Local Action with Global Effects: the Saga of the Leaf Blower
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…
Citizen Engagement
22 posts
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.
‘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.
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.
Inside Our Towns: Scott and Tiffany Whaley
Feeding, sustaining, and building community in Kershaw, South Carolina through KARE.
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.
How One Small Ohio Town Practices Democracy
Small is big in Mount Blanchard, Ohio. The town approached change in two ways, and Deborah Fallows reports on the impact she and her husband, James, saw during their travels there.
To Both See and Tell the Country: From the Road through North Carolina to South Carolina
Why seeing more of America matters.
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.
A Dining-room Meeting Begins a New Chapter in One Town’s Story
As Isaac and Heidi Tucker saw it, there was no use in waiting for their town to improve itself. Instead, they took action, and are rallying renewal efforts in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania today.
A Town of Doers Works Together to Preserve Their Past and Plan Their Future
Residents and businesses in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania have adopted a mantra: if it’s a community problem, it’s their problem too.
Inside Our Towns: Jason Neises
Discussing opportunities, real and perceived challenges in small-town America, and the impact of Community Heart & Soul in Iowa.
Story Maps are at the Center of Community Collaboration in Kent, Ohio
New digital tools give communities innovative and engaging ways to tell their own stories. In Kent, Ohio, a community-wide collaboration among Kent State University, Main Street Kent, and the Kent Historical Society & Museum uses story maps to teach residents about the town's rich history.
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.
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.
A New Partnership: Community Heart & Soul
Community Heart & Soul and Our Towns Civic Foundation are collaborating to bring national attention to the stories of innovation and renewal in small cities and towns across the United States.