Elsewhere
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Elsewhere ARCHIVE

Snapshots of civic renewal around the country

2006
Spring How I Stopped Listening to People Bitch About the Rain and Learned to Love Seattle That famed rain? Think of it as the collective tears of everyone in the world not lucky enough to live in the Pacific Northwest
Summer Nonprofit Nirvana by the Bay It's no wonder do-gooder types flock to San Francisco: here their work is honored, compensated well and infused with entrepreneurial energy
Fall Expanding the Herd A commitment to creative community in Senegal

2005
Jan State of the Union, Media Edition A civic snapshot of what's on the minds of reporters Midwest, East and West
Mar Side Trip: Louisville I spent a whole weekend in Derby City and didn't see a single horse or baseball bat
May Leaving the Island From a little New York island (Staten, not Manhattan), the Gateway City is looking like home
Sep Mega-Life in the Midwest What's the matter with Kansas? Pull up La-Z-Boy's largest recliner and let's discuss.
Dec Kickin' It in Bristol From culture to counter-culture, this British city's scene welcomes hipsters and hippies...to a nightclub on a boat!

2004
Feb North Carolina Highlands Take a look around Asheville, and you decide: "Paris of the South" or "Freak Capital of the United States"?
May The Big TO Headed from small-town Calgary to bustling New York, Tara got stopped in her tracks by Toronto
Jun The Next Great American City? Look West, Young Man. ABQ could be it
Nov The Mysterious Ms. X Can I predict a new St. Louisan's social destiny from the other side of the country? The bet is on.
Dec Exile Tourism Underneath the hulking promise of cities — grit, and grace

2003
Jan Still on the Hill When is St. Louis not St. Louis? When you're living in the outer reaches of the metro area, wondering how you got there.
Feb Noir City: Adventure 5¢ Even minus the dot-com millions, there's plenty of fun to be had in the City by the Bay
Mar K.C. Masterpiece Kansas City thinks it's better than St. Louis...and maybe they've got a point
Apr Moving to Honduras Most people retire and flock to planned communities in Florida or Arizona...so why would I head to rural Central America?
May We Choose Milwaukee Ask them, and the Young Professionals of Milwaukee will tell you it's got moxie
Jun Speaking Loudly and Carrying the Gospel of the Big, Red Stick Rebirth in Baton Rouge means never running out of true, tall tales
Jul Finding Health Outside Traditional Practices: Iowa City's Answer Whether you credit magical properties or just a nurturing community of creatives, you'll find plenty of alternatives in this small town
Aug Being Blessed and Not Even Knowing It Greensboro, NC, tries to reach for the civic brass ring
Sep On Chicago and a New Strategy for Knowing My Place Sharon loves Chi-Town, but she loves your town, too
Oct Corpus Christi: The Crown Jewel at a Crossroads A desolate downtown, potential demolition of historic buildings, fights about appropriate development? Not just in St. Louis
Nov In Praise of the Un-Sexy When you come from a place like Winston-Salem, NC, you develop skill at spotting diamonds in the rough
Dec Scotch Treat Julia's trip home to Glasgow reveals much has changed about town since her wee lass-hood

2002
Jan Now Showing: Time Passing By Bucking the megaplex trend, smaller movie theaters can bring an open-for-business feel to their towns
Feb See More in B-more How could a cat like John Waters come from a place called "Charm City?" Just one of the many delightful paradoxes of Baltimore...
Mar California Dreaming: West of the Border Traveling through the West, Finley Kipp charts a new course — some of it found on maps, some found only by happy accident
Apr Walkin' in Memphis Our doppelganger city to the south bounces back with a revitalized downtown, people on the streets and an energized group of young people
May Where is Our Mirror? Seeking St. Louis through the Missouri History Museum's St. Louis Urban Forum and its speakers from other towns
Jun Black and White and Nowhere Read Our man in Dayton, Ohio, has experienced certainty exactly once in his new journalistic career
Jul Stars in Alignment over Nashville Music City, USA, is singing a new tune that champions human-centered development over placeless sprawl
Aug Gateways for Billikens From his beginnings in an idealistic Paraguayan commune through time in St. Louis and now democracy-building in Armenia, Barnabas Johnson has tried to retain the enlightened optimism of the man-child Billiken
Sep New Urbanist ... Cuba? Forget what the politicians have told you about commies and their ugly cities, and tag along as Jason Toon explores the sublimely urban Havana
Oct Austin City (of No) Limits It's a great place to be young or foreign or a starving artist or a politico...or Spike
Nov Motor City on the Move Detroit Synergy Group connects Detroiters to their city, creating a renewed sense of pride in place
Dec Welcome to Washington Freedom still rings here, but under lockdown

2001
Jan Art Dog #21 Of monsters, puppets, Japanese porn and gummy worms
Feb Underground Indianapolis Our gal on the street says Indy's kicking our ass
Mar Burnt Cornbread and an Aussie for Rosco In which a connection made from halfway across the world reminds us to keep up with our neighbors
Apr United We Bowl The "Better Together" report finds we aren't all bowling alone
May Do You Know the Way? In San Jose, a group called Circa 2000 leads a civic experiment in community building
Jun Lessons from the Twins' Cities From cars to the cost of living, St. Louis ain't like Oakland, as Joy found out and Joy II will come to know
Jul Thai Journal: Bangkok to Mae Sot A Webster University professor describes a quarter abroad
Aug Net Activism Civic-minded folks from across the U.S. meet, greet and improve their efforts at the Civic Strategies web site
Sep Confidence is so Attractive Pittsburgh is giving itself a makeover with self-promotion
Oct Engine Company #74 New Yorkers are finding comfort, compassion and each other at a once-anonymous firehouse
Nov Mint Juleps in Little Big Town Doin' it up right in Louisville, from the Colonel's secret spices to more local theater than you can shake a stick at
Dec A Capital Idea There's no better trip to Keep America Rolling than the one to Washington, D.C., where our nation's heart beats

© 2001-2006 The Commonspace