COLLABORATIONS & PARTNERSHIPS
APPLY LESSONS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Paths to New Prosperity and a Better Politics in Our Democracies
'It's not all a silicon valley'. What a new report of a U.S.-Midwest learning exchange and study tour for European Union and United Kingdom leaders finds.
LOCAL INSTITUTIONS
Driving Regional Transformation through Inclusion
The Arras Foundation in Lancaster, South Carolina, is using resident input and data to empower whole-of-region progress.
PARKS, REC & FUN
Great Falls Reimagines Its Identity through Nature-Based Tourism
With community partnerships and resident input, the small South Carolina town is writing its next chapter.
ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
Carbon offset pact will put solar on dozens of Habitat for Humanity homes
The District of Columbia-based American Institute of Architects is offsetting greenhouse gas emissions from a major renovation with a $500,000 donation that will cover the cost of solar panels on an estimated 72 homes.
CIVIC LIFE
Meadville Leaders Turn a Community's Plan into Action
Community leaders in Meadville, Pennsylvania listened to, and included, residents in planning and policymaking to drive informed change.
ECONOMIC & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
What Midwest Industrial Communities Can Teach About Managing Economic Change
With a great convergence on both sides of the Atlantic around the urgent need to diminish geographic economic disparities and opportunity gaps — particularly those between thriving global city regions and struggling communities in industrial heartlands – there are growing efforts to learn from each other.
BIG LITTLE IDEAS
'Uniting Americans through Service: How California is Leading'
California's Chief Service Officer discusses the California Volunteers' initiatives -- the impact CalVols is having in the state, and how it serves as a model nationwide at Jefferson Educational Society Global Summit event at the University of Redlands.
COMMUNITIES THAT WORK
‘How America’s Towns are Writing the Future of the Country’
Residents, coaches, reporters discuss local-level community revitalization initiative at Jefferson Educational Society Global Summit event.
ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
Cleveland Pilot Project Provides Rooftop Solar for Low-Income Residents
Data from the project will document savings and could help get more funding for solar energy in neighborhoods that have historically been left behind.
ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
That empty space next to highways? Put solar panels on it.
Roadside solar fields across the country could power up to 12 million electric vehicles.
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.
EDUCATION
'We Fly,' in Indiana
It's time to judge colleges by their contributions to the economic and civic life of their communities. Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, passes the test brilliantly.
COLLABORATIONS & PARTNERSHIPS
Story Maps are at the Center of Community Collaboration in Kent, Ohio
New digital tools give communities innovative and engaging ways to tell their own stories. In Kent, Ohio, a community-wide collaboration among Kent State University, Main Street Kent, and the Kent Historical Society & Museum uses story maps to teach residents about the town's rich history.
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.
BEER
The Local Tavern: The Tradition Continues at Max Taps-Centennial
Entrepreneurship. Gatherings of friends and colleagues. Industry leadership. Great American traditions. These are prime ingredients of successful local community taprooms. And there's a new one in Centennial, Colorado building community.
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
“Ally-Shore” to Restore U.S. Economic Leadership and Protect Democracy
"Allyshoring" offers the United States benefits locally, nationally, and internationally. What is "allyshoring," why does it matter? Why is it important now? Elaine Dezenski and John Austin explain.