BIG LITTLE IDEAS
ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
Push for Electric Ag Equipment in Oregon Is Led by Independent Groups
With volatility being an integral part of farming, electric ag equipment could bring some predictability to farmers’ energy use and consumption, say experts.
PODCAST
Inside Our Towns: Scott and Tiffany Whaley
Feeding, sustaining, and building community in Kershaw, South Carolina through KARE.
COMMUNITIES THAT WORK
Kershaw invests in community with new ideas in old spaces
A train depot that’s a museum. A bank branch building that’s become a library. Another former bank that is serving as an early education center. Here is how this South Carolina town is repurposing buildings of the past to build up its future.
LIBRARIES
Global Effort Takes Libraries to the People
Libraries Without Borders finds innovative ways to meet community residents where they are to provide equitable access to the range of services today’s libraries offer.
ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
What's the Quickest Way to Make a Big Difference, Through a Little Step? It's Right There in the Backyard.
Change comes slowly, then all at once.
CIVIC LIFE
To Both See and Tell the Country: From the Road through North Carolina to South Carolina
Why seeing more of America matters.
ARTS
An Outsider Works with Insiders: Examples from Akron and Cleveland
Mac Love, who has spent much of his life outside Ohio, uses new technologies to bring community residents and college students together. That collaborative approach is now helping citizens’ voices be heard and is driving meaningful change in their neighborhoods.
BIG LITTLE IDEAS
Inside Our Towns: Project Fighting Chance
Evan Sanford and James Fallows talk with Ian Franklin and Terry Boykins about Project Fighting Chance -- a boxing gym that is more than a boxing gym in San Bernardino. They discuss how it got started, how it has grown, and an immediate challenge it faces today.
RURAL & REGIONAL
Q&A: How to Support Rural Students Pursuing Higher Education
Matt Newlin is a higher education consultant and founder of the podcast The Rural College Student Experience. He advocates for rural students pursuing college.
EDUCATION
Now is the Time for Reflection on Public Education
How can community-level education serve as the enabler for self-government? A look at our country’s past may offer the best answers for our future.
HEALTH
A Safe Place to Talk: Raising HIV Awareness through Barbershops
Barbershops are often hubs for conversation in Black and Latinx communities. DKBmed’s Fade Out HIV initiative strives to make use of these gathering spots to destigmatize HIV education and save lives.
YOUTH ENGAGEMENT
Never Too Soon: Engaging America’s Youngest Citizens Early and Often
Americans know that retaining their young people requires getting them involved in the civic process early and often.
GEOJOURNALISM
Why Story Maps Matter
People understand the world through stories. People absorb their stories in ever-expanding ways. Here is a preview of a powerful, emerging form of digital story-telling, which we’ll be using frequently in this space.
CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT
Fountains of Youth for Towns
The life and spirit of any town or city depend on its ability to attract and retain people. In a time when many worry about brain drain, how communities keep their young people, or bring them back, or attract newcomers illustrates a place's sense of and attention to renewal.
INVENTION & RENEWAL
Revitalizing a community by focusing on 'quality of life'
Galesburg residents are redefining the heart and soul of the town by bringing their unique history and heritage to the fore.
COLLABORATIONS & PARTNERSHIPS
A New Partnership: Community Heart & Soul
Community Heart & Soul and Our Towns Civic Foundation are collaborating to bring national attention to the stories of innovation and renewal in small cities and towns across the United States.