Neal Peirce
Neal Peirce is a leading syndicated columnist and a voice for sanity about on metropolitan regions — their political and economic dynamics, their emerging national and global roles. With Curtis Johnson, he has co-authored the “Citistates Reports” on compelling issues of metropolitan futures for leading media in 25 regions across the nation. Reports of recent years include Boston Unbound, released in May 2004, a series for the Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier, published serially in September and October 2007, and a series on the Charlotte Citistate for the Charlotte Observer and other papers of that region (a reprise of the authors’ 1995 report for that region), published in autumn 2008.
In 2004-2006, Peirce took a lead role in conceptualizing and launching the New England Futures Project, starting with a six-part monthly Peirce-Johnson series — printed by 27 newspapers — focused on how that that historic six-state region deals with its 21st century energy, transportation, growth, higher education, broadband and health challenges.
Peirce is also a principal author of a major report and forward look at global urban challenges, “Century of the City: No Time To Lose”, based on the Rockefeller Foundation’s 2007 Global Urban Summit in Bellagio, Italy.
In 1975, Peirce began — and continues today — the US’s first national column focused on state and local government themes. Syndication is by the Washington Post Writers Group. In a step to enhance journalism focused on major changes in cities and regions, Peirce and his Citistates Group colleagues in 2008 initiated Citiwire.net, a weekly bulletin.
Peirce’s 10-book series on states and regions culminated in “The Book of America: Inside 50 States Today” (W.W. Norton, 1983). His more recent books were “Citistates: How Urban America Can Prosper in a Competitive World, Boundary Crossers: Community Leadership for a Global Age”, and “Breakthroughs: Recreating The American City”.
Peirce was one of the founders and then a contributing editor of “National Journal”, and was active in the ’60s as political editor of Congressional Quarterly. He was a member of the National Civic League’s executive committee from the early 1970s to 1995 and for several years a member of the board of directors of the German Marshall Fund of the U.S.
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