City Makers: American Futures
The people, organizations, and ideas reshaping the country. A journey piloted by James Fallows with Deborah Fallows.
Revitalization & Downtowns
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Deborah Fallows Returning to Ohio
How a small, Midwestern town has changed over the decades—and where it aims to go
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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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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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Courtesy of Erie County Public Library A Waterfront Library
In Erie, Pennsylvania, a public institution is building on its nautical past to open a world of opportunity for local residents.
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Jack Thompson for the Wildlands Conservancy Welcome Our Newest National Monuments!
Often it seems that modern presidents can’t do anything — except wage war. Here’s a heartening exception.
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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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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 More on Nice Downtowns: Do They Just Happen? Or Are They Made?
Tampa has kept trying to revive its downtown, and has kept failing. Asheville has been wildly successful—but was it even trying at all?
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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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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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Photos James and Deborah Fallows Ajo, Arizona: A Small Town Pushed to the Brink, and Coming Back
What does a town do when most of its people lose their jobs nearly overnight? For the people of this small town, the surprising answer places heavy emphasis on the arts.
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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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Tom Nguyen How the Arts Drove Pittsburgh's Revitalization
The role of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, founded by a wealthy band of visionaries 30 years ago, is central—but hard to replicate.
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Riverlife How Green Riverfronts Transformed Pittsburgh
The City of Bridges revives the rivers that helped make it an economic powerhouse.
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Jinx!/Flickr The Hard Road to Making Hard Liquor
A look at a nascent distillery in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley
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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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Jessica Phelps Ingredients of a Better City: How Arts Play Their Part
A soft-power approach to hard economic and social problems
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Jessica Phelps How to Attract Artists to a Down-and-Out Neighborhood
Columbus, Ohio, has figured out how to draw creative types to an area it is hoping to revitalize.
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John Tierney Urban Comeback Stories in 2 Swing States
Tales from two cities, plus the secret of the writing life
