Efforts to revitalize downtown Fresno are receiving national attention. A series of articles about Fresno, among other cities have been featured in the The Atlantic. A special report titled “America’s Futures” by James Fallows seeks to find and report on “The people, organizations, and ideas reshaping the country.” Fresno has been a pit stop on his road trip.
Fallows himself seems pretty optimistic about Fresno’s future saying, “We’ve seen cities at almost every imaginable point along this curve. Full, functioning ripeness—as in Greenville, South Carolina; Burlington, Vermont; Columbus, Ohio; little Holland, Michigan; or Riverside, California. Nearly there—as with Sioux Falls, South Dakota, or Winters, California. Moving in the right direction—like Duluth, Minnesota, or Columbus, Mississippi, or Redlands, California, or tiny Eastport, Maine. Just kicking off a big new effort—as in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Or trying to figure out what to do next—as in San Bernardino, California….Along this arc Fresno occupies an interesting position. To outsiders, it looks as if the downtown is still in quite tough shape. To the people working on its recovery, the big, important decisions about moving forward have been taken, and the payoff is about to appear.”