Boosting Journalism
Local media needs help. Shrinking local newsrooms and small news startups don’t have travel budgets to send journalists out to tell stories about solutions from other places. We fill that gap.
Stronger Cities
Metro areas are where our most complex problems, from health to climate change to racial inequity, are most deeply felt. They’re also where innovative solutions can help the most people.
Travel Grants
Our travel grants enable journalists to do on-the-ground reporting, which is so critical to telling stories about what’s working and why with texture, color, and deep understanding.
About Neal Peirce
The journalist Neal Peirce spent a career writing about the people, programs, and ideas making cities and metropolitan regions work better for all their people. And he was constantly on the road to get the story.
Stories by Our Grantees
What ‘Single Stair’ Reforms Can and Can’t Do
A movement to require only one stairway in mid-rise apartment buildings is sweeping North American cities. Christine Ro went to Seattle for Next City to look at the impact of ‘single stair’ regulations in place for decades.
Climate Fixes Spark Wave of Gentrification
Flood-control projects often end up displacing Black residents of the neighborhoods they’re supposed to protect. Adam Mahoney went to Atlanta for Capital B to look at what can be done to combat ‘climate gentrification.’
Cold Weather Puts Electric Buses to the Test
Can electric buses survive a Wisconsin winter? Benton Graham went to Madison to report for Grist on how the city’s growing fleet of electric buses overcomes cold-weather challenges.
Banding Together to Keep Mobile Homes Affordable
In 2022, residents of a Colorado mobile home park formed a community land trust to buy the land under their homes and take control of their future. Natalie Skowlund went to Durango to report for NPR on what happened next, and what other communities can learn from it.
‘The Big Dig’ Podcast’s Highway Teardown Tour
In a follow-up to GBH News’ acclaimed podcast about Boston’s famous Big Dig project, Ian Coss hosted live tapings across the country in cities that are considering different ways of transforming their urban highways.
Reimagining Urban Highways
As Baltimore considers tearing down a blighted highway that displaced hundreds of Black families, similar projects in Upstate New York offer lessons. Giacomo Bologna went to Buffalo and Rochester to get the stories for the Baltimore Banner.
Across the nation, cities are tackling problems like climate change, racial inequities, affordable housing, crime, and public health. Yet resources are shrinking for journalists to get out in the field to report on solutions and spread ideas that make communities stronger.
Our travel grants make stories happen.