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In recent years, city leaders in Grand Island, Nebraska, observed that many workers and students were walking or riding long distances to their jobs or schools.
近年来，内布拉斯加州格兰德岛的市政领导注意到，许多工人和学生都是步行或骑车很远的距离去上班或上学。
So when city administrator, Laura McAloon, learned of a chance to study the development of a bus system to meet those transportation needs, she took it.
因此，当市政管理员劳拉·麦卡伦得知有机会研究公交系统的发展以满足这些交通需求时，她抓住了这个机会。
The study received support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation along with the International City/County Management Association.
这项研究得到了比尔及梅琳达·盖茨基金会以及美国国际城市管理协会的支持。
It sent McAloon to Washington, D.C. along with other local leaders to learn about policies to lift people in their community out of poverty.
该项研究使得麦卡伦和其他当地领导人一起前往华盛顿特区，了解帮助他们社区的人们摆脱贫困的政策。
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced last week that it will donate $100 million to expand its work on reducing poverty in the U.S.
比尔及梅琳达·盖茨基金会上周宣布，其将捐赠1亿美元，以扩大其在美国减少贫困的资助规模。
The commitment is part of the $460 million the foundation said in 2022 it would donate over four years to this area of need.
该基金会在2022年表示，其将在四年内向贫困地区捐赠4.6亿美元，该承诺是其中一部分。
The foundation says it is looking to quicken the speed at which its gifts have an impact.
该基金会表示，其正在试图加快其捐赠资金产生影响的速度。
Ryan Rippel is a founding director for economic strategy at the Gates Foundation.
瑞安·里佩尔是盖茨基金会负责经济战略的创始董事。
He said the large donations represent an important change in its strategy and give grantees more power in directing their own work.
他说，这笔大额捐款代表着基金会战略的重要变化，并赋予受赠者更大的权力来指导自己的工作。
The investment is a small part of the foundation's overall budget, which was $7 billion last year.
这笔投资只占该基金会总预算的一小部分，该基金会去年的总预算为70亿美元。
But it has quickly grown.
但它已经迅速增长。
The expansion of their work, Rippel said, depends on whether they meet their goal of improving economic mobility for 50 million people in the U.S. who are just above the poverty level with a yearly income of $29,160.
里佩尔说，扩大他们的工作范围取决于他们是否实现了提高5000万美国人的经济流动性的目标，这些人的年收入为29160美元，略高于贫困水平。
The foundation will give money to organizations working to expand support for local government using evidence -based policies that improve economic mobility.
该基金会将向致力于扩大对地方政府支持的组织提供资金，这些组织采用基于证据的政策来改善经济流动性。
That includes policies that connect people with skills without college degrees to jobs, helping people receive government benefits and pushing businesses to change working conditions to improve work-life balance.
其中包括将没有大学学历的有技能的人与工作联系起来的政策，帮助人们获得政府福利，以及推动企业改变工作条件以改善工作与生活的平衡。
The grantees include Opportunity@Work, Families and Workers Fund, Prosperity Now, Pacific Community Ventures, Results for America and the Urban Institute.
受赠者包括Opportunity@Work、家庭和工人基金、繁荣当下、太平洋社区创投、美国成果和城市研究所。
At a meeting in Washington, D.C., in May, the Urban Institute introduced the tools and research they have developed to help cities and counties understand barriers to economic mobility.
今年5月，在华盛顿特区举行的一次会议上，城市研究所介绍了为帮助市县了解经济流动性的障碍而开发的工具和取得的研究成果。
There, McAloon from Grand Island realized that her city of 53,000 needed to collect more information.
在那里，来自格兰德岛的麦卡伦意识到，她所在的这座拥有5.3万人口的城市需要收集更多信息。
By the end of the meeting, they had changed their objectives and launched a data collective and analysis project.
会议结束时，他们改变了目标，启动了数据收集和分析项目。
That included surveying local citizens and working with the human resources departments of major local employers.
其中包括对当地居民进行调查，并与当地主要雇主的人力资源部合作。
What the city learned is that transportation had been a problem for workers.
这座城市了解到的是，交通对工人来说一直是一个问题。
But when the meatpacking plant and other manufacturers raised wages after the pandemic, many households were able to pay for cars.
但当肉类加工厂和其他制造商在疫情后提高工资时，许多家庭有能力购买汽车。
Now the problem, the employers said, was housing.
雇主们说，如今的问题是住房。
At the close of Grand Island's research study this fall, McAloon said they found it would not be possible to set up a bus system under federal rules.
在今年秋天格兰德岛的研究结束时，麦卡伦说，他们发现在联邦法规下建立公交系统是不可能的。
Instead, they are exploring a transportation pool that is partially paid for by employers and the state.
相反，他们正在探索一种由雇主和州政府支付部分费用的交通组合。
The study led to new communication and cooperation across agencies, schools and local organizations.
这项研究促成了各机构、学校和当地组织之间的新交流与合作。
And McAloon's office learned that a lack of plumbers and electricians was holding up new housing developments.
麦卡伦的办公室了解到，由于缺乏水管工和电工，新住房开发项目受到了阻碍。
So, she reached out to the community college, which is now setting up a technical training program in high schools.
因此，她联系了社区大学，后者现在正在高中设立一个技术培训项目。
"It was a matter of a couple of emails," she said. "And they're already working on ... making an impact on that issue that's keeping us from building more houses."
“这只是几封电子邮件的问题，”她说。“他们已经在研究……在这个阻碍我们建造更多房屋的问题上产生影响。”
I'm Dan Novak.
丹·诺瓦克为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
