Connecting People
The technology of our era connects communities in new ways. Communities have blueprints for American renewal, and we help them share those ideas, models, experiments, and efforts with each other, learn from one another, and discuss together how they are working today here.
PRESS
Discussing the ‘Our Towns’ Journey on The News Project
Deb and Jim Fallows explore the ongoing story of Our Towns with Andrew McKeever on Greater Northshire Access Television’s ‘The News Project: In…
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…
EDUCATION
Reviving America, One College Town at a Time
How symbiotic relationships between colleges and their communities have reaped rewards in Erie, Pennsylvania, and Waterville,…
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…
Environment & Sustainability
The timeless guidance to think globally, act locally continues to play out nationwide. Communities are exploring conservation and preservation efforts, and taking steps towards environmental, social, and economic resilience. Here are the stories of people addressing sustainability at the local level with global implications.
PARKS, REC & FUN
Great Falls Reimagines Its Identity through Nature-Based Tourism
With community partnerships and resident input, the small South Carolina town is writing its next chapter.
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.
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.
ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
Inside Our Towns: Erin Sanborn
Erin Sanborn discusses service and sustainability and the role the University of Redlands plays in the community and beyond with Evan Sanford in this episode of the Inside Our Towns podcast.
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.
ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
Finding ‘Higher Ground’: Locally-led Movement Works Toward a Just Housing Recovery in Eastern Kentucky
The urgent need for housing assistance in flood stricken Appalachian communities reveals the severe limitations of the nation’s response and support systems. Community groups are stepping up to help.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
UW student project aims to spur climate change conversations
New website features local voices to help encourage people to take part in conversations about a changing environment.
ENTREPRENEURS & MAKERS
Uplifting American Spirits
Branch & Barrel Distilling, in Centennial, Colorado, shows how an interdependent community-based economy can raise spirits for an entire region.
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.
ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
Turning the Tides
Turtles, and people — a connected story, with an outcome you might not have guessed.
ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
A Look at Lobstering and Craftsmanship
Eastport, Maine has a long history of resilience. It’s still there today in Elijah Brice.
CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT
Bringing a City Together: How Leaf Blowers Did It
This is the story of how citizens worked together toward a common goal in Washington, D.C. The story involves a change on the local level with significant, positive implications for other parts of the country and beyond.
CLIMATE
‘Renewal’ at All Levels — The Personal to the Global. An Urgent Conversation with Two Leaders of the Movement
What can a conversation about ‘Renewal’ teach us about climate change?
BIG LITTLE IDEAS
‘New Old Ideas’: A Modern CCC
American history doesn’t repeat, but it rhymes. Crises keep cropping up–and so do ideas and solutions. Many innovations from the 1930s have new relevance for the post-pandemic 2020s. Here is an example, and the thinking behind it.
BIG LITTLE IDEAS
A Plan to Grow 90,000 Trees in Los Angeles
Using tree planting as an axis to connect job creation, climate sustainability, urban renewal, and economic equity and inclusion.
Civic Life
A ‘Climate Corps’ of California Volunteers
Designed to address both the causes and the effects of California’s exposure to climate change.
Youth
The energy, idealism, engagement, and impatience of America’s next generations are the hope for its future. Across the country young women and men are determined to show better ways to solve its problems. Learn from their stories, and listen to them directly, here.
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.
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.
EDUCATION
A Student Newspaper Takes on Community Responsibilities
The Ball State Daily News has filled a local journalism gap.
ARTS
An Outsider Works with Insiders: Examples from Akron and Cleveland
Mac Love, who has spent much of his life outside Ohio, uses new technologies to bring community residents and college students together. That collaborative approach is now helping citizens’ voices be heard and is driving meaningful change in their neighborhoods.
RURAL & REGIONAL
Q&A: How to Support Rural Students Pursuing Higher Education
Matt Newlin is a higher education consultant and founder of the podcast The Rural College Student Experience. He advocates for rural students pursuing college.
YOUTH ENGAGEMENT
The Paper Clips Project: Students Bring Holocaust History to Southeastern Tennessee
Whitwell, Tennessee has become the center for a world-renowned cultural education project and Holocaust memorial.
RURAL & REGIONAL
Inside Our Towns: Jason Neises
Discussing opportunities, real and perceived challenges in small-town America, and the impact of Community Heart & Soul in Iowa.
EDUCATION
Real Mississippi podcasts: Having the Grace to Find a Sense of Place
Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science student Christina Zhang explores how a church in Biloxi serves as a space to share and celebrate Asian-American culture.
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
YOUTH ENGAGEMENT
Never Too Soon: Engaging America’s Youngest Citizens Early and Often
Americans know that retaining their young people requires getting them involved in the civic process early and often.
CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT
Fountains of Youth for Towns
The life and spirit of any town or city depend on its ability to attract and retain people. In a time when many worry about brain drain, how communities keep their young people, or bring them back, or attract newcomers illustrates a place’s sense of and attention to renewal.
EDUCATION
Emancipation Day Commemoration in Eastern Mississippi
“It’s not a black thing. It’s not a white thing. It’s an American thing.”