Work & Economy
Painting of The Oxford Paper Mill and Community, as planned for Rumford, Maine, c. 1890. Credit: Rumford Historical Society, image courtesy of Maine’s River Valley editorial team.
To promote comparison and synthesis across reports, American Roundtable is organized around five broad themes: Public Space, Health, Work and Economy, Infrastructure, and Environment. Editors of each report were given wide latitude to interpret each theme. Collected below are features that address topics and issues related to Work and Economy.
Taller de permiso
ChristinaMaria Xochitlzihuatl Patiño Houle explora una iniciativa que examina las regulaciones de vendedores ambulantes.
Cultural Economics
Nathaniel Patterson and Vickii Howell examine Africatown’s economic challenges and offer a vision of future prosperity.
Employee Ownership in the Mahoning Valley
Roy Messing considers the employee-owned business model for local factories.
A Vision for a More Equitable and Vibrant Mahoning Valley
Nonprofit leader Jennifer Roller discusses economic opportunity and racial equity.
Building a Better Warren
A Warren, Ohio nonprofit creates high-quality local jobs in the construction sector.
Taller de Permiso / Permission Workshop
ChristinaMaria Xochitlzihuatl Patiño Houle chronicles an initiative examining street vendor regulation.
Local Chronic Financial Illness
Zoraima Diaz-Pineda discusses the relationship between poverty and policy in Brownsville.
Developing a Healthy Economy | Cheyenne River
Four Bands Community Fund’s Lakota Vogel offers an overview of the economic landscape of the reservation and the spatial challenges of rural development.
Growing Agricultural Entrepreneurs
Ed Hunt helps small farmers succeed in a challenging environment.
Can Two Black Millennials Come Out of College, Farm, and Get it Right?
Davon Goodwin describes his journey to a life in agriculture.
Livelihoods: Looking to the Horizon Line
Skip Swenson describes South Beach’s local economy—long tied to its natural resources and environment—and recent attempts at diversification.
Farming Revolution: Growing Algae in Southern New Mexico | Luna County
Miguel Calatayud believes that algae could be the future of agriculture in arid lands.
The River Valley’s Other Working Landscape
In a series of watercolors, artist Tom Leytham documents the industrial ruins of this working-class community.
Mill Supply: Making Paper and Maintaining the Technological Sublime
Aaron Cayer revisits the architectural history of the paper mill and the ways in which the mill building has long dominated and organized the River Valley.
Land-Based Ventures: Providing Jobs and Alternative Futures
Brittany Patterson profiles three land-based projects that create new economic opportunities in Appalachia.