These 51 reviews, from each state and the District of Columbia, provide examples of solutions at work in communities around the country. Where the problems or issues are similar, often the approach is vastly different. Many, however, contain common elements such as comprehensive and participatory planning, visioning processes, integrative approaches, and collaborations among citizens, businesses, public agencies, and nonprofit organizations. The stories are rural and urban, local and regional. They encompass a variety of issues from job creation to community democracy.
Project sponsors vary from nonprofits to businesses to local governments.
Many of the initiatives have sustainable development as a stated goal while others do not use the term explicitly. Though these profiles can serve as valuable sources of information for other communities, they are also a compilation of success stories and therefore should serve as inspiration for all readers. From the South Bronx in New York to the mountains of Montana these stories are a message that citizens are exploring new ways of doing business and opening up exciting possibilities often well in advance of political leadership. Together these examples tell a story of a new wave of American ingenuity and know-how, of citizens solving problems from a new perspective. These profiles have been arranged alphabetically.