How do we help mobile talent connect with place?  Better yet, our place?  This is one of the big questions for cities. 

Lavonzell Nicholson and Ishaneka Williams have won a competition for the best business proposal to do just that: help the 23 – 35 year olds who…

Three years into the recovery from Katrina, New Orleans' population has grown only modestly and resettlement has slowed to a trickle.  Times-Picayune reporter Gordon Russell asks, Is it time to recognize New Orleans as a shrinking city? 

Russell writes, "Embracing or even accepting a downsized city can be painful for…

Today I had a chance to speak to a couple of people at TeachNola, the New Teacher Project in New Orleans whose job it is to recruit seasoned people -- not necessarily those with teacing background -- to the city post-Katrina.  Clearly, it is the strong sense of…

Gustav won't help, but nonprofit leaders in New Orleans are attempting to turn the march of young adults into the city a permanent settlement.  A dozen nonprofit and business groups are starting 504ward: New Orleans Calling.  The three-year campaign will include a Web site with job listings and other…

Here's another view of last week's UrbanNext meeting in New Orleans, this time from GLUE co-founder Abby Wilson.  (She is this amazing force of nature, just what the Midwest needs in a champion.)

Even though the nation seems to be in a sour mood, people seem to be in a giving move. Two stories I've been carrying around from USA Today make a point.

One is headlined, "Boomers in the mood to give back to society."  A new survey from civicventures.org shows millions…