LEADERS & GOVERNANCE
CIVIC LIFE
‘Change is in the Air – in Redlands!’
A panel of residents, business owners, and community stakeholders discuss the southern California city then, and now.
LOCAL INSTITUTIONS
How a Foundation Transforms the Well-Being of Residents
Our Towns' Ben Speggen talks with the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation team to discuss how the Foundation is empowering community development, has transformed a former grocery store into an innovative hub for nonprofits, and more.
LOCAL INSTITUTIONS
How a Community Center Helps a Town Rise Again
Residents of Fort Lawn, South Carolina used a community development model to identify 51 actionable goals to improve their town. Today, they’re checking off the list, one by one.
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.
ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
How Pittsburgh found a secret climate weapon in ‘the thrilling world of municipal budgeting’
Even cash-strapped cities have money for climate action. They just need to spend it better.
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.
ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
3 reasons local climate activism is more powerful than people realize
Research and history suggest that local action is more powerful than many people believe.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.