City Makers: American Futures
The people, organizations, and ideas reshaping the country. A journey piloted by James Fallows with Deborah Fallows.
Fresno, CA
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‘Let's Care About Someone Who Does Not Belong to Our Tribe’
We could use a little positive news at the moment, right? Here you go: Over the past three…
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All Progress Is Local: New Year’s Notes From Around the Country
This is the first of three posts on this New Year’s Day, building toward a change in (my part of…
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What the Renewable-Energy Economy Looks Like
At its peak, nearly one century ago in 1920, the coal-mining industry employed nearly 800,000 people in the United…
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Refugees, Immigrants, and the Battle Over Who Is American
Deb Fallows has a new post up, about what’s actually involved in settling immigrants from Syria—or Somalia or Congo or…
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The Generational Difference in Optimism: A Video Look
I hope you'll check out the second in the series of short films that The Atlantic’s video team has…
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Is America in a Boiling Fury About Immigration? Not the America I Have Seen
Over the past year-plus my wife Deb and I have been arguing that the “build a wall!”-style anti-immigration…
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And Now for Something Saner and More Positive: Fresno, Erie
Not to over-personalize, but I feel as if my life in the past few weeks recapitulates the argument my wife…
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From Fresno to Duluth to Allentown, with Montana in Between: Civic Updates
Here are some generally positive developments from places we’ve visited in our travels. Fresno: This evening Fresno, California…
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Dicky Murphy Why an F-16 Hit a Cessna, and Some More-Upbeat Updates
Sobering news from the NTSB, but encouraging news from Maine to California
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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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Wikimedia Commons Fresno to South Bend to Louisville: The Elusive Elements of Civic Success
More cities, more assessments of what works, and why
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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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Wikimedia commons Nice Downtowns: How Did They Get That Way?
"Visitors think, 'That's just how Seattle is.' But it wasn't." Lessons via places ranging from Fresno to Shanghai.
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James and Deborah Fallows Three Ways of Thinking About Fresno (and Why You Should Care)
A beleaguered city shows the path toward revival.
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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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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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City of Fresno Stages of a Downtown Comeback: Fresno Begins the Long Climb
Urban revivals require a shared narrative, private-sector partners, and a public official championing a far-sighted plan.
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Kepler School Fresno's Tiniest Citizens
An elementary school of and for the urban community
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Creative Fresno California's Centers of Technology: Bay Area, L.A., San Diego, and ... Fresno?
How would you build a high-tech center in a vast farming zone? You might start by applying tech solutions to farming problems of water use and sustainability in all forms.
