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US shopping malls, once a mainstay of American life, are in decline. Forty malls have closed since 2020, while more than 230 department stores have closed in the same time period, according to Green Street, a real estate analytics firm.
But where there is change, there is also opportunity.
After Burlington High School in Vermont had to close its doors because dangerous chemicals were found, the school hopped into a site vacated by Macyâs department store five years earlier.
The children now ride the escalator to class. Elsewhere, malls have been converted into offices, casinos or large healthcare facilities. We explore the surprising second life being offered to these temples of consumerism.
Presenter: Myra AnubiReporter: William KremerSeries producer: Tom CollsSound Mix: Anne GardinerEditor: Penny Murphy
Email: [email protected]
Image: Pupils at a school in a department store.
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What we wear helps us express ourselves and communicate to others in the most immediate way. But the tools we frequently use to do that, such as clothing and haircare are not available to everyone equally.
One in six of us has a disability of some sort - according to the World Health Organisation - but most clothing and beauty brands donât take account of that. From making shops accessible to catering for differences in design and size, few companies address these particular needs.
This week on People Fixing The World weâre talking to people trying to change that. Hair and Care is a London-based hairstyling workshop which helps people with visual impairments take better care of their hair.
Plus, we bring together two entrepreneurs whoâve brought adaptive clothing to Africa and Asia allowing people with disabilities to fully express themselves in the way they dress. We also meet the UK-based adaptive clothing company that could affect the way we all dress â by working with technology companies to develop a scanner that will help in tailoring for all body shapes.
Presenter: Myra AnubiReporters: Emma Tracey, Claire BowesProducer: Claire BowesSeries Producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Tom BigwoodSound mix: Hal Haines
(Image: Wearapy model photoshoot)
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Mexico's capital often floods during the rainy season, but paradoxically, it's also running out of water. A large and growing population, along with crumbling infrastructure and the effects of climate change - are increasingly putting a strain on the city. We meet the army of scientists, activists and urban planners trying to solve this problem - and rethink Mexico Cityâs relationship with water - including the scientist using plants to clean sewage water and the architect who has designed a park that absorbs excess rainwater.
Presenter: Myra AnubiReporter/producer: Craig LangranSeries Producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Tom BigwoodSound mix: Hal Haines
(Image: Alejandro Alva in Cuautepac wetland area, Mexico City, BBC)
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Poorer countries are likely to bear the brunt of the impacts of climate change, with rising temperatures and more unsettled weather leading to greater stresses on natural resources and often inadequate infrastructure. But whilst thereâs a lot of focus on global attempts to limit temperature rises by cutting greenhouse gas emissions, there are many smaller scale projects aimed at both tackling and living with climate change.
On this edition of People Fixing The World, reporter Jane Chambers travels to the small Central American nation of El Salvador. She meets communities working to preserve highly endangered mangrove forests, crucial in protecting coastlines against flooding and valuable carbon sinks. She also visits a âshade coffeeâ plantation â where coffee is grown beneath a canopy of plants and trees â to hear how the method can help preserve rainforest and protect against soil erosion and water loss. And she visits a project on the Pacific coast that has made huge strides in protecting the critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle.
Presenter: Myra AnubiReporter: Jane ChambersSeries Producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Tom BigwoodSound mix: Annie Gardiner
(Image: Aldo Sanchez and Boanergues Sanchez holding a hawksbill sea turtle, photo by Magali Portillo)
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If you could invent a new kind of school what would it look like? What skills would you teach children, and how would the school be run?
On this edition of People Fixing The World we visit the Mechai Pattana School in Thailand which was founded by the campaigner Mechai Viravaidya in 2008, on principals of charity and leadership. Children are responsible for every aspect of running the school, from buying food for the kitchens to disciplining fellow students and even recruiting new staff.
The children also run their own businesses, and perform several hours of community service every week. Many of the students come from underprivileged backgrounds, but their school fees are âpaidâ by planting 800 trees a year, together with their families.
The idea is for the school to produce âchange-makersâ â could it be a model for others to follow?
Presenter: Myra AnubiProducer/reporter: William KremerSeries Producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Tom BigwoodSound mix: Annie Gardiner
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Across the world millions of women and girls face discrimination and worse because of their gender. On this edition of People Fixing The World we look at projects designed to change attitudes. In India we visit workshops aimed at recruiting younger men as allies in the fight against sexism and gender inequality. And we speak to the founder of Chalk Back, a street art initiative that encourages women to write sexist remarks theyâve been the target of onto pavements in chalk to highlight the problem of street harassment.
Presenter: Myra AnubiReporter: Chhavi SachdevSeries Producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Tom BigwoodSound mix: Hal Haines
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Often described as underwater rainforests and the âlungs of the oceanâ, kelp forests line as much as 25% of the worldâs coastlines. They provide important shelter and food for fish and other marine life, and are vital for our oceansâ ecosystems. However kelp is under severe threat because of climate change, warming seas and overfishing. We look at projects in California aimed at stemming the decline of kelp including how scientists are growing it in a laboratory to be planted at sea as well as tackling a key cause of kelp degradation - sea urchins.
Presenter: Myra AnubiProducer/reporter: Craig LangranSeries Producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Tom BigwoodSound mix: Frank McWeeny
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Premature babies often need a lot of expensive specialised care - but that isnât always available. So, doctors in Colombia are teaching mothers to look after their babies in a similar way that kangaroos look after their own young.
Itâs called "kangaroo mother care" and instead of being in an incubator, babies are wrapped tightly against their motherâs skin.
The technique was developed in Bogota in the late 1970s as a response to overcrowding in hospital maternity units. There weren't enough incubators and around 70% of premature babies didnât survive.
Doctors started using this simple skin-to-skin method. They found it wasn't only saving babies but was also helping them to thrive. Now, kangaroo care has spread around the world.
Presenter: Myra AnubiReporter: Zoe GelberSeries producer: Tom CollsSound mix: Hal HainesEditor: Richard VadonEmail: [email protected]: A baby in the kangaroo position
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The fashion industry is the third largest manufacturing industry in the world consuming huge amounts of the worldâs resources and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. But some innovators are trying to make the industry more sustainable. We discover how old fire hoses in the UK have been diverted from landfill and turned into fashionable bags and accessories. Plus we visit Mongolia to find out about a new luxury material made from yak hair. It's an eco-friendly replacement for cashmere which comes from goats who are causing desertification. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/reporter: Claire Bowes Executive Producer: Richard Kenny Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Tom Bigwood Sound Mix: Andrew Mills
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Learning to read empowers people, reduces poverty and increases their job chances. Yet more than 700 miliion adults are illiterate, the majority of them women. We look at innovations to help adults learn how to read from flatpack classrooms in flood-prone regions of Bangladesh, to an app teaching tens of thousands in Somaliland. Plus how adults in the UK are improving their reading skills thanks to an army of volunteer teachers using a method developed in prison.
Presenter: Myra AnubiReporter/producer: Claire BatesSeries producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Tom BigwoodSound mix: Andrew Mills
(Image: Jahura Begum, Shabnur Akhter, Rashida Begum at Friendship class in Bangladesh, Friendship)
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We all know about the power of music to change our mood or to make us move. But an increasing body of evidence is showing that music has an amazing ability to help us heal. In this programme we are going to meet people working at the cutting edge of music therapy. We find out about the innovative system that uses music to help people with dementia live at home for longer. We will see how using songs and rhythms is helping people with Parkinsonâs move more freely. And in a refugee camp in Uganda we meet the teachers using music to bring people together and overcome trauma.
Presenter: Myra AnubiProducer/Reporter: Richard KennySeries Producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Richard VadonSound Mix: Frank McWeeny
(Image: Salam Music Program in Bidibidi, Uganda)
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Transforming the global food system is vital in the fight against climate change. Currently, food production accounts for a third of all greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, the food system also fails to properly nourish billions of people worldwide.
In this edition of People Fixing The World weâre looking at high and low tech solutions to transform the ways we produce and consume food to make it greener and more equitable.
In London, we visit a startup company making cheese from genetically modified microbes rather than cattle, in a bid to make dairy production better for the planet.
And in Philadelphia we look at how planting fruit and nut trees in âfood forestsâ is tackling hunger by providing access to healthy, nutritious food for low-income communities across the city.
Presenter: Myra AnubiReporter/producer: Zoe GelberSeries producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Tom BigwoodSound mix: Frank McWeeny
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Could psychedelic drugs help in the treatment of mental health conditions? We look at pioneering research into psilocybin, the active ingredient in so-called magic mushrooms. We visit a clinic in Oregon, the only state in America where the use of psilocybin in therapeutic sessions is legal and hear from one patient who says it's the only treatment she's ever had that makes a difference to her depression. And we hear about some of the widespread concerns that widening access to such drugs could have.
Presenter: Myra AnubiReporter: Ben WyattSeries Producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Sam BonhamSound Mix: Annie Gardiner
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Whistleblowers - they're the good guys right? The ones who speak truth to power and have films made about the heroic stands they took? Sometimes. Often the people who speak up in the workplace are ignored or shut down. Worse still they're often bullied or harassed or end up losing their jobs. They're the ones you never hear about.
This week we hear about two projects that are encouraging people to speak up about wrongdoing at work and how they're improving peopleâs work environment, saving time, money and even saving lives.
Presenter: Myra AnubiReporter/producer: Claire BowesSeries Producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Penny MurphySound Mix: Annie Gardiner
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Schools across Senegal have discovered a clever way for children to surf the web even when there isn't any signal.
They're using a special WIFI hotspot which works without an actual internet connection, so students and teachers can access all the relevant bits of the web, offline.
Around the world, innovators are coming up with solutions like this - all designed to get children learning. We also hear from an entrepreneur revolutionising how science is taught in Ghana and a night school in Pakistan for children not in formal education.
Presenter: Myra AnubiProducer: Craig LangranReporters: Borso Tall, Tooba MasoodSeries Producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Penny MurphySound Mix: Annie Gardiner
(Image: Students using science kit, Dex Technology)
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Australia used to be one of the most linguistically diverse places, with over 200 languages. Today, many of Australiaâs indigenous languages are considered âhighly endangeredâ. Inspired by his native language, Hebrew, Ghilâad Zuckermann is a linguistics professor who is on a mission to revive Australiaâs dead and endangered languages, painstakingly piecing them back together from historical documents. We speak to Ghilâad and Shania Richards from the Barngarla community, whose language is being brought back from the brink.
Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Josephine Casserly Producers: Claire Bates & Craig Langran Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Annie Gardiner Editor: Penny Murphy
Email: [email protected]
Image: Shania Richards, in the uniform of the Youth Governor of South Australia
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Barcelona in Spain is famous for its beautiful streets, lined with tall apartment buildings. But the architecture is a problem for many people who have lived for years in upstairs apartments but who now find the stairs unmanageable.
In 2008, a survey found that in one district there were 300 people who could not leave their homes alone. A group of volunteers decided to do something about this and got hold of a special wheelchair with caterpillar tracks, so it can be used to take people up and down stairs. After an initial pilot scheme they launched a local service called âLet's Go Down to the Streetâ, to help elderly residents go shopping or meet up with friends. Sixteen years on, the service is offered across the city.
Plus, we visit a home for senior citizens in an unlikely location: a university campus. The Mirabella complex at Arizona State University in the US offers its residents the chance to sample the college lifestyle â from lectures to shows and sports fixtures.
Presenter: Myra AnubiProducer: William KremerReporters: Esperanza Escribano, Anthony WallaceSeries Producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Penny MurphySound mix: Gareth Jones
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On this edition of People Fixing The World we meet people whoâve helped overcome long-standing cultural biases to create better outcomes for everyone. In India we hear about the social media campaigns which have helped city dwellers in Bengaluru see those who pick waste from rubbish dumps not as dangerous and dirty but as invaluable recyclers. In Nigeria we meet a traditional healer and a health worker who are collaborating to help improve the treatment of psychosis and break down some of the unhelpful attitudes towards severe mental health problems.
Presenter: Myra AnubiReporter/producer: Makuochi Okafor, Claire BowesSeries producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Penny MurphySound Mix: Andrew Mills
(Image: Chief Mukaila Yusuf, BBC)
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From beavers in the UK to bison in Romania and jaguars in Argentina, ecologists around the world are reintroducing animals that once flourished in particular areas. The theory is, if done correctly, they can boost biodiversity and restore ecosystems with benefits ranging from reducing forest fires to tackling invasive species. But the strategy is controversial. Opponents say some species are no longer suited to certain areas and cause conflict with farmers, adding there is little evidence it works. Proponents admit some well-meaning projects havenât worked in the past, but insist properly planned rewilding, which has involved all the stakeholders from the start, can be very successful. We take a close look.
Presenter: Myra AnubiReporter/producer: Claire BatesSeries producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Penny MurphySound mix: Gareth Jones
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The Amazon is the largest forest in the world, spread across nine countries in South America and home to 47 million people. Itâs crucial for the planetâs biodiversity and in the fight against climate change. But vast numbers of trees have been cut down for logging, construction, mining and farming. On this edition of People Fixing The World we meet those who are making a living from the Amazon while keeping the trees standing - through rubber tapping and fruit picking - as well as big companies looking to make more of the fruits, nuts and other natural products.
Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Julia Carneiro Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Bridget Harney Sound mix: Andrew Mills
(Image: Brazilian entrepreneur Francisco Samonek, BBC/Julia Carneiro)
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