Winter 2017
Table of Contents
50 Solutions
In Depth
Explore SectionFrom the Editors
Get Ready for Our Favorite Solutions Across the U.S.
We’ve learned a lot in 20 years of solutions journalism. We know that we can fix what’s broken in our communities, regardless of who inhabits the White House.
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I Found the Spirit of Standing Rock in Communities Across the Nation
A four-month road trip showed me how many of us are already building a better America by working together.
Sarah van Gelder
6 Solutions That Support Native Sovereignty—From Tribal Schooling to Bison Herds
Florida’s Miccosukee is the first tribe allowed to run its own school, where students fully participate in family and cultural activities.
Araz Hachadourian & Christa Hillstrom
6 States With Criminal Justice Reform Wins to Celebrate
In Oregon, incarcerated women stay connected with their children through special visitations and virtual parent-teacher conferences.
Araz Hachadourian & Christa Hillstrom & Jaime Alfaro
What It Takes to Get Women Out of Prison—and 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.
Zenobia Jeffries Warfield
How Northwest Tribes Joined Forces to Beat Fossil Fuel Initiatives
Their victories have been inspiring to members of the Standing Rock Sioux in the fight against the Dakota Access pipeline.
Terri Hansen
In Conservative States, 2 Cities (and a Church) Helped LGBT Rights Gain Ground
From Idaho to Georgia, people found ways to offer sanctuary and legal protection.
Araz Hachadourian & Liza Bayless
From Goat Farms to Parenting Classes: Immigrants Find Support Across U.S.
Five states where communities are ensuring immigrant rights and wellness.
Araz Hachadourian & Kim Eckart & Liza Bayless
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’s collective skills to fix them.
Araz Hachadourian
From Grocery Stores to Labor Unions, Cooperatives Were the Answer
Worker-ownership economics catch on in Ohio, Nevada, and North Carolina.
Araz Hachadourian & Liz Pleasant
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.
Araz Hachadourian & Christa Hillstrom & Olivia Anderson
Nashville Teens Mapped Their Daily Routes—And Got a New Bike Lane as a Result
In Nashville, Tennessee, and Chicago, city planners are responding to demands for better neighborhood mobility and bicycling infrastructure.
Araz Hachadourian
From Growing Edible Forests to Banking Heirloom Seeds, Solutions to Keeping Your Food Local
Three creative ways to strengthen local food economies.
Araz Hachadourian & Erin Sagen
This Small Town Refused to Settle for Wal-Mart When Its Last Local Grocery Store Closed
After 10 years without an independent grocery store, the residents of Iola, Kansas, found a way to bring one back.
Melissa Hellmann
Wisconsin Tribe Halts $1.5 Billion Open-Pit Mine
To protect vital wetlands, the Ojibwe tribe and local scientists and activists pressured industry to abandon plans for what would have harmed thousands of species of plants and animals.
Jaime Alfaro
What It Looks Like When Communities Make Racial Justice a Priority
From conversations that heal to land trusts that fight gentrification.
Araz Hachadourian & Zenobia Jeffries Warfield
How Neighbors Turned Unused Buildings into a Thriving Community Hub
As rents rise and independent businesses in Minneapolis lose their leases to large national chains, a first-of-its-kind co-op found a solution.
Christa Hillstrom
Where Citizens Can Run for Office Without Big Money—and Win
Maine’s unique solution for clean elections involves $5 contributions and campaigns funded entirely by taxpayers. And it’s working.
James Trimarco
3 Creative Solutions to Protect Water, Wildlife, and a Warming City
In the heat zone of Louisville, Kentucky, 170 residents have been trained as “citizen foresters.”
Araz Hachadourian & Olivia Anderson & Paulina Phelps
Solutions We Love
Explore Section
Meet the 82-Year-Old Grandma Lobbying for Abortion Rights
And two other grandmas we love expanding health care in their communities.
Kate Stringer & Liza Bayless
Most Americans Agree: God Granted the U.S. a Special Place in History
And 23 other facts you should know.
Liza Bayless & Olivia Anderson
Culture Shift
Explore Section
My Five-Day Visit to an Abbey Let Me Embrace Stillness and Silence
I fear losing the stillness I gained. But I take comfort in knowing that the abbey is there, that the monks are singing the hours, and that there is silence in between.
Norman Allen
The Myth of Bipartisanship—It’s Time to Get Tough With the Right
Politics is not a parlor game where good manners always win out. It involves questions of power and privilege, which cannot be solved merely with bipartisan brunches.
Sean McElwee
A Healthier Democracy Starts Right Where You Live
The documentary “We the People 2.0” looks at why the rights of neighborhoods and cities are essential to building a better world.
Andy Lee Roth
How I Stopped Mindlessly Buying Things
Stores want me to buy stuff I don’t need. The internet wants me to buy stuff I don’t need. But I finally figured it out.
Sarah Lazarovic
Also
Explore Section