When Buying Nothing Gives You More of Everything
A way to get and give free stuff with your neighbors that is time-consuming, inconvenient鈥攁nd wonderful.
Local economies
How We Can Transition to a 鈥淏ottom Up鈥� Economy
Three ways to rewire the economy for equality and ecological sustainability.
School District Switches to Local and Organic Meals, Cuts Carbon Footprint鈥攁nd Saves Money
A new report revealed surprising results when Oakland overhauled its lunch menu at 100-plus schools by serving less meat and more fruits and vegetables.
Crowdfunding Real Estate Isn鈥檛 Just For Millionaires Anymore. Could It Be For You?
The relatively new equity crowdfunding seeks investors expecting a return, not donors supporting a project. But the project must improve a community.
Stereotyping Appalachians Feeds Only the Coal Industry
As a fifth-generation coal miner, I see the region鈥檚 Trump signs and pro-coal stickers as symbols of defense against a world that views us as lesser.
CEOs Now Make 300 Times More Than Their Workers. This City Is Putting a Stop to That
Runaway CEO pay contributes to income inequality and ultimately harms companies, so local governments aren鈥檛 waiting for a federal fix.
Promises to Coal Country Aside, Trump鈥檚 Budget Cuts Will End an Economic Lifeline
The Appalachian Regional Commission helps to create jobs and improve economic fortunes of 鈥渄istressed counties鈥� in West Virginia and Kentucky.
The Cuts in Trump鈥檚 Budget You Haven鈥檛 Heard About
While national outrage is focused on Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Arts, tiny agencies helping communities that teeter on the edge of poverty would also disappear.
3 Ways Progressives Can Reconnect With Rural America
First, understand the environment is not only about climate change鈥攊t鈥檚 about livelihood for miners, drillers, loggers, and farmers like me.
What It Takes to Get Women Out of Prison鈥攁nd Stay Out
The rate of women in U.S. prisons is growing faster than men. But in New Orleans, one group is successfully tackling sentencing for drug use and sex work.
Worried About Rent Hikes, 301 Families Came Together to Buy Their Mobile Home Park
And five other creative ways Americans are stepping up to build strong local economies.
The Fix-It Shop Where Neighbors Repair Your Clothes and Electronics
Three years ago, they started a program to keep salvageable goods from landfills by harnessing the community鈥檚 collective skills to fix them.
For Those Who Don鈥檛 Want to Vote for the Lesser of Two Evils
Ranked-choice voting is catching on, and Maine might become the first state to help citizens vote for candidates they actually want.
The Other Housing Crisis: Finding a Home in Rural America
Thirty percent of rural Americans have substandard housing鈥攁nd it鈥檚 expensive. But these communities are finding ways to give low-income residents homes of their own.
6 Ways We鈥檙e Already Leading an Economic Revolution
From the 鈥渂uy local鈥� movement to public banking, we鈥檙e well on our way to a more democratic, cooperative, and people-centered economy.
As #BankBlack Moves Money, Black Credit Unions Are Ready
While the number of Black-owned banks is down to only 22, there are 318 Black credit unions uniquely positioned to invest in their communities.
Can Industrial Hemp Save Kentucky鈥檚 Small Farms?
As tobacco declines, some hope that hemp can be a 鈥済ateway crop鈥� to financial sustainability for the state鈥檚 small farms.
Meet the Jeans-Wearing, Nature-Loving Nuns Who Helped Stop a Kentucky Pipeline
As fewer women enter the convent, what will become of Kentucky鈥檚 tradition of socially and environmentally engaged religious women?
I Was a Fourth-Generation Coal Miner. Here鈥檚 Why I Quit
鈥淚 quit the mines, not entirely sure what I was going to do. I just knew that I could do something different.鈥�
Craft Beer vs. Budweiser: How Small Brewers Are Winning Back the Neighborhood
Good beer comes from collaboration, not competition. By working together, small brewers everywhere are giving corporations a run for their money.
Berkeley Votes to Boost Co-op Economy In the Face of Gentrification
A growing number of cities are investing in co-ops to keep money local and neighborhoods affordable.
What Legalizing Street Vending Could Do for L.A.鈥檚 Local Economy
Los Angeles is one of few U.S. cities where street trade isn鈥檛 widely permitted. But for immigrants and low-income people, it鈥檚 often the only way to earn a living.
A West Virginia Family Leaves Coal for Local Food鈥擜nd Wants to Help Others Do the Same
In a place where coal鈥檚 legacy has left residents struggling, one family has a vision of a healthier future.
Why Slower Money Is the Key to a Real Economic Recovery
An exciting crop of organizations are financing businesses in a way that creates real wealth. Here are a few ways to scale them up so that they can truly challenge Wall Street.
1.5 Million American Families Live on $2 a Day鈥擳hese Authors Spent Years Finding Out Why
For their new book, H. Luke Shaefer and Kathryn J. Edin followed the lives of America鈥檚 poorest families to find out what they need to break out of poverty, and how to make it happen.
Help Fund Powerful Stories to Light the Way Forward
Donate to 大象传媒 today.