MAIN STREET & DOWNTOWN
CIVIC LIFE
To Both See and Tell the Country: From the Road through North Carolina to South Carolina
Why seeing more of America matters.
CIVIC LIFE
'To Arrive Where We Started and Know the Place for the First Time'
The America that Americans Don't Know About, and Why That Matters
EDUCATION
Real Mississippi podcasts: You Can Go Back Home Again
Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science student Raegan Calvert explores the challenges and opportunities in her hometown of Wiggins, Mississippi
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.
CIVIC LIFE
Small towns win big honors: De Smet & Bucksport
Two small towns come out strong in a national poll. They're among our favorites, and we're glad for these results.
ECONOMIC & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Tighe Bullock is working to building a vibrant, attractive downtown in West Virginia’s capital city.
Revitalizing Charleston, West Virginia Brick by Brick
TRANSPORTATION
Reviving the economy, restoring community, and helping sustainability: a plan.
Two Republican presidents -- Abraham Lincoln, and Dwight Eisenhower -- offered bold new approaches to transportation as part of their national strategy. A proposal
ECONOMIC & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
When a Company Invests in an ‘Underdog City’
The story of how a company that started in one of these places is now involving people and businesses in another—and why that matters in the next stage of equitable American recovery.
Economic & Business Development
The University of Dayton Is Reinventing Town-Gown Relations
Archway Entrance for the University of Dayton, in Ohio. “The city is in our name,” says the university’s president. “It’s our future.” (Courtesy of the University of Dayton) It’s time for another report on Dayton, Ohio, subject of this introduction last month. A century ago, Dayton was known mainly for the things it created, from the Wright Brothers’ […]
Economic & Business Development
The Death and Afterlife of the Mall
Video by The Atlantic The shopping mall has had a dramatic fall from grace. Once the veritable town square and a cornerstone of American consumerism, malls have aged into oblivion, replaced by cheaper and more convenient alternatives. Today, these sprawling complexes are mostly ghost towns—dilapidated vestiges of their former selves. In a new episode of The Idea […]
Economic & Business Development
The Gem City Moves Forward
Read the story in The Atlantic here. Overlooking downtown Dayton this autumn James Fallows / The Atlantic This is the first in a series of posts on the city of Dayton, Ohio. I’ve been there three times since August and am about to make another trip. Almost every trend affecting modern America is on display in […]
Economic & Business Development
How a City Talks About Itself
Sioux Falls in 2019
Arts
Sioux Falls is Ready for Tom Hanks
A progress report
Arts
‘A River, Not A Border’: Report from Brownsville
Striving together for good health and well being in a Texas border town.
Economic & Business Development
How Danville Has Avoided Omaha’s Mistake
How the bittersweet heritage of old buildings in Danville, Virginia has helped them avoid the mistakes of Omaha..
Economic & Business Development
The Reinvention of a Downtown: Danville’s Story Part 2
A snapshot of the efforts paying off in reviving Danville's downtown.