• Recent
  • Towns
  • Topics
    • Arts
      • Language
      • Museums & Galleries
      • Public Art
    • Civic Life
      • Citizen Engagement
      • Governance
      • Health & Well-Being
      • Refugees
    • Community Heart & Soul
    • Economic Development
      • Breweries & Distilleries
      • Entrepreneurs
      • Transportation
    • Education
      • K-12
      • Community Colleges & Technical Training
      • Colleges & Universities
    • Environment & Sustainability
      • Parks & Recreation
      • Trees
    • Local Institutions
      • Libraries
    • Local Journalism
    • Travel
      • Aviation
  • Homepage
  • About
  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Recent
  • Towns
  • Topics
    • Arts
      • Language
      • Museums & Galleries
      • Public Art
    • Civic Life
      • Citizen Engagement
      • Governance
      • Health & Well-Being
      • Refugees
    • Community Heart & Soul
    • Economic Development
      • Breweries & Distilleries
      • Entrepreneurs
      • Transportation
    • Education
      • K-12
      • Community Colleges & Technical Training
      • Colleges & Universities
    • Environment & Sustainability
      • Parks & Recreation
      • Trees
    • Local Institutions
      • Libraries
    • Local Journalism
    • Travel
      • Aviation
  • Homepage
  • About
  • Donate
  • Newsletter

Civic Life

159 posts
Rower sculpture along Shoreline Park in Sandusky, Ohio. (Deborah Fallows.)
View Post
  • Citizen Engagement

The ‘Civic Soft Power’ of Public Places

  • Deborah Fallows
  • October 1, 2023
You know it when you feel it: How the public places of a town reveal a sense of its soul.
A young girl rakes up a pile of leaves.
View Post
  • Citizen Engagement
  • Environment & Sustainability
  • Health & Well-Being

Local Action with Global Effects: the Saga of the Leaf Blower

  • James Fallows
  • September 14, 2023
There was a time when people considered the noise and pollution of gas-powered leafblowers to be merely a “First-World Problem,” a nuisance that mattered only to people with nothing more…
Barn at the Deerwood Ranch wild horse refugee, outside Laramie, Wyoming. (Deborah Fallows)
View Post
  • Civic Life

‘With the Wind at our Back’

  • James Fallows
  • September 3, 2023
Ten years in, a promising change in the national mood. Now, what comes next.
Seven people sitting on stage for a panel discussion.
View Post
  • Civic Life

‘Change is in the Air – in Redlands!’

  • Ben Speggen
  • March 15, 2023
A panel of residents, business owners, and community stakeholders discuss the southern California city then, and now.
Illustrated router and rural setting.
View Post
  • Civic Life

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

  • Nhatt Nichols, The Daily Yonder
  • March 7, 2023
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.
Volunteers install a sculpture at the Crawford County Coalition on Housing Needs in 2020. Photo courtesy My Meadville via Facebook.
View Post
  • Citizen Engagement

Meadville Leaders Turn a Community’s Plan into Action

  • Jordan Sandman
  • February 17, 2023
Community leaders in Meadville, Pennsylvania listened to, and included, residents in planning and policymaking to drive informed change.
View Post
  • Civic Life

Is Rural America Growing Again? Recent Data Suggests Yes

  • Sarah Melotte, The Daily Yonder
  • February 14, 2023
Despite unprecedented Covid-19-related death rates, rural America shows population growth after a decade of decline.
Genoa, Italy from the street.
View Post
  • Civic Life

Discovering ‘Cultural Debris’: Making a Big World Small by Paying Attention to Permanent Things

  • Tom Ruby
  • January 30, 2023
Sharing what we experience when we travel can open communities to themselves and others.
Logo for "Inside Our Towns" with black background.
View Post
  • Civic Life

Inside Our Towns: John Kropf

  • Ben Speggen and Evan Sanford
  • January 17, 2023
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.
“How America’s Towns are Writing the Future of the Country,” Jefferson Educational Society Global Summit 2022 event featuring (from left) Heidi and Isaac Tucker, Alice Trowbridge, Jason Neises, Ben Speggen, and James Fallows. Photo by Pierre Bellicini, courtesy of JES.
View Post
  • Citizen Engagement

‘How America’s Towns are Writing the Future of the Country’

  • Ben Speggen
  • January 5, 2023
Residents, coaches, reporters discuss local-level community revitalization initiative at Jefferson Educational Society Global Summit event.
View Post
  • Civic Life

A Year in Renew, A Year-in-Review: The Stories from 2022 of American Renewal

  • Ben Speggen
  • December 16, 2022
The Our Towns team looks back at the stories of local-level ideas that are driving and inspiring renewal nationwide.
View Post
  • Civic Life

2022: A Year in Renew, Continued!

  • Ben Speggen
  • December 15, 2022
A continued look back at the stories of local-level ideas that are driving and inspiring renewal nationwide. 
View Post
  • Civic Life

2022: A Year in Renew

  • Ben Speggen
  • December 14, 2022
A look back at some of the stories of local-level ideas that are driving and inspiring renewal nationwide. 
Youth in Dillsburg share their voices through drawings. Photo courtesy of Dillsburg Heart & Soul.
View Post
  • Citizen Engagement

How Local Governments Can Engage Residents of All Ages

  • Jordan Sandman
  • December 14, 2022
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.
Official graphic for the "Reimagine Rural" podcast. (Source: Brookings Institution)
View Post
  • Civic Life

New Podcast Highlights Transformations Taking Place In Rural America

  • Kristi Eaton, The Daily Yonder
  • December 13, 2022
“Reimagine Rural” from the Brookings Institution showcases communities across America that are in the midst of renewal.
Logo for "Inside Our Towns" with black background.
View Post
  • Civic Life
  • Environment & Sustainability

Inside Our Towns: Josh Fryday, California’s Chief Service Officer

  • Ben Speggen and Evan Sanford
  • December 7, 2022
National division might grab headlines, but the story of uniting citizens through service in California is growing.

Posts navigation

1 2 3 … 10 Next

STAY CONNECTED

Receive the latest news and updates

SUBSCRIBE

© 2023 Our Towns Civic Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Input your search keywords and press Enter.