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Recent posts

Articles & News

Motivational billboard at the Parkettes gymnastics training center in Allentown, Pa. (Deborah Fallows)
View Post
  • Civic Life

First Bowling Alone, Now Vaulting Together

  • James Fallows
  • September 18, 2014
From Tocqueville onward, observers have thought that informal organizations held America together. Are any of them left?
View Post
  • Local Institutions

Vaulting to Great Heights in Allentown

  • Deborah Fallows
  • September 18, 2014
How girls from the Lehigh Valley become world-class gymnasts
Solar panels outside the Burlington-area headquarters of Renewable NRG Systems, which we wrote about last year (James Fallows)
View Post
  • Environment & Sustainability

The 100% Renewable-Powered City: Too Good to be True?

  • James Fallows
  • September 16, 2014
Balancing substance and symbolism in the movement toward cleaner energy sources
A rustbelt city trying to recreate itself: downtown Allentown, Pa., two weeks ago (John Tierney)
View Post
  • Economic Development

Greening Up in Burlington, Rocking Out in Allentown

  • James Fallows
  • September 15, 2014
As American government seems ever more paralyzed at the national level, cities continue to find ways to grapple with real problems. Two more examples.
Residential neighborhood in downtown Allentown, PA (John Tierney)
View Post
  • Economic Development

Breathing Life Into Allentown: Pennsylvania Comes to the Rescue

  • John Tierney
  • September 15, 2014
What does it take to raise a city? More than a village. In fact, it may take a whole state.
A 500-pound cake, inside the arena it depicts (Village Bake Shoppe)
View Post
  • Economic Development

Countdown to Tonight’s Arena Debut in Allentown

  • James Fallows
  • September 12, 2014
Is the city ready for its close-up? The locals say it is.
PPL Center arena in the heart of downtown Allentown, as it looked two weeks ago. On Friday night at 8 pm, it kicks off Allentown's new era with a concert by The Eagles. (All photos: Deborah and James Fallows)
View Post
  • Economic Development

The Eagles Come to Allentown, and So Does ‘American Futures’

  • James Fallows
  • September 11, 2014
Tomorrow is the first day in an old city's new life—or so the city leaders hope and believe.
Chugging ahead toward the future (Calisphere)
View Post
  • Transportation

California High-Speed Rail No. 11: Thinking in Time

  • James Fallows
  • September 5, 2014
Everybody talks about the future, but nobody does anything about it.
Union Pacific Station, East Los Angeles, 1950 (Calisphere)
View Post
  • Transportation

California High-Speed Rail No. 10: Palate Cleanser

  • James Fallows
  • August 31, 2014
"The decision on HSR is going to shape the future in ways we can't predict, and a touch of modesty in the arguments would be welcome."
Passengers waiting for the train, Marin County, 1889 (Marin County Library, via Calisphere)
View Post
  • Transportation

California High-Speed Rail No. 9 and the Chairman’s Turn Again

  • James Fallows
  • August 29, 2014
You want to hear more about the biggest infrastructure project being considered anywhere in the country? You've come to the right place.
Vintage image of train.
View Post
  • Transportation

California High-Speed Rail No.8 and More Questions and Concerns

  • James Fallows
  • August 24, 2014
"Bad, bad, bad," and other critiques
Artist's rendering of a high-speed train station (AP)
View Post
  • Transportation

The Courts Speak Up for California High-Speed Rail (No. 7)

  • James Fallows
  • August 4, 2014
And so do some readers.
The Fresno Amtrak station (James Fallows)
View Post
  • Transportation

California High-Speed Rail No. 6: Some Views From the Valley

  • James Fallows
  • July 28, 2014
People in Los Angeles and San Francisco often say that the initial links in a proposed north-south system would be "trains to nowhere." People from nowhere weigh in.
An earlier era's ambitious infrastructure program: The Last Spike, by Thomas Hill (Wikimedia)
View Post
  • Transportation

California High-Speed Rail No. 5: 10 Readers With 10 Views

  • James Fallows
  • July 22, 2014
A solution looking for a problem? A genuine leap forward? The best we can expect from messy political half-measures? Or something truly brave? Take your pick.
What they're trying to build (Esri and UC Davis)
View Post
  • Transportation

California High-Speed Rail No. 3: Let’s Hear From the Chairman

  • James Fallows
  • July 14, 2014
It's time for broader national attention to the most expensive and ambitious infrastructure proposal in America today.
Los Angeles-basin electric-streetcar map a century ago, during the state's previous foray into rail expansion (California Digital Library)
View Post
  • Transportation

California High-Speed Rail No. 4: From the Chairman–7 Ways in Which It Would Help California

  • James Fallows
  • July 14, 2014
For your reference, the chairman's detailed pro-and-con about the most ambitious current attempt to change America's transportation infrastructure

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