America's 10 Most Enlightened Towns

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Informal groups, from activist coalitions and neighborhood associations to book clubs and cooking classes, abound in our Top 10 cities. We singled out Ithaca, New York, as the most enlightened town in America, in part, because of its truly breathtaking array of opportunities for citizen participation--everything from tireless historic preservation groups and enthusiastic union organizing drives to a bicycle recycling program that has fixed up more than 1,000 donated bikes for low-income kids. This kind of yeasty civic involvement generally gives rise to innovative, progressive local politics. Ithaca claims seven unabashed leftists on its city council, while Green Party members run the city council in our #6 town--Arcata, California--third-party Progressives have controlled city hall for most of the past 15 years in Burlington, Vermont, (#4) and the New Party has made inroads in #5 Madison's municipal government. Not all the towns are left-leaning. Providence, Rhode Island, (#9) has an independent party mayor who once was a Republican, but he's a creative one who has revitalized downtown by turning it into a free trade zone for artists.

Progressive politics in these towns means more than passing resolutions opposing destruction of the rainforests and proclaiming solidarity with the people of Sarajevo. Many of them have pioneered important policies that offer new ways of dealing with thorny issues such as the environment, economic opportunity, civil rights, sustainable development, transportation, historic preservation, and housing. This approach to politics represents what E.J. Dionne, a Washington Post political columnist and author of Why Americans Hate Politics, heralds as an emphasis on the 'public good' rather than the empty ideological posturing of most politicians. And being progressive also means making sure that everyone in the community can enjoy the advantages of living there. That involves a commitment to racial equality and tolerance for gays and lesbians, but also decent conditions for working-class citizens. This is why many of the most beloved big cities are missing from the list--New York or San Francisco become a whole lot less wonderful if you're trying to raise a family there on a janitor's or hairdresser's pay.

A sense of local culture is another big factor that set these 10 apart from your average American town. Rather than slavishly imitating the latest trends, these communities look inward to find strengths and chart their own course. These are places that celebrate regional products--especially locally brewed beer, locally baked bread, and locally grown produce--and enthusiastically support indigenous artists, performers, and cultural institutions. Often, they buck national trends when it comes to public policy--as Portland, Oregon, has for many years in setting limits on urban sprawl and promoting downtown development instead. Out-of-control sprawl, in fact, was one the major reasons that several areas often lauded for their livability--Austin, Texas, and Minneapolis-St. Paul--didn't make our list.

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