Libraries in the Age of Book Bans
Across the country, libraries are coming under political pressure. Here is how they are upholding their role as anchors for their communities, 'Open to All.'
Town: Burlington
30 posts
Discussing the ‘Our Towns’ Journey on The News Project
Deb and Jim Fallows explore the ongoing story of Our Towns with Andrew McKeever on Greater Northshire Access Television's ‘The News Project: In Studio’.
Libraries Lead the Way—Again
Every aspect of civic life has involved reinvention and adjustment, through this pandemic era. One of America's most "traditional" institutions has adjusted fastest and best.
The Quiet Competence That Makes the Country Run
Being "inside the clouds" is stressful. But when you break into the clear, you see things you might not have noticed before. A view of the "soft skills" part of America's human infrastructure, and their difference from those in China and elsewhere.
A Post-Election Field Report From America’s Refugees and Immigrants
Words and stories from the towns where the newest Americans live
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 Bhutan—in the American cities that have taken the lead in…
A New Vocabulary for American Towns
Three 21st-century words that are driving the nation's most dynamic municipalities
The 100% Renewable-Powered City: Too Good to be True?
Balancing substance and symbolism in the movement toward cleaner energy sources
Greening Up in Burlington, Rocking Out in Allentown
As American government seems ever more paralyzed at the national level, cities continue to find ways to grapple with real problems. Two more examples.
A Song of America’s Downtowns
A heartening surprise of our travel so far: the breadth, seriousness, and—in some places—success of the effort to revitalize small-town downtowns. Or, what 3 programmers from Uzbekistan taught us about America.
The Vermont Lake Monsters, and Other Updates From the Road
Are people in smaller towns "nicer" than cosmopolitans? No. But their political structures are working better.
Greenville, Burlington, and American Futures
"I loathed it with the heat of a thousand million suns."
Why Do Tech Companies End Up Where They Are?
"You get some clusters, and some stand-alone firms far from anyone else. But rarely anything in-between."
Luck? Planning? Karma? The Elements of a Small Town’s High-Tech Success
A software company grows in an unlikely setting. "Why here?" we ask the founders.
When Rails Make the Difference, From Down East to the Southwest
The loss of rail service into a small Maine town has been crippling
America-Going-to-Hell Watch, Heady Topper Dept.
Ever closer to the magical-unicorn ideal