Next City

The State of Our Kids: Young People Are The Solution

Four in 10 students report persistent sadness or hopelessness, and a new KABOOM! report says remedies start with simply listening to young people. In the first of a two-

Coming Soon: Not My Narrative

This October, Next City is launching Not My Narrative, a new podcast and essay series about the stories we tell ourselves that are mistaken for facts and the people provi

Poetry Breaks Through Where Planners Cannot

Public art projects use poems across Philadelphia to help residents process loss, gun violence and grief together.

The Secret Sauce in Democratic Community Engagement

A group is working to ensure that the closure of Hester Street in New York City doesn't mean the loss of its wisdom as a trusted facilitator of processes that authentical

Summer Break

Next City is on a brief hiatus for the summer. We'll be back at the end of July. Thank you for listening to Next City. Together we can spread good ideas from one city to

On Being Planners With Purpose

We are creating a podcast episode about these three episodes related to the Planners With A Purpose conference that Next City sponsored.

After 150 Episodes, Revisiting Our Favorite Solutions

The Next City podcast debuted in November 2021 and has now recorded 150 episodes, with hundreds of interviews about solutions with changemakers. Host Lucas Grindley and E

For Immigrant Communities, These Organizations Build Belonging

Sponsored podcast: From Chelsea to the Berkshires, these organizations do the frontline work of caring for their community when federal policy turns hostile.  When ICE r

How Boston’s Chinatown Turns Culture Into Power

This sponsored series is created in partnership with The Culture & Community Power Fund (C&CPF), a national funders’ collaborative advancing the role of culture in buildi

How To Transform Closed Schools for Community

Today, we're learning about the effort to ensure public school buildings continue serving neighborhoods even after they close. 

Real Solutions Are Everywhere

A partner episode with the podcast, Real Solutions, produced with The Othering & Belonging Institute.

Lessons on Serving Immigrant Communities Under Attack

As immigrant communities face daily threats from ICE and the Trump administration, they need allies they can trust. And that's why today we're looking at nonprofit newsro

Community Power Is Finally Going Big in Economic Development

Community-owned commercial real estate models are starting to make bigger splashes, thanks in part to building relationships with investors and officials who see their va

Tenants Rising: Organizing for Housing Justice, Part 2

Examine tenant-led movements and legal strategies to preserve affordability and resist displacement. It could highlight lawsuits like the one in Missouri where tenants fo

Tenants Rising: Organizing for Housing Justice, Part 1

Examine tenant-led movements and legal strategies to preserve affordability and resist displacement. It could highlight lawsuits like the one in Missouri where tenants fo

This City Spent $1 Million To Erase $90 Million in Residents’ Debt

On a daily basis, thousands of Americans are faced with the choice of whether to seek needed medical care, or stay home untreated to avoid sliding further into debt. But

Artists in Government: Creativity as Civic Infrastructure

If we want to imagine a better world, artists might be better than anyone for the job.  Today, we are looking at artists-in-residence programs in government. 

Building Affordable Housing Without Federal Dollars

One new reality many community leaders are dealing with: Federal funding is rocky, to say the least. So today, we're looking at affordable housing solutions that have loc

From Tangled Title to Shared Prosperity

Across the country, low-income communities face threats of displacement, predatory investment activity and limited wealth-building opportunities. One often-overlooked con

A Food Security Solution for Urban and Rural Neighbors

Highlighting our recent coverage on nonprofit and alternative grocery models in Kentucky, this event would look at how communities—from urban Lexington to rural areas—are