Plot Synopsis

Inspired by the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum exhibition, this series takes a closer look at the ingenious ways that people are teaming up to find solutions to daunting urban problems. From Africa to South America to Asia -- visionaries around the world show how good design can solve problems and create a better future -- whether they are addressing the issues of urban poverty, changing environments, shifting populations or access to shelter, food, clean water, transportation, and health care. Stories include: the people of Kibera, one of the largest slums in Africa, who are finally improving the infrastructure in their community; an architect and engineer in South Africa who are devising a better way to build with local materials; a visionary team that uses cable cars and spectacular architecture to reinvigorate the city of Medellin, Colombia; residents of Bogota, Colombia, who show the world a new way to move around; volunteer health workers in Bangladesh who use a portable pharmacy to treat millions of people; an international team that discovers an answer to Africa's AIDS epidemic may already be in people's hands; one man who is finally unlocking the way to turn a refuse problem into a fuel solution in Kenya; communities that rise above floodwaters in Bangladesh; modular bikes in South Africa and vertical gyms in Venezuela allow end users to fit their needs; a group in Kenya that is planting seeds as it works towards food security in slums; an organization founded by 50 street beggars that is now building a brand new town in Kenya; how UNICEF is revolutionizing Internet access in Uganda; a new water delivery system in Manila; and in Bangladesh a chemist has found a solution to one of the largest mass poisonings in human history.