The fact is, local government is the only institution in this country that impacts the lives of every American every day. Drive down the street to go to work or to the store? Those traffic signals, stop signs, street signs, street lights and lane markings you see – local government agencies put them there and maintain them. Turn on the kitchen sink and water flows? Flip a light switch and the power comes on? Local governments make those things happen. Ever noticed that your community has separate residential and commercial districts? That is because of decisions made by local government planners and officials. Taken your kids to play in a neighborhood park? Most likely, that park is maintained by local government employees. Police. Firefighters. Schools. Hospitals. The list goes on. Every day, local governments tackle public health, education, poverty, discrimination, public safety, economic development, transportation, housing, environmental, and even national security issues. 

This blog will examine the role local government plays in our society and the many ways in which local government impacts our lives. Our bloggers are the staff, Fellows and alumni of City Hall Fellows, the only non-partisan national service corps program training the next generation to drive social change from within local government. Our posts will include analysis about the services city governments provide and how they are perceived, personal stories of interactions with municipal government, our Fellows’ experiences on the job, reflections from our alumni after immersing themselves for 12 months in all things city, descriptions of municipal programs that you might never have heard of, but that affect you every day, as well as occasional City Hall Fellows program news. We hope that, in reading our blog, you, too, will come to appreciate just how much city government matters.