Communities all across America have faced serious challenges during the pandemic. Unfortunately, many communities all around the world are still struggling. Some will come out of this thriving while others will continue to flounder or will fail altogether.

This isn’t anything new. Communities rise and fall all the time and for many different reasons. Sometimes the demise of a community is caused by something dramatic like a natural disaster, a war, or the fall of an empire. More often, it’s simply due to the failure of the economic activity that once supported the area.

Understanding the underlying issues and responding rapidly and appropriately can help. For example, many restaurants and stores quickly moved large parts of their businesses online during the pandemic. They embraced services like home delivery and curbside pickup, services that are likely here to stay.

In the past, some communities have had to address even more difficult obstacles to progress. They faced seemingly insurmountable barriers like the complete depletion of their natural resources, railroads and main roads being rerouted away from their area, or big shifts in politics. The way communities respond to changes in their situation, whatever the cause, usually determines their fate.

Recently, a couple of journalists wanted to learn firsthand why some communities flourish when faced with hard times while others wither and die. They spent three years flying all over the country to immerse themselves in 51 different communities.

They spent a lot of time getting to know each area well. They visited businesses, libraries, parks, and restaurants. They went to plays and ball games.

Most importantly, they spent a tremendous amount of time talking with ordinary people living in each community to find out what they had done to revitalize their towns. After their travels, James and Deborah Fallows made 10.5 recommendations for any community wanting to improve. There is a lot of practical wisdom in their suggestions.

One of the most significant things they noticed in towns on the rise was that the residents work together to address practical local problems.

They don’t allow bitter disagreements about national politics keep them apart. Not surprisingly, the Fallows found that the more often national politics came into local discussions, the worse shape the town was likely to be in.

Residents in flourishing communities don’t waste time complaining about the past, blaming others for their hardships, or focusing on why they think new ideas won’t work. Instead, the residents are open to new possibilities. They focus on the positive. One gentleman in Maine put it this way, “My answer to everything is yes. Then we work out the details of what it would take.” He was referring to a proposal to start shipping pregnant cows to Turkey from a community where the primary industry had been sardine canning. That was until that natural resource left their waters. Some ideas sound outrageous. Until they work.

Be a part of the change you want to see in your corner of the world.

The Fallows’ travels across America have been documented in a book and an HBO documentary released in April 2021. Both are called Our Towns.

Patty Hammond is Economic Development Coordinator at the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation. The Local Economic Development (LED) Initiative is a standing committee of the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation (NCCF). Send comments or suggestions to Patty Hammond at phammond@nccfoundation.org