Table of Contents

Professional Organizations

American Political Science Association - See Public Policy Section

American Planning Association - APA is a nonprofit public interest and research organization committed to urban, suburban, regional, and rural planning. APA and its professional institute, the American Institute of Certified Planners, advance the art and science of planning to meet the needs of people and society.

American Society for Public Administration - ASPA mission is to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and results of experience among persons interested in or engaged in the field of public administration; to encourage the collection, compilation, and dissemination of information on matters relating to public administration; to advance generally the science, processes and art of public administration.

International City/Council Management Association - Professional organization for city managers. Extensive publication list.

Population Assoc. of America - Professional organization for demographers. Links to major population study centers.

Think Tanks

Brookings Institution - Liberal view of key policy issues.

Heritage Foundation - Conservative view of key policy issues.

Ethics and Public Policy Center - Conservative view of the relationship of religion to public policy.

Manhattan Institute for Policy Research - Conservative view of urban issues and neighborhood development. Some focus on faith-based initiatives.

Institute for Public Accuracy - A nationwide consortium of policy researchers seeking to broaden public discourse by gaining media access for those whose perspectives are commonly drowned out by corporate-backed think tanks and other influential institutions.

Urban Institute - The UI mission has includes research on topics as diverse as taxes and criminal justice, governance in new democracies, advocacy and philanthropy, and health care policy; bringing multiple perspectives to such complex issues as poverty, educational achievement, or community building.

Urban Land Institute - ULI-the Urban Land Institute is a community of practice for those engaged in the entrepreneurial and collaborative process of real estate development and land use policy-making.

Data Sources

Census Bureau - Best demographic data available.

Census of Governments (Census Bureau) - Demographics of Federal, State, and Local Governments

Office of Social and Economic Data Analysis - University of Missouri site providing data for the state.

United Nations - World-wide data

St. Louis Regional and Urban Resources

Community Information Network - The official web site of The City of St. Louis

Coro Leadership Center - St. Louis - The center is dedicated to the mission of training leaders to strengthen communities.

East-West Gateway Coordinating Council

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis was established in 1914, after the creation of the Federal Reserve System in 1913. The St. Louis Fed is the headquarters of the Eighth Federal Reserve District and has branches in Little Rock, Louisville and Memphis.

Harland Bartholomew & Associates Collection (Washington University Special Collections) - Bartholomew came to St. Louis in 1916 at the invitation of the Civic League of St. Louis, with the charge of creating a comprehensive plan for the city of St. Louis. In 1919 he was appointed City Planning Commissioner, the first full-time planner employed by an American city.

IBEX (the Illinois Bottomland Explorer) will serve as a freely available resource allowing tourists, students, scholars and other interested individuals to examine historical documents, primary and secondary sources, and oral history interviews.

Institute for Urban Research of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville - The Institute for Urban Research is dedicated to the investigation of problems and issues that affect the quality of life of those who live and work in urban or metropolitan areas.

Metropolis St. Louis - Metropolis is taking concrete steps to revitalize St. Louis.

The Missouri Census Data Center - The Missouri Census Data Center (MCDC) Program is a cooperative program operating under a memorandum of understanding between the Office of the Secretary of State and the U.S. Bureau of the Census. MCDC holdings consists of over 2,000 public machine readable data files and numerous printed reports.

Missouri History Museum, Library & Research Center - One of the St. Louis region's premier research collections that documents the history of St. Louis, the State of Missouri, the Mississippi and Missouri Valleys, the Louisiana Purchase Territory and the American West.

Planning and Urban Design Agency - The Planning and Urban Design Agency was created to focus on planning for the future of the City of St. Louis.

Public Policy Research Center - PPRC focuses its resources on issues related to neighborhood and community development; economic vitality; governance (at the local, county, and regional levels); land-use and transportation policy planning; and health, education and social policy.

RegionWise is an initiative funded by the Danforth Foundation and housed in the College of Public Service at Saint Louis University; to promote and sustain regional vitality through knowledge management, measurement, and public engagement. It serves the people of the St. Louis region by building a clearinghouse of regional information, measuring regional progress, and collaborating with other organizations to promote public involvement in regional policy discussion and action.

St. Louis County Government

Saint Louis University Archives - University history, rare books, limited editions, Saint Louis University publications.

The Saint Louis Mercantile Library - St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri--St. Louis

St. Louis Planning And Urban Design Agency

St. Louis Public Library - The Library houses materials related to St. Louis and the surrounding region. Indexes, lists, and bibliographies to materials in the following subjects are available at many library locations.

The Social Indicators Database (SIDB, of United Way of Greater St. Louis) is a comprehensive database of social indicators for the St. Louis region. This dynamic Web application is the result of the leadership and dedication of the United Way Research Committee . This committee is comprised of data experts from around the region who saw the Social Indicators Database as a way to organize many sources of data about the region into a centralized location.

The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis - A charitable, community service agency, governed by an interracial board of directors and operated by an interracial staff.

Washington University Special Collections - Include 20th century St. Louis history: urban planning, politics, business, social welfare, transportation, and architecture.

St. Louis News Outlets

St. Louis Post-Dispatch - The major daily newspaper in St. Louis with links to the Suburban Journals.

Public Defender - A fresh alternative voice for St. Louis.

Riverfront Times - New Times "alternative newspaper."

IndyMedia - Another St. Louis alternative web paper.

Saint Louis Front Page - The St. Louis Front Page and Southwest Illinois News are owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan St. Louis area.

St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission - The St. Louis Travel Portal provided by the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission.

Actual St. Louis - A commercial list of St. Louis media.

Alternative Media

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting - FAIR, the national media watch group, has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986. We work to invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints.

The Center for Democratic Communications (CDC) is an organization devoted to protecting the right to communicate of all people. The work of CDC focuses on the rights of all peoples to a system of media and communications based upon the principle of democracy and cultural and informational self-determination.

The mission of the Center for Public Integrity is to provide the American people with the findings of our investigations and analyses of public service, government accountability and ethics related issues.

The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-partisan, non-profit research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics, and its effect on elections and public policy. The Center conducts computer-based research on campaign finance issues for the news media, academics, activists, and the public at large. The Center's work is aimed at creating a more educated voter, an involved citizenry, and a more responsive government.

Open Media Pamphlets (Seven Stories Press) - Open Media was founded in 1991 as a pamphlet publishing effort in opposition to the Gulf War. Under the direction of its original co-founder, Greg Ruggiero, the Series continues to publish a wide array of critically acclaimed scholars, activists, and artists committed to a common vision of "one world in which many worlds fit"-- social justice, democracy, and human rights for all peoples.

Truthout - Open forum with opinion & editorials, particularly non-mainstream.

International Forum on Globalization - An alliance of sixty leading activists, scholars, economists, researchers and writers formed to stimulate new thinking, joint activity, and public education in response to economic globalization.

Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space - Since its 1992 founding the GN has met each year in order to bring together key activists who are working on, or are interested in, space issues. It was the intention of the founders to create an organization that would serve as a clearinghouse for space issues and act as a spark to ignite education and organizing in order to build an international citizens movement.  (The "Missile Defense" initiative is only the tip of an offensive iceberg.)

The Worldwatch Institute offers a unique blend of interdisciplinary research, global focus, and accessible writing that has made it a leading source of information on the interactions among key environmental, social, and economic trends. Our work revolves around the transition to an environmentally sustainable and socially just society—and how to achieve it.

The Monthly Review - Analytical Journal that speaks to workers and labor organizers no less than to academics, and against class exploitation, no less than against racial and sexual oppression. A guide to current realities, their historical roots and the prospects for change.

The Middle East Research and Information Project - MERIP provides news and perspectives about the Middle East not available from mainstream news sources. The magazine has developed a reputation for independent analysis of events and developments in the Middle East.

OMB Watch was formed in 1983 to lift the veil of secrecy shrouding the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which oversees regulation, the budget, information collection and dissemination, proposed legislation, testimony by agencies, and much more. By then, it was quite apparent that OMB's actions were having an enormous impact on agency operations and the pursuit of social justice.

Public Citizen - A national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization founded by Ralph Nader in 1971 to represent consumer interests in Congress, the executive branch and the courts.

People for the American Way - Watchdog group in reaction to right wing movements.

Corporate Watch - CorpWatch counters corporate-led globalization through education and activism. We work to foster democratic control over corporations by building grassroots globalization--a diverse movement for human rights, labor rights and environmental justice.

Business Ethics: Corporate Social Responsibility Report - Its mission is to promote ethical business practices, to serve that growing community of professionals striving to work and invest in responsible ways.

Labor Notes - Reports news about the labor movement that you won't find anywhere else: news that the mainstream media doesn't find worth printing... and news about grassroots labor activity or problems facing the labor movement that top union leaders don't want to print.

The Nation - "will not be the organ of any party, sect, or body. It will, on the contrary, make an earnest effort to bring to the discussion of political and social questions a really critical spirit, and to wage war upon the vices of violence, exaggeration, and misrepresentation by which so much of the political writing of the day is marred." -- from The Nation's founding prospectus, 1865

Activism

Action Network - Get connected with policymakers who shape your world. Join over 750,000 like minded email users around the country - an online community of environmental activists. With a single click, weigh in when it counts, sending free faxes or emails to policymakers before they make their decisions. You pick the groups you want to hear from and the issues you care most about. Action Network does the rest.

The Activist Organization (TAO) - Activist hub based in Canada.

Alliance to Save Energy - promotes energy efficiency worldwide to achieve a healthier economy, a cleaner environment and energy security.

Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now - ACORN is the nation's largest community organization of low- and moderate-income families, with over 120,000 member families organized into 600 neighborhood chapters in 45 cities across the country.

The Campaign to End Genocide is a broad-based, grassroots-oriented effort to establish both the international institutions and political will necessary to prevent and stop genocide. It is an initiative of the World Federalist Association headquartered in Washington, DC.

The Citizens Network for Sustainable Development (CitNet) is an independent, non-profit network bringing together US based organizations, communities, and individuals working on sustainability issues across the US.

The Clean Car Campaign is a national campaign coordinated by state, regional and national environmental organizations promoting a clean revolution in the motor vehicle industry. In particular, the campaign seeks to promote the development and sale of advanced technology vehicles that meet a high standard of environmental performance.

The Earth Charter is an authoritative synthesis of values, principles, and aspirations that are widely shared by growing numbers of men and women in all regions of the world. The principles of the Earth Charter reflect extensive international consultations conducted over a period of many years. These principles are also based upon contemporary science, international law, and the insights of philosophy and religion. Successive drafts of the Earth Charter were circulated around the world for comment and debate by nongovernmental organizations, community groups, professional societies, and international experts in many fields.

Funding Exchange - A national membership organization of publicly supported, community-based foundations. We are a unique partnership of activists and donors dedicated to building a base of support for progressive social change through fundraising for local, national and international grantmaking programs.

Global Exchange - A non-profit research, education, and action center dedicated to promoting people-to-people ties around the world. Since our founding in 1988, we have been striving to increase global awareness among the US public while building international partnerships around the world.

Junkbusters - A comprehensive collections of information about junk messages and how to stop them. We want everyone to know how to enforce their ``right to be let alone.'' We also alert you about to threats to your privacy from direct marketers.

International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) - Activist Hub

The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) works to promote human rights and self-determination for Tibetans and to protect their culture and environment.

MoveOn.org - A catalyst for a new kind of grassroots involvement, supporting busy but concerned citizens in finding their political voice. Our nationwide network of more than 600,000 online activists is one of the most effective and responsive outlets for democratic participation available today.

Paper Tiger Television (PTTV) is an open, non-profit, volunteer video collective. Through the production and distribution of our public access series, media literacy/video production workshops, community screenings and grassroots advocacy PTTV works to challenge and expose the corporate control of mainstream media. PTTV believes that increasing public awareness of the negative influence of mass media and involving people in the process of making media is mandatory for our long term goal of information equity.

Prometheus Radio Project has played a key role in the struggle to get licenses for community radio stations. Prometheus practices a mixture of research, advocacy, activism and direct services to organizations that want to start radio stations on the newly won rules for neighborhood radio.

Take Back The Media is a cooperative project by progressive American citizens who are dismayed at the pro-corporate and pro-war bias shown by American media.

TrueMajority was founded by Ben Cohen, Co-founder, Ben and Jerry's. It is a grassroots education and advocacy project of Priorities, Inc., a non-profit, non-partisan, tax-deductible, 501(c)(3) corporation. Once you register, you can go to our "Take Action" section and send faxes on on the issues we all care about to members of Congress and national leaders.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights sets forth the inalienable rights and fundamental freedoms of each and every person on the face of the earth. These rights are your rights. Learn them. Promote them. Defend them.

US Network for Global Economic Justice - Coalition of over 200 organizations committed to the fundamental transformation of the IMF and World Bank, through consultations over 15 months with the members of its South Council (representing economic justice organizations in 13 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean) and others.

The World Federalist Association (WFA) is a nonprofit membership organization that works to promote the views of a broad majority of Americans seeking common-sense and effective global solutions to global problems.

Forums

ActionForums are reader rated discussion forums. They are structured to promote a productive dialogue by the rise of ideas with broad support. They make clear where agreement and disagreement lie. ActionForums support threads of comments and replies to comments ordered by the preference of the participants rather than chronologically. ActionForums are fair and non-partisan because they operate according to a content neutral set of rules, which are applied automatically.

Other Information

The Constitution Society is a private non-profit organization dedicated to research and public education on the principles of constitutional republican government. It publishes documentation, engages in litigation, and organizes local citizens groups to work for reform.

Federal Register - Gateway to all recently proposed and established federal regulations and US code.

The Foundation for Ethics and Meaning seeks to reawaken and foster the simple yet transformative belief that people are yearning for meaningful connection to others and to a purpose greater than themselves. We challenge our prevailing cultural emphasis on material self-interest by encouraging a spirit of caring and a process of mutual recognition that will nourish inclusive, sustainable, and just communities.

Jesuits Online - Information about the Jesuits, their apostolates, and their spiritual teachings.

Pius XII Library Government Documents - Significant university site; links to many informative pages.

Population Index - Population Index is the primary reference tool to the world's population literature. It presents an annotated bibliography of recently published books, journal articles, working papers, and other materials on population topics. This website provides a searchable and browsable database.

Coalition for the International Criminal Court - The Coalition for the International Criminal Court is a network of well over 1,000 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) advocating for a fair, effective and independent International Criminal Court (ICC).

THOMAS Gateway to activities of Congress. Find out status of current bills.

University of Michigan Documents Center - The most comprehensive set of links on political science topics and government documents.