From bike-sharing in Toronto to geothermal technologies in Reykjavik to accessible laptops in India, civic projects and startups alike are using tech to make a difference in the way everyone lives. These efforts are making traffic easier to navigate, energy consumption a little greener, and people happier. They show that smart uses of technology will be key in solving some of the world's most pressing problems.
Below we've highlighted some of the best and most interesting projects. To read more about them, click through to get the full story, and follow the series to learn about even more global efforts for change.
1. How Crowdsourcing Is Improving Global Communities
In the spaces between location-aware technology, web services, mobile apps and social media tools, there is a ton of opportunity for governments -- from small cities to entire nations -- to do their jobs with more efficiency and transparency.
3. 5 Ambitious Social Good Startups Created In a Single Weekend
Startup Weekend is an organization that answers this question with a resounding affirmative, and it does so many times each year in cities around the world.
At a typical Startup Weekend, ambitious entrepreneurs, developers, designers and marketers meet up for around-the-clock hacking, beginning on Friday afternoon and ending on Sunday.
4. How One Impressive Mobile App Plans to Overcome Language Barriers
But when the "interface" in question includes sophisticated vector and graphics processing (as on newer versions of the iPhone), Word Lens is more like a personal translator than a dictionary.
5. How Mobile Phones Are Saving Lives in the Developing World
6. 5 Innovative Ways to Teach Your Skills Online
Several platforms have launched within the last two years that democratize teaching. It's now possible for anyone to teach anything -- whether it's how to play the Irish whistle or master investing basics -- without a teaching contract, special software or a brick-and-mortar classroom. .
7. How New York City Is Going Digital in 2011
9. How the Private Space Race Has Taken Off
11. How 3 Cities Are Crowdsourcing for Community Revitalization
12. Why the Future of Transportation Is All About Real-Time Data
13. 4 Ways the Department of Energy Is Tapping Tech for a Greener Future
14. How Mobile Apps Are Helping Urban Explorers Discover Their Cities
Here are some other examples of how cities are using mobile apps.
15. How Musicians Are Engaging Fans With Location Tech
16. Why the EPA Wants You to Design America's Next Top Environmental App
17. How Law Enforcement Agencies Are Using Social Media to Better Serve the Public
18. Beyond BAC: How the Breathalyzer Is Poised to Revolutionize Medical Diagnostics
Breath alcohol testing devices were first developed in the 1940s, and in 1954, Dr. Robert Borkenstein of the Indiana State Police invented the patented Breathalyzer.
19. How Tech Is Changing the Museum Experience
21. 4 High-Tech Projects Making Cities More Energy Efficient
Technology is smarter, too, with wireless and manual controls in place that can adjust green tech systems to suit varying conditions like weather and pedestrian traffic.
22. 7 Tech Breakthroughs That Empower People With Disabilities
However mundane or complicated, all are a testament to human determination, creativity and ambition. Here, we look at seven high-tech assistive devices and how they're helping those with disabilities lead full and fulfilling lives.
23. 5 Tech Innovations That Could Change the Developing World
Affordability is often the greatest hurdle to overcome in products from sanitation devices to tablet computers, mobile phones to solar panels.
24. How Twitter Tracks the Spread of Disease in Real Time
Researchers from Google and Yahoo had already found that certain search terms were good indicators of flu activity. Google had even launched Google Flu Trends, which provides public estimations for flu activity. But Twitter, it seemed, was only distracting us from reality -- not helping us understand it.
25. 5 Tech Breakthroughs Bringing Clean Water to the Developing World
Technology can help. There are various companies and charitable organizations working on easy-to-use, low cost solutions to benefit those across the globe for whom obtaining potable water is a daily struggle. And clean water doesn't just mean less disease and death -- it has economic and social implications, too.
26. The Future of Trash: 4 Ways Tech Is Improving Recycling Rates
There are several ways to go about this improving recycling rates and reducing waste.
27. 4 Innovative Projects Making Water More Accessible in the Developing World
But for a large percentage of people, these simple, over-looked luxuries are not available. The U.N. has collected stats showing that one in six people in the world -- approximately 894 million people -- don't have access to the recommended amount of fresh water for daily living.
28. 4 Cities Using Tech to Alleviate Traffic
29. 5 Cities Harnessing Breakthrough Geothermal Technology
30. Behind the Scenes of Olympic Cities' High-Tech Transit Systems
Cities large and small, from Los Angeles to Torino to Nagano, have braced for the millions of athletes, spectators and press that descend upon the city for a few short weeks. For future host cities London, Sochi and Rio de Janeiro, the rush to develop is on. Mashable spoke with reps from all three cities about how they're working technology and digital tools into the cities' transportation systems to prepare for the influx of Olympic visitors.