEED

Challenge Judges: Harsha Malshe and Janeya Griffin (Equity Space Alliance, Inc.), and Kiri Carini (DevelopmentSEED)

As we envision a future where water resources are continuously monitored, understood, and managed, the role of space technology becomes increasingly pivotal. Humans require safe water for drinking, washing, and agriculture, among other essential uses. Thus, it is crucial that water supplies are clean, safe, and sustainable for all communities. Unfortunately, many communities lack safe access to water and instead rely on sources of water contaminated with algae, bacteria, lead, nitrates, pesticides, etc. These issues o@en disproportionately affect the most vulnerable communities, exacerbating health problems and increasing the challenges faced by already overburdened groups. Part of this problem stems from inadequate water quality monitoring and insufficient attention paid to communities with limited political or economic influence.

Climate change is placing unprecedented stress on water resources and placing an increasing burden on vulnerable groups. Traditional water management models are failing to adapt to new weather patterns and changing consumption behaviors. Accurate and up-to-date data must be part of the solution and will guide water use, conservation, and management decisions. Water management organizations must adapt by leveraging relevant, continuous data to build resilient systems.

Housing

Challenge Partner: Eviction Lab at Princeton

Challenge Judges: Carl Gershenson, Eunsung Yoo, and Adam Chapnik.

There is an eviction crisis in the United States. In a typical year, 3.6 million evictions are filed against 2.7 million unique households. There are around 7.6 million people living in these households. 2.9 million of whom are children. Renters of color are also disproportionately at risk, with over half of all filings being directed at Black renters. The consequences of evictions can be severe for those who ultimately lose their housing. Evictions lead to job loss, financial hardship, underuse of health care, and even decreased voter turnout. They are associated with the deterioration of renters’ physical and mental health and are especially damaging to children, whose educations are disrupted as their families are uprooted. In short, evictions are not just a consequence of poverty, but a leading cause of it as well.

Legal tenant protections can offer some protection to renters, but the effectiveness of these laws suffers when 1) property owners resist them and 2) enforcement mechanisms are weak. There are solutions to both of these issues–for example, monetary incentives for landlords or the provision of public defenders for tenants in housing court–but these solutions are costly. How should cities respond to this social problem?

Data Systems for Human Rights

Challenge Partner: Veridos

Challenge Judges: Veridos, Neil Gaikwad (Researcher of Responsible AI and Policy, MIT).

Birth registration is a fundamental human right and the first step towards a legal identity. Still, millions around the world remain unregistered, leaving them vulnerable and often unable to access essential services. We need your innovative ideas to address this issue.

The United Nations has recognized universal access to legal identity as a fundamental human right within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While progress has been made in critical areas, it is vital that countries around the world remain steadfast in our commitment to providing legal identity to every person worldwide. SDG 16.9 calls for every person on the planet to have a legal identity by 2030. This includes recording and registering 100% of births. While the data collected through this process is critical, the broader goal is to promote social and economic inclusion.

Health

Challenge Partner: Cambridge Health Alliance

Challenge Judges: Laura McNulty, Renee Cammarata Hamilton, and Roberta Turri Vise.

Access to healthcare requires more than the physical existence of healthcare services. Access requires consideration of language and culture; disability; literacy and communication; location and transportation; as well as hours, staffing capacity, referral pathways, insurance coverage, costs, and quality. A comprehensive understanding of “access” is needed not only to ensure people can get the care they need at the time they need it, but to ensure people feel welcome, that they belong in such spaces, and that they can be confident in the options available. For complex systems like healthcare, navigation support can help to increase access in equitable ways. At the same time, simplifying complex systems may be a more permanent solution.

Today, lack of access to healthcare is a priority concern for newcomers to Massachusetts. In Fall 2022, the number of newcomers began to rise, and to increase sharply in Spring 2023. This influx is not unique to Massachusetts, but a part of global migration patterns exacerbated by war, economic crises, climate change pressures, and other forms of structural and interpersonal violence. While not unique to Massachusetts, these patterns play out in specific ways in our state, particularly in terms of housing and healthcare.