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.

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.

RURAL & REGIONAL

How Infrastructure Funding Is Bringing High-Speed Internet to Hard-to-Reach Places

A fresh round of funds was pumped into the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect Broadband project when the infrastructure bill passed a year ago. That investment is bringing connectivity to some of the most rugged and remote corners of the country.

INVENTION & RENEWAL

Made-in-Ohio solar panels benefit from federal incentives, supply chain politics

About two decades after cadmium telluride solar panels were commercialized in Ohio, the maturing technology is finding momentum thanks in part to its domestic manufacturing and supply chain.

RURAL & REGIONAL

Is Rural America Growing Again? Recent Data Suggests Yes

Despite unprecedented Covid-19-related death rates, rural America shows population growth after a decade of decline.

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.

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.

PODCAST

Inside Our Towns: John Kropf

John Kropf discusses his latest book, 'Color Capital of the World: Growing Up with the Legacy of a Crayon Company', which explores Sandusky, Ohio's innovative industrial heritage and his family's role in it.

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.

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.

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

What's the Quickest Way to Make a Big Difference, Through a Little Step? It's Right There in the Backyard.

Change comes slowly, then all at once.

REPORTS FROM AMERICA

Another Look Into the ‘Heart’ of America

First, a geographic perspective. Then, the country's struggle to recognize ways in which it is changing—and might be improving.

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

A Delicate Balance – Marrying Recreation and Preservation in Iowa

Local climbing coalition and authorities found a way to collaborate and keep access to a popular climbing area and preserve the environment.

PODCAST

Inside Our Towns: Allen Carroll and Story Maps

Evan Sanford explores the origin and evolution of Esri’s story maps with the innovative storytelling tool’s creator, Allen Carroll.

CIVIC LIFE

To Both See and Tell the Country: From the Road through North Carolina to South Carolina

Why seeing more of America matters.

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.