Welcome to American Futures

Welcome New York Times readers! My article in the Travel section described the American Futures Project that my husband, Jim, and I have been doing for The Atlantic and our partners, Marketplace radio and the Esri software firm.

The main project page here hosts all of our articles. Below you'll find a selection of the main themes we've emphasized and some of the most popular posts.

We hope you'll enjoy following this saga and send us suggestions of places we should go and things we should see.

You can email me at DebFallows at gmail dot com.


John Tierney, our partner on the American Futures Project, has built this map, using Esri technology, to highlight the towns we have visited so far. If you click on the pushpin, you'll see the town.

Big Picture of Economic Resilience of Small Towns

Holland MI: Why local money matters

Sioux Falls SD: Looking at the economic bones of a city

Redlands CA: A City's turning points

St. Marys GA: The transformation of a company town


Innovative Schools

Greenville SC: A public boarding school for the arts

Camden County GA: A high school oriented toward technical careers

Greenville SC: An elementary school of engineering


Big, Intriguing Companies -- Why they're in These Small Cities and Their Importance in the Life of the Community

Holland MI: A major recycling company

Burlington VT: A software titan

Redlands CA: The innovator in Geographic Innovation Systems


Small-town America as Home to Refugees from Around the World

Burlington VT: A refugee resettlement program, and the story of Hai Blue

Sioux Falls SD: Home for a lively immigrant community


The Language of America: The Stories about How We Speak and What We Say to One Another

Holland MI: Some linguistic curiosities and patterns of American Speech

Eastport ME: Wicked good talk in New England

Everywhere: How Americans greet each other and what it means


The Flying Life: Sights and Sounds from the Cockpit

Itawt-Itawa-Pudye-Ttatt and other curiosities of airborne language

The language of the skies


Flavors of America: People and Places Improving our Tastes

Burlington VT: The Alchemist brew

Rapid City SD: An eco-friendly green hotel