City Makers: American Futures
The people, organizations, and ideas reshaping the country. A journey piloted by James Fallows with Deborah Fallows.
Civic Life
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Wikimedia Commons A Library Writes Its Own Story
A California library becomes a living legend.
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Wikimedia Commons Gone Swimmin’
How public swimming pools show you the heart of a town
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James Fallows / The Atlantic An Innovative Library in Oregon, and Other Reports From the Road
Kicking off reports from the inland Northwest, plus a happy birthday to James Baldwin
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Wikimedia The New New York Public Library
Preserving tradition while expanding offerings for a bigger, broader audience.
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James Fallows The San Bernardino Story: Fire Fighters Weigh In
Who is to blame when a struggling city runs out of money? A public-safety worker says it’s unfair to point the finger at him and his colleagues. Plus, a young resident of the city discovers reasons to hope.
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Deborah Fallows When High School Means a Build-It-Yourself Education
A charter school in Oregon encourages students to shape their own learning.
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Historic lumber mill / Wikimedia; Current Old Mill ... A Community College at the Center of an Oregon Recovery Story
When the lumber industry left, the region bet its future on technology—even though it lacked a research university.
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James Fallows Building for the Future, in California's Famously Failed City
The Los Angeles Times has a big, new demonstration of how bad things have gotten in the city of San Bernardino. Here’s a look at people doing their best, despite those odds.
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Bend Bulletin Sports and Civic Life, Bend Elks Edition
An evening at the ballpark, with Vinnie the Elk and friends
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Wikimedia Commons Summer in the Pacific Northwest
The Bend, Oregon, Elks open their baseball season.
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Esri map American Futures: The Pacific Northwest Edition
It’s still a bigger, more varied, and more vigorous country than most people would guess.
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Deborah Fallows A High School That Changes Lives, One at a Time
Teachers and students in a bankrupt California city, determined to make progress
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James Fallows Post-Memorial Day Note: Another Kind of Service, in San Bernardino
“I don’t just sit around. I don’t sleep much. That’s what I do. I do stuff.” The story of a man determined to do something for his town.
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Max Whittaker / Reuters Today a Bankrupt City Votes on Its Next Steps
“We’ve gotten used to gridlock and stalemate at the national level. This is what it looks like for a city.” What civic dysfunction has in common with excessive CEO pay, and why it matters.
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Wikimedia Commons The Battle for Downtown, From Canada to the Carolinas
“It is strange, but true.” What one reader says about Raleigh, North Carolina, applies many other places as well.
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James Fallows What It's Like When Your City Goes Broke
San Bernardino, California, is poor, and has a high unemployment rate, and is affected by drought, and is in bankruptcy court. But its real problem is something else.
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Victor Gruen Associates documentary, via YouTube An Incredible Time-Capsule View of One Downtown's Development
Can tearing up a noted artistic zone be a path to civic success? City leaders say yes, while some of their citizens say no.
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James Fallows Cars, Pedestrians, and the Struggle for the Future of Downtowns
Plus: how much is any discussion of “downtown” a coded talk about race?
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David Prasad / Flickr Can Cars Save Downtown?
Fresno, California prepares to rip up its landmark pedestrian mall and replace it with a street.
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A Word Cloud of Ajo, Arizona
The words we use about ourselves reveal surprising truths.
