Sunset at Grand Canyon (Arizona, USA) seen from Yavapai Point. July 2007. Author: Tobias Alt

This page is the beginnings of a portal for United States community action. The majority of our information about this is collated via our place pages...Near you

Most of this page focuses on USA community action topics. Separate pages cover Resources USA, US news and US sustainable community events

USA topic articles[edit | edit source]

Community energy USA - Food USA - Sustainable transport USA - Towards sustainable economies US

Community and voluntary action[edit | edit source]

United We Serve, an official website of the U.S. Government - Volunteering and Civic Life in America

Community currencies activism[edit | edit source]

Commons Currency Project, Imagining a Great Lakes Commons Currency

TimeBanks USA

Community safety[edit | edit source]

News and comment

2021

Building an "Early Warning, Early Action infrastructure" to prevent violent conflict in the US, welcome to the Trust Network, Nov 1[1]

2017

Chicago: Come for the fun, stay for the revolution, Nov 16[2]

The Unsung Role That Ordinary Citizens Played in the Great Crime Decline, Nov 9[3]

Cycling activism[edit | edit source]

Advocacy Academy - Lessons From the Best Biking Cities - San Luis Obispo, CA.
Authors: PeopleForBikes, Nov 17, 2020

Education for sustainability[edit | edit source]

Center for Ecoliteracy - Safe Routes to School National Partnership

Ethical consumerism[edit | edit source]

Center for the New American Dream - ConsumerProtect.com - GreenerChoices.org - Wikipedia: List of Fairtrade settlements in the United States

News and comment

2020

Apr 23 Towards sustainable economies US: Accessible local alternatives to Amazon Prime[4]

Free stuff[edit | edit source]

A potlatch is a gift-giving feast practiced by indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States, among whom it is traditionally the primary economic system. Since the practice was de-criminalized in the post-war years, the potlatch has re-emerged in some communities.[5]

Health[edit | edit source]

Active Living By Design, creates community-led change by working with local and national partners to build a culture of active living and healthy eating.

Change Lab Solutions, nonprofit which offers legal information on public health issues. The website states:

'It can be difficult—if not impossible—to find fresh, affordable healthy food in many urban and rural low-income communities. One way to make fresh produce more accessible is to encourage alternative retail outlets, such as farmers' markets, farm stands, and community supported agriculture (CSA) programs, where farmers can sell their produce directly to consumers.'
Their report entitled 'California Certified Farmers' Markets and Farm Stands: A Closer Look at State Law' argues for more flexible regulations. Change Lab Solutions has written a fact sheet entitled 'Creating a Permit Program for Produce Cart Vendors.' W

CDC's Climate-Ready States & Cities Initiative, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

GirlTrek

Health Care Without Harm US / Canada, press room

News and comment

2017: Economic Inequality and Health Inequality Are Inextricably Linked, Dec 5[6]

2015: Surgeon General's Prescription for Health: Walk More, September 28[7]

Localism[edit | edit source]

BALLE, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies - Community-Wealth.org, a project of Democracy Collaborative - Institute for local self reliance, nonprofit organization and advocacy group that provides technical assistance to communities about local solutions for sustainable community development in areas such as banking, broadband, energy, and waste through local purchasing. The organization was founded in 1974. ILSR has two main offices, one in Washington, D.C., and the other in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The 1990 edition of the Whole Earth Catalog summarized ILSR's mission as follows: "ILSR specializes in urban community economic development that isn't dependent on welfare handouts. Unlike many similar organizations, they develop clever technical solutions to problems - they've been particularly successful in material recovery and other schemes to reduce waste. Their experience and thoroughly professional demeanor, together with a Washington DC location, has enabled them to be influential in policy decisions." W

News and comment

2020

Nov 8 Joe's not sleepy, but he should wake up to American localism[8]

Apr 23 Towards sustainable economies US: Accessible local alternatives to Amazon Prime[9]

Road safety[edit | edit source]

Reduce, reuse, repair and recycle[edit | edit source]

Drop Box Finder - earth911.com - The Swap-o-matic - US Composting Council - Post-Landfill Action Network, national movement of student leaders working towards a world without waste. - GrassRoots Recycling Network - The Repair Association - The Truth About Plastic

News sources: Northeast Recycling Council Blog

Sharing[edit | edit source]

Pets to Share - City Dog Share

Cohousing

Cohousing Association of the United States, site includes a Cohousing Directory

Resources

Creating Cohousing, Building Sustainable Communities, by Kathryn McCamant & Charles Durrett, newsociety.com
How To Start A Tool Library (or any other type of Lending Library), Share Starter
Local Tools, rental and tool library software

Maps

Find an Existing Tool Library, localtools.org

Comment

S400: Bringing Community to the Micro-level – The Opportunities of Urban Cohousing, 2012 March 5, citytank.org

Social inclusion[edit | edit source]

Strike Fast Food, Low Pay Is Not OK - We Are Visible, empowering the homeless via social media

Sustainable livelihood[edit | edit source]

Caring Economy Campaign

Resilience Circles are small groups where people come together to increase their personal security through learning, mutual aid, social action, and community support.

News and comment

2019

Mar 26 The benefit workers want most is less work[10]

2015

Feb 17 Can We Earn a Living on a Living Planet?[11]

Urban sustainability[edit | edit source]

Curbside Chat Trailer
Authors: Strong Towns, Sep 15, 2014


News and comment

2022

  • Cities need to be redesigned for the climate crisis. Can they make us happy, too?, theguardian.com (Mar 28, 2022)

2018

Dallas non-profit creates bike share docks for neighborhoods, Feb 19...[12]Texas

2017

Small Towns Can Be Resilient, Too, Mar 29[13]

See also Barcelona

Near you[edit | edit source]

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External links[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

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