Rising school attendance, environmental progress - such as tree-planting and river bank strengthening - are all welcome improvements.

BBC: Haiti quake: Why isn't aid money going to Haitians?

We are just beginning to see the results of the long and successful effort to reclaim the Hudson River waterfront for public use in the river-front gardens and promenades of Lower Manhattan and the tree- and rose-lined bicycle and running paths that have transformed the water's edge on West Street.

WSJ: New York Stadium Deals: Good and Bad

After public pressure and leadership from a local councilman and the corps' commander, officials at several levels of government created the Los Angeles River Pilot Recreation Zone along a lush segment that features tree-lined islands, vistas of the San Gabriel Mountains and abundant wildlife such as herons, egrets, hawks and kingfishers.

CNN: SHARE THIS

The grounds on a tree-sheltered promontory near New York's Hudson River are reserved for West Point graduates and cadets, soldiers who die while assigned to the academy, and immediate family members.

WSJ: Expanding hallowed ground at West Point cemetery

In the other direction, a wheelchair-accessible boardwalk heads 300m along the banks of the Pieman River to an ancient Huon pine tree.

BBC: Tasmania��s true wilderness