HOW-TO MODELS
APPLY LESSONS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Discovering ‘Cultural Debris’: Making a Big World Small By Paying Attention to Permanent Things
Sharing what we experience when we travel can open communities to themselves and others.
RURAL & REGIONAL
Running Fiber-Optic Cable to Rural Communities Is Part of Maine’s Ambitious Broadband Plan
Maine’s governor has pledged that everyone in the state who wants high-speed internet will be able to get it by the end of 2024. In just one small, Down East town, that means installing 60 miles of fiber-optic cable.
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
Trees Bring Hope, Healing, and a Look to the Future for Western Kentucky Tornado Victims
A tree grower joins forces with a local organization to replant some of the trees lost in Kentucky during tornadoes of late 2021.
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.
Big Little Ideas
How Local Governments Can Engage Residents of All Ages
When community members can't, or don't, or won't, go to town halls to attend local government meetings, some local elected officials have found a way to go to their constituents.
RURAL & REGIONAL
New Podcast Highlights Transformations Taking Place In Rural America
“Reimagine Rural” from the Brookings Institution showcases communities across America that are in the midst of renewal.
PODCAST
Inside Our Towns: Josh Fryday, California's Chief Service Officer
National division might grab headlines, but the story of uniting citizens through service in California is growing.
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.
ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
Unlocking Potential
At-risk youth in North Carolina hold the keys to flipping a decommissioned prison into a sustainable farm and community asset.
COMMUNITIES THAT WORK
How one small Ohio town practices democracy
Small is big in Mount Blanchard, Ohio. The town approached change in two ways, and Deborah Fallows reports on the impact she and her husband, James, saw during their travels there.
PODCAST
Inside Our Towns: Tighe Bullock
Evan Sanford catches up with Tighe Bullock, the accountant, lawyer, downtown developer, and construction contractor, on his latest work in Charleston, West Virginia.
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.