Change doesn’t have to happen from the top down. Even as shifts in Washington, D.C., fuel uncertainty, people in communities across the country are taking it upon themselves to chip away at the challenges in front of them, coming up with innovative solutions that can have nationwide significance. Here, we highlight some of the most promising projects, initiatives, and companies that are springing up in every state of the union. Together, they present a portrait of the country today—its concerns and responses, and its enduring capacity for progress.
THE SOUTH
Alabama: An entrepreneurial food hall
Downtown Birmingham’s new Pizitz Food Hall is helping to ensure the area’s urban revitalization by supporting the next generation of restaurateurs. Along with spaces for established eateries, it includes an area where a rotating group of up-and-comers can test their concepts with the public for four to six months, rent-free.
Arkansas: A push for faster classrooms
The state’s effort to bring high-speed internet to all K–12 schools will be complete by summer. For Arkansas’s 600,000 students, that means additional devices in the classrooms and a more STEM-focused curriculum. The state is now exploring putting Wi-Fi on school buses to allow students to complete homework on the road.
Delaware: A statewide embrace of blockchain
With last year’s Delaware Blockchain Initiative, the state became the first to adopt distributed-ledger technology, to underpin its public archives. Now it’s working to allow corporations to use blockchain for financial filings; Delaware hopes to soon use it to issue shares, making trades instantaneous.
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