City Makers: American Futures
The people, organizations, and ideas reshaping the country. A journey piloted by James Fallows with Deborah Fallows.
Local Institutions
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A Big Step for Little Eastport
Since our first visit in the fall of 2013, Deb and I have reported frequently on the grit, vision, resilience…
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Deborah Fallows A Post-Election Field Report From America's Refugees and Immigrants
Words and stories from the towns where the newest Americans live
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Courtesy of Birmingham Public Library Archives The Treasures of Birmingham
For almost a century, the local library has guarded its city's history.
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Why Not Dodge? Why Not Stockton?
I mentioned yesterday that several local initiatives could mean as much to their communities or states as the outcome of…
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Deborah Fallows What It Takes to Settle Refugees
The people of Erie, Pennsylvania, have welcomed immigrants and refugees, and believe that their town is better off for having done so.
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Wikimedia Old City, Old Buildings, New Life
An art museum with a long history reinvents itself with passion and an entrepreneurial spirit.
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Beyond Books: Libraries Reach Out to the Public
During our American Futures tour around the country over the past three years, Jim and I have seen libraries, one…
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Allison Osberg / Courtesy of Tides Institute and ... Little Town, Big Art
“The arts” might seem a frill or nicety. In Eastport, Maine, they’ve been at the center of economic and civic plans and have helped the little city “punch above its weight.”
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Taylor Aikins 'America Is a Dream Country'
What does it mean to spend years as a Syrian refugee and then land in a brand new life in Erie, Pennsylvania?
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Deborah Fallows A Carnegie Legacy in Dodge City
Synergy of arts and civic life in a Kansas town
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Orlin Wagner / AP Educating Migrant Children in Dodge City
“We’re a port of entry 1,000 miles from the border.”
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Deborah Fallows Finding Health Care in the Desert
With the closest hospital 100 miles away, Ajo, Arizona’s Desert Senita Health Center acts as the region’s clinic.
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Deborah Fallows / The Atlantic Farming in the Desert
A small town in Arizona grows a thriving food scene.
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Awards for Civic Engagement: 37 New Examples
A big question in national politics this year is what exactly “engagement” means, beyond showing up at rallies. As Yoni…
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America 2016, in 2 Quotes
Quote one, from Michael Cohen’s report for the Boston Globe on the big Trump rally in Long Island. Emphasis added…
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Currier and Ives / Wikimedia Commona How Libraries Are Becoming Modern Makerspaces
They’ve long served as communal gathering spots, but these civic institutions are becoming gateways to technological tinkering.
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Courtesy of the Greenville County Library System A Public Library Tells the Civic Story of a Town
Greenville’s public library puts its past and present on full display: mills, racial history, internationalism, public-private collaborations, and culture.
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Hmmm, Where Have We Seen This Before?
The pull-quote at the beginning of my current cover story says: Many people are discouraged about America…
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Amerique at Wikimedia Commons Pitching in to Save a Library
In San Bernardino, one way to help save the city is to save its library.
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Wikimedia America's Libraries: Old Institutions Becoming Very New Again
Most people associate libraries with fustiness, quiet, and a previous era in technology. But across the country, they’re embracing new technology to fill important new civic roles.
