‘With the Wind at our Back’
Ten years in, a promising change in the national mood. Now, what comes next.
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Articles & News
Finding the City of Lost Hills
California's agricultural Central Valley—so rich in output, so poor in median income—is the focal point of trends in immigration, in education, in political trends, in sustainability.
How Libraries Are Becoming ‘Sustainable’
An ambitious goal of "making choices that are good for the environment, make sense economically, and treat everyone equitably."
Sustainability: Suddenly the action is local.
Ten years ago, we were searching for examples of local-level sustainability efforts. Now they are everywhere.
The Enduring Power of Place
Americans like to know where they are from—and like to think about where they might go. These contradictory realities are part of America's past, and of its future opportunities.
Florida Man!
How a regional Florida newspaper informs its citizens and encourages activism.
How Story Maps Drive Progress
At Our Towns, we’ve been following the tools and applications of geospatial information systems (GIS), as they have progressed from promise to delivery. GIS helps in countless ways: for cities…
Mississippi Immortalizes a Lost Moment of Desegregation
High school students honor six African American women of the 1960s.
Reading Banned Books Out Loud
When books themselves come under assault, public read-outs give new voice to the choir of believers. A note from the nation’s capital during Banned Books Week.
The ‘Civic Soft Power’ of Public Places
You know it when you feel it: How the public places of a town reveal a sense of its soul.
Local Action with Global Effects: the Saga of the Leaf Blower
We've just lived through 50 years of an invention that transformed neighborhood life in much of America, the gas-powered leaf blower. That era is coming to an end.
Outstanding Programs in Public Education from the American South
Lessons from Mississippi for the rest of the U.S.
Our Towns Returns to Eastport, Maine, Ten Years Later
Deb and Jim Fallows talk with David Dahl of The Maine Monitor.
Summer in Our Towns
How the summer of 2023 looks from the air and on the ground.
Libraries in the Age of Book Bans
Across the country, libraries are coming under political pressure. Here is how they are upholding their role as anchors for their communities, 'Open to All.'
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.