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.
Town: Pennsylvania
77 posts
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.
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.
Reviving America, One College Town at a Time
How symbiotic relationships between colleges and their communities have reaped rewards in Erie, Pennsylvania, and Waterville, Maine.
‘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.
A Library Garden Celebrates Reading, Art, and Nature
In 2015, Dillsburg, Pennsylvania relocated the town's library to a bigger space to better serve its growing population. A year later, when tragedy struck, the community stepped up to grow the library to include a reading garden.
![Historical view of the Amphitheater at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, scene of Friday, Aug. 12's attack on Salman Rushdie. [Image from New York Public Library via Wikimedia Commons.]](https://www.ourtownsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Section_of_Amphitheater_Chautauqua_Institution_Chautauqua_New_York_NYPL_b12647398-79479.jpg)
What Happened at Chautauqua, and Why It Matters
Friday, Aug. 12, an assailant rushed the stage at the Chautauqua Institution. He stabbed Salman Rushdie in the neck and abdomen. Rushdie was not the only victim in this attack.
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.
A Remarkable Woman Builds a Remarkable Library
This is the story of how a late-1800s free public library built by Amelia S. Givin in Mt. Holly Springs, Pennsylvania continues to bring the region together today.
How Powerful Stories are Rebuilding a Church
This is the story of Elias Van Buren Parker and how today’s telling of his story has the power to pull the town of Mt. Holly Springs, Pennsylvania from its early glory days, then decline, back to new days of glory.
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.
Bring in the Refugees
The most encouraging front-page headline I’ve seen in the New York Times in a long time was this, from Labor Day. It was on a story by Miriam Jordan and Jennifer Steinhauer, and…
Why Maps Matter, Starting in Childhood and Even More Now
A "geo-historical narrative" captured the imagination of many children in mid-20th century America. Maps have always had power to shape perceptions of reality. A memoir about their influence--and an introduction of what's to come.
A Message to the Class of 2021
What's a Mike? And what makes a Mike Mighty?