Where cellphones help users save money, and pricey calls are now free
Incarcerated people can now make phone calls for free in New York state
The department of corrections recently negotiated a new rate it will now pay to its telecom provider. Five other states have adopted similar policies since New York City passed its law in 2018.
Previously, imprisoned New Yorkers were allowed three free phone calls, each lasting 15 minutes, per week. Calls after that cost 2.4 cents per minute. The change is expected to save 30,000 incarcerated people some $13.3 million per year, according to Worth Rises, an antiprison nonprofit. People imprisoned in New York can work but make only between 10 and 33 cents an hour, significantly less than the nationwide average of 86 cents an hour.
Why We Wrote This
In our progress roundup, phone communications 鈥� both basic and advanced 鈥� are enabling new benefits. In New York state, incarcerated people can make calls for free, facilitating better connections to family and friends. And mobile money services developed in Kenya are now shown to help people accumulate savings.
Studies have found that consistent contact with loved ones has benefits, from better parent-child relationships to incarcerated people being less likely to reoffend after release. New York has set a goal of slashing recidivism to 17%, from 19% today, by 2030.
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Access to mobile money is boosting people鈥檚 savings
In 2024, the number of sub-Saharan adults with formal savings grew to 35%, a 12-point increase since 2021.
This coincides with the continued rise of mobile money 鈥� financial transactions on a basic cellphone first popularized in Kenya in 2007. The number of mobile money account holders in the region increased from 27% to 40% in the 2021-24 period. And among low- and middle-income economies, adults in sub-Saharan Africa have the highest rate of mobile money saving. In all four subregions of sub-Saharan Africa, people who saved in mobile accounts did so more frequently than those who banked traditionally.
Mobile accounts make banking more convenient and help prevent losses and theft, boosting people鈥檚 ability to save. 鈥淥nce adults have these formal accounts and become comfortable using them, digital savings follow very strongly,鈥� said Michael Wiegand of the Gates Foundation.
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鈥淒utch-style鈥� intersections are helping prevent traffic collisions
In 2023 in the United States, 1,155 cyclists and six times as many pedestrians died in crashes with motor vehicles. But since 2015, more cities in the U.S. and Canada are installing颅 鈥減rotected intersections,鈥� common throughout the Netherlands, for improved safety.
One such city is Fremont, California. The intersections feature football-shaped corner islands that extend the protection of protected lanes so that bikers do not merge with car traffic at all. The islands make it easier for drivers to see bikers, lower turning speed, and reduce pedestrians鈥� crossing distance. The design can help prevent 鈥渞ight hook鈥� collisions, where drivers turn into the path of the cyclist, and allow bikers to make left turns more safely.
A small analysis of a Dutch intersection in Fremont recorded a sharp decrease in collisions after installation. And a report by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration found that drivers using protected intersections yield to pedestrians more often.
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A small, portable heat shelter won a design contest in southern India
India is both the world鈥檚 most populous nation and among those most vulnerable to increasingly severe weather. In 2024, as temperatures in the capital topped 126 degrees Fahrenheit, the country鈥檚 worst heat wave in over a decade killed at least 110 people 鈥� a figure many public health experts called an undercount.
The Neralu, which means 鈥渟hade鈥� in Kannada, consists of lightweight frames and includes a shaded bench and manually operated slats to fan occupants. It costs about $175 to produce from recycled materials such as metal, plastic, and plywood. It can be easily disassembled, installed, and transported.
Inspired by its designers鈥� conversations with outdoor workers, the Neralu was displayed at the Sweat and Concrete event in Bengaluru this May, which aimed to raise awareness about the dangers of extreme heat.
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Australia鈥檚 volunteer groups combat habitat fragmentation through long-term approaches
While protected areas such as national parks are vital to conservation, they are often surrounded by settlements that prevent animals from roaming their full habitat. Linking habitats with wildlife corridors often requires sustained investment that can be difficult for volunteer groups to muster.
But some groups in Australia have kept at it. Big Scrub Rainforest Conservancy, for example, doubled the size of a New South Wales forest by replanting 600 hectares (1,483 acres) and created a program to promote the trees鈥� genetic diversity in the long term. TREAT, another group, planted 17,000 trees in the 1990s to reconnect Wooroonooran National Park with a nearby lake.
More than 25 years later, research shows TREAT鈥檚 corridor is successful. While wider research is needed to evaluate effectiveness in other contexts, a range of species, from mammals to birds to vegetation, has made TREAT鈥檚 corridor home.
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