City Makers: American Futures
The people, organizations, and ideas reshaping the country. A journey piloted by James Fallows with Deborah Fallows.
Collaborations
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Ian Schick/AP The Dilemmas of Maker Culture
Thinking through the consequences of the proliferation of powerful tools and technologies
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John Tierney How Makerspaces Help Local Economies
New technologies like 3-D printers and laser cutters have boosted entrepreneurial activity in American communities.
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Stuart Siegel From Xizhou to Eastport to Ajo: Big Dreams in Small Towns
The same kind of ambition you see in political campaigns, races for sports championships, or attempts to score a big IPO—but toward a different end.
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Rogue Festival Creating California's New Bohemia—in an Unexpected Locale
"It's a great time to be an artist in Fresno." This is a possibility I had never considered before visiting. And now ...
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Photos James and Deborah Fallows Ajo, Arizona: Oasis in the Desert
How a city with century-old "good bones" tries to reinvent itself.
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DowntownFresno.Org Downtown Fresno Kicks Off Its Campaign
Why "unapologetic" may be the most important word in a city's recovery plan
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Wikimedia How to Create a Tech Startup Scene If You're Not in Silicon Valley
Pittsburgh's success provides important and surprising clues.
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All photos Deborah Fallows America's Tiniest Innovators: Report from Pittsburgh
Teaching technology and life lessons in an urban elementary school
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Thread The Company That Turns Plastic Bottles Into Fabric—and Jobs
A startup in Pittsburgh shows what a social enterprise is capable of.
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John Tierney When a Community College Transforms a City
Ohio State University may be the local titan, but Columbus State Community College has also become a formidable presence.
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Deborah Fallows National Problems, Local Solutions: More Reports From Ohio
America and Americans in the active, not passive, mode
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John Tierney Remaking Columbus's Most Downtrodden Neighborhood
Franklinton long has been called "The Bottoms." But not for much longer.
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John Tierney Breathing Life Into Allentown: Pennsylvania Comes to the Rescue
What does it take to raise a city? More than a village. In fact, it may take a whole state.
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East Mississippi Community College Raj Shaunak and the Economic Boom in Eastern Mississippi
It's one thing to draw high-skill, high-wage jobs to a place that has historically lacked opportunities. It's something else altogether to find people qualified to fill them. A local answer to a national question.
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Photos by Deborah Fallows Theories of History: Joe Max Higgins and the Golden Triangle of Mississippi
"When Eurocopter came here, people started walking upright a little bit." Why has this part of Mississippi pulled ahead of some others?
