REEVALUATING AND REINVENTING
How rural communities are changing inside and out to overcome their challenges
Rural communities all over the country are facing steady depopulation, economic decline, and deteriorating main streets. This typically stems from the loss of a community’s original or main industries that provided the foundation for the local economy in the past. Despite these challenges, there are ways for rural families, businesses, and leaders to work together to turn things around.
Taking a Fresh Look
It starts with taking a fresh look at the rural community. This often involves:
- Reevaluating current assets such as historic buildings in the downtown area, a beautiful rural landscape, low cost of living, unique cultural/arts resources, and potential for entrepreneurial businesses.
- Reinventing the community’s appearance and use of technology to make it a more attractive place for residents to live and travelers to visit.
While beautification of building exteriors, through painting and other “spruce up” projects, is often where rural communities begin their efforts toward positive change, it’s important for them to also invest in the improvements not readily seen- communications technology. For example, high- speed internet helps to level the playing field between rural communities and big cities as well as makes it easier for rural communities to attract new businesses and recruit new talent.
Working Together, Leveraging Technology
Robust partnerships between local government, nonprofits, business organizations, and community groups are essential to the success of reinvention. While most economic development strategies involve trying to recruit major employers, many small towns and cities complement recruitment by emphasizing their existing assets and distinctive resources.
Rural communities can help from Cool & Connected, a planning assistance program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service, EPA’s Office of Sustainable Communities, and the Appalachian Regional Commission. Cool & Connected helps small towns use broadband service to revitalize main streets. Communities can combine broadband service with other local assets such as cultural and recreational amenities to attract investment and people as well as diversify local economies.
