I bet your town has a history book somewhere. When was the last time young people got to see it? At the recent Rural Renewal Symposium, two speakers brought up stories of resilience from the past. Dr. Taylor shared three things that helped the people of Niobrara to be resilient: Those history books are mostly…
When I visited Caldwell, Kansas, the manager of the co-working site said they had filled their private offices, but struggled to attract day users. People who work from home like working from home. They don’t want a full time office, so they don’t think they want the coworking space. How can the coworking space attract…
The best antidote to the forces pulling us apart as communities is local action that brings us together. Local action that brings us together can be as simple as painting something together. When I visited Rosthern, Saskatchewan, I was struck by these colorful murals filled with circles. I saw several mounted to different downtown buildings….
At the IEDC International Economic Development Council’s Annual Conference, my topic was Overcoming Divisiveness. In the group discussion, we took on one attendee’s challenge related to housing. You might be facing opposition to housing, too, so I wanted to share our group insights. Her community has an old auto racetrack that they’d like to revitalize….
People ask Deb Brown and me, “What would business would work in a small town?” or “What business does every small town need?” or “How can we fill all these empty buildings?” The questions are all related. 1. Try a pop-up. Set up a temporary store, restaurant, cafe, interactive experience, etc., just for the busy…
What do you do about the people who just complain about everything but don’t ever take any action? That was one of the questions when I visited Caldwell, Kansas, recently. Here’s my advice: Recruit them to join the Pillars of the Community: to show up and encourage people. They can show up with their lawn…
That headline–hope is as infectious as despair–came from Geoffrey Canada, of the Harlem Children’s Zone, speaking at the recent Council of State Governments East Annual Conference. You know I’m always taking notes, looking for ideas we can adapt from big cities and small towns to our own communities. I liked that statement about hope so…
I just spent 30 minutes re-listening to the audio version of our Building a Unified Community. This is still exactly what we need right now. You build a stronger community through experiences that bring people together from across different groups to each play a meaningful role. Deb and I wrote and recorded that in 2021….
No one creates jobs in a vacuum. To create new jobs, people need to connect to: Innovation works best when people connect with people outside their usual network, people who aren’t exactly like them. That makes it easier to put together pieces of seemingly unrelated ideas to generate a new idea. Your town has different kinds…
You’ll never get everyone to like your town. It takes a certain person to appreciate your local quirks and charm. That’s OK because you’re not trying to get everyone on earth to move there, nor to force everyone to stay. The goal is for people to want to move there or want to stay for the…
Melody Warnick’s books have been refreshing reads for me in thinking about how people and place interact to create the culture in rural communities. In This Is Where You Belong, Melody talks openly about her own struggle to feel connected when she moved to a new town. In If You Could Live Anywhere she shares…
The first time I visited Pullman, Washington, in 2017, I bet half a dozen people told me they had a dirty sidewalk problem. Every time it rains, dirt and leaves and trash wash out of the streets and onto the sidewalks. As we walked around their downtown, they told me that they’ve done clean up…
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