Hi .
"You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time."
- Angela Davis
The pattern of racism and police brutality against Black Americans, currently salient through the collective mourning of the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, is not lost on us at Urban Us. Through weeks of protests for defunding and demilitarizing the police, against the cross-country curfews, and displaying resistance to the foundational layers of embedded racism, the Urban Us team and broader community have been engaging in conversations on anti-racism. But beyond these conversations, we understand it is more critical for us, as individuals and organizations, to walk the talk.
Institutional, structural, interpersonal, and internalized racism against Black people is a fact, and we acknowledge our responsibilities to the injustice. Specifically, with the role we play in funding entrepreneurs to shape urban futures and the agency we have to shape the venture capital ecosystem. There is work to be done on building equitable cities. As one startup founder pointed out to the Slack community earlier this month, there are no neutral builders.
While the news cycle is wont to move on, we believe in the power of sustaining the breadth and momentum of this movement. Cities are already beginning to respond to the calls for change and many are considering alternative models for public safety and community response. At Urban Us, we are committed to promoting equity through policy and protest, but also through the infrastructure, design, software, and hardware we decide to fund and the teams we support.
#cities
As we continue to witness the pain of communities around the country asking for justice, the need for inclusive smart cities persists, especially as it relates to the role of technology in equity and how cities are investing in social equity indicators. Published in 2014, but still an outstanding piece, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ ‘The Case for Reparations’ discusses redlining and segregation in our cities. In an open response to investors and advisors, Varuna Founder, Seyi Fabode, articulates some action items and resources to start doing the work towards equity and justice for Black people in America.
While Minneapolis has catalyzed towards change and voted to disband their police force, other city budgets are being brought into scrutiny by activists. Experiments in reduced policing have indicated that crime goes down, threatening the power of forces like the NYPD. Some former cops are also calling to disband the police, or at least stop calling them for all social problems.
#climate_change
As the global pandemic continues to impact activity, there has been a visible drop in emissions, with the caveat that most changes are "likely to be temporary as they do not reflect structural changes in the economic, transport or energy systems.” Alas, some climate scientists have come to the conclusion that the most likely outcome is the collapse of civilization. There have also been salient reminders that at its core, climate change remains an equity issue. With the pattern of fires and other climate disasters of recent years, facing climate change consequences will likely be our next crisis this year.
#COVID-19
The Aspen Institute is seeking input on how to leverage local procurement for an effective and equitable recovery from COVID-19.
Effects of the virus continue to drive layoffs, including thousands from Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb.
The full list of companies affected is being tracked here: https://layoffs.fyi/.
Thanks to the input of our portfolio founders, we’re finalizing a first draft of our next playbook, “The Startup Playbook for After COVID”
#jobs_and_talent
Early stage:
Cove.Tool is hiring team members for Sales and Software to join the fight against climate change.
SDR (B2B SaaS): https://www.covetool.com/sdr/
Software Engineer: https://www.covetool.com/software-engineer/
HAAS Alert is looking for a React Engineer and recently opened a sales position to drive adoption across Public Safety agencies in the US and Canada. Send a resume or LinkedIn link to info@haasalert.com.
Later stage:
All 13 Urban Us Portfolio companies that are hiring.
#opportunities
As part of NYC’s Green New Deal, the Department of Buildings is asking for idea submissions on EE, storage, on-site gen, and embodied carbon solutions. Submit by June 23: https://makenyccarbonneutraldob.splashthat.com/
Applications for NSF’s Civic Innovation Challenge are open through July 1. The two tracks are Communities and Mobility, and Resilience to Natural Disasters.
The Clean Fight! powered by New Energy Nexus and supported by NYSERDA has launched and is accepting applications for their first program until July 19.
#Urban_X
This week we are kicking off our first all-remote accelerator cohort. Our newest startups are pushing urbantech forward with solutions for intelligent electrification, advanced charging infrastructure, carbon sequestration, and drinking water quality. These cohort 8 companies will be announced soon.
Best,
Shilpi, Liz, Mark, Shaun, Zeev, Stonly and Anthony
What’s up with the #hashtags? This content comes from our slack channels where we review contributions from people like you. So you can wait for this newsletter or join us on Slack.