If you could create the ideal community to raise a child in, what ingredients would you include? First off, you'd probably want a low crime rate. A strong school system would also be key. From there, you'd need lots of other children , expansive green spaces to play in, and plenty of nearby family events. Toss in an abundance of artistic and recreational activities, and all of a sudden you've got one heck of a place to grow up. At U.S. News, we wanted to find out if any communities like that already existed-and if so, where they were located. So we dug into our database of 2,000 different places all across the country and pinpointed the locales that met these criteria. We then examined these communities more closely to determine which places offered the best combination of safe neighborhoods, fun activities, and top-notch educators. Our selections appear below, in our list of America's 10 Best Places to Grow Up:

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The Wild and Scenic Film Festival is a collection of films from the annual festival held in January in Nevada City, Calif. Steingraber's story is presented in a documentary, "Living Downstream," the highlighted feature length film of the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival, which will be held at 7 p. m. Sept. In 2004, environmental groups started asking if they could bring the festival to their community, and a touring version of the Wild and Scenic Film Festival developed. Wild and Scenic Film Festival fixes spotlight on environmental issues. The largest environmental film festival in North America, it was conceived in 2003 by the South Yuba River Citizens League, a California watershed advocacy group.

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