The story of one city’s efforts to reinvent itself in the heartland is a powerful example of the change America needs.

In January of 2019, Nicholas Lalla made his first visit to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to consider working on an economic development project he had been invited to lead. Listening to Tulsans talk about racism, poverty, and trauma, the need for redevelopment, and the city’s broader desire to change economic course inspired him to accept the role and found Tulsa Innovation Labs (TIL). In Reinventing the Heartland, Lalla shows how cities that have been left out of the innovation system can grow their own vibrant tech ecosystems while at the same time building a more inclusive and equitable economy.

Over the course of four years, TIL built the first tech-led economic development strategy in Tulsa’s history and raised $215 million in capital that it is now in the process of deploying through multiple initiatives. This success has spurred new investments and is helping the city transition from its oil and gas legacy to tech. This now stands as a massive, city-wide endeavor—the first time in American history a city has dedicated itself in such a concerted way to becoming a player in the innovation economy. This multi-pronged approach is explained through the context of Tulsa, but other cities—domestic and abroad—are explored as well, proving that Tulsa is not an outlier, but a leader.

Reinventing the Heartland lays out a bold and pragmatic plan for achieving this kind of vision for any city. Each chapter covers a core plank of the action plan, which, in turn, engages timely and complicated issues affecting broad swaths of American society—from the evolving role of higher education to how to bridge the urban-rural divide to the increasingly problematic role of billionaires in cities. It engages timely issues affecting American society at large—from the pros and cons of remote work to the evolving role of higher education to the political consequences of the urban-rural divide. Lalla provides the path forward for America, not just in Tulsa, but across the Heartland and in any city ready to embrace the future.