Next City, Inc.

Next City is a nonprofit organization with a mission to inspire social, economic and environmental change in cities through journalism and events around the world. Because we focus the world’s attention on good ideas that we hope will grow, some label us as “solutions journalism.” For us, it’s just what we’ve always done since we were founded by three college students and their network of volunteers in 2003.

Emphasizing solutions, as we do at Next City, will give birth to more solutions. Research has found that when news stories discuss potential answers to problems, readers leave feeling more knowledgeable and empowered to solve them. Readers are statistically more likely to act, to donate to support an organization, and to evolve their opinion. Where solutions journalism is healthy, America has more informed and engaged communities. And when solutions are plentiful, so will our lives be in the city.

In an age when original, on-the-ground reporting is increasingly rare, we send our writers into urban communities to produce our award-winning fact-finding and storytelling. Next City is an independent, nonpartisan nonprofit that adheres to the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. We are dedicated to producing journalism that is accurate, transparent, fair and impactful.

Next City uses our support to accomplish an ambitious set of programming. That includes publishing hundreds of stories on solutions to urban issues every year. We compile our best reporting into ebooks, host webinars with practitioners who share lessons from their work, and convene live events such as our annual Vanguard Conference for rising urban leaders.

The core of what we do at Next City is produce solutions journalism. Every story is produced with an equity lens on the world. We search for solutions that are having a real effect, and which can be replicated from city to city. These stories not only impart information, but also they build empathy and inspire change.

We consider Next City events to be the incarnation of journalism. Events are intended to share knowledge about what’s working, to inspire, and to connect leaders with each other across sectors. Next City is one of the few places where people can meet across occupations about what it will take to truly get something done to solve homelessness or poverty, for example. Next City's webinars invite guests presenters to share lessons learned about a workable solution that they’ve accomplished. We produce dozens of informative webinars each year. The annual Vanguard Conference is entering its eleventh year. Hundreds of applicants apply each year for 40 open slots within the cohort. The Vanguards are rising urban leaders from across the silos that separate efforts for change—beyond transportation planners, architects, bankers, investors, philanthropists, artists, media, government leaders, and more. The intersectional group experiences a city up close, traveling from one neighborhood to the next to learn from the leaders of solutions happening now. They immerse themselves in a city, learning from its leaders and from each other. The result is a network of like-minded changemakers, and that network is now more than 500 alumni strong.

Originally named The Next American City, the organization began publishing a quarterly magazine in 2003. What started as a black-and-white printed publication staffed by volunteers ultimately grew into a popular and influential magazine that reached 1 million people over the course of its 31 issues. Today, Next City is a trusted voice on urban policy, reaching more than 2 million influential doers and changemakers via Next City's website annually. Another 150,000 follow coverage on social media, and 50,000 subscribe to newsletters. All are in search of ways that cities can be reimagined as truly equitable and inclusive.

If you want journalism to spark change, your audience matters. And 74% of readers say they use Next City's reporting in their jobs. What jobs are those? More than 80% say they or their organization work toward greater racial equity.

Although Next City is now staffed by professional journalists, it was founded in 2003 by three college students who recognized cities were derided as sources of trouble instead of innovation. They started a magazine in 2003 by emailing their contacts and signing up volunteers. More than 200 people contributed to the first magazines.

As Next City celebrated its 15-year anniversary in 2018, the founders remarked on how true it kept to the mission. The magazine was intended to talk about cities “as a place where good things happened, and not just as a place where problems happened.” It was launched to delve into issues facing cities and create “a community of people to talk about those things.” Next City sought to “support the growth of a new generation of doers and thinkers on urban topics.”

We continue to seek program as well as operational funding and desire multi-year funding agreements.