By losing its federal funding, the organization lost almost all its means to provide continuing education that fed into local economic development. For some of its beneficiaries, it was a literal lifeline.| Our Towns
Revitalizing Charleston, West Virginia Brick by Brick| Our Towns
Turtles, and people — a connected story, with an outcome you might not have guessed in Manasota Key, Florida.| Our Towns
Pensacola, Florida, has shown what is possible when families, faith organizations, and local institutions face difficult truths.| Our Towns
Students at two public charter schools in California’s poor Central Valley excel at undersea robots, mariachi, soccer drones, raising crops, and make a jumpstart on college. The post The Wonderful Company’s Wonderful Schools appeared first on Our Towns.| Our Towns
California's agricultural Central Valley—so rich in output, so poor in median income—is the focal point of trends in immigration, in education, in political trends, in sustainability. The post Finding the City of Lost Hills appeared first on Our Towns.| Our Towns
Americans like to know where they are from—and like to think about where they might go. These contradictory realities are part of America's past, and of its future opportunities. The post The Enduring Power of Place appeared first on Our Towns.| Our Towns
At Our Towns, we’ve been following the tools and applications of geospatial information systems (GIS), as they have progressed from promise to delivery. GIS helps in countless ways: for cities… The post How Story Maps Drive Progress appeared first on Our Towns.| Our Towns
High school students honor six African American women of the 1960s. The post Mississippi Immortalizes a Lost Moment of Desegregation appeared first on Our Towns.| Our Towns
When books themselves come under assault, public read-outs give new voice to the choir of believers. A note from the nation’s capital during Banned Books Week. The post Reading Banned Books Out Loud appeared first on Our Towns.| Our Towns
We've just lived through 50 years of an invention that transformed neighborhood life in much of America, the gas-powered leaf blower. That era is coming to an end. The post Local Action with Global Effects: the Saga of the Leaf Blower appeared first on Our Towns.| Our Towns
The idea of local-level American renewal may once have seemed cute or quaint. Now more and more communities and institutions are seeing it a key to national progress.| Our Towns
The Our Towns Civic Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to uncovering, sharing, and learning from stories of civic renewal that can inspire local success.| Our Towns
Ten years ago, we were searching for examples of local-level sustainability efforts. Now they are everywhere.| Our Towns
An ambitious goal of "making choices that are good for the environment, make sense economically, and treat everyone equitably."| Our Towns
How a regional Florida newspaper informs its citizens and encourages activism.| Our Towns
You know it when you feel it: How the public places of a town reveal a sense of its soul.| Our Towns
