Angela Moreno-Long

In anticipation of the Tribe’s imminent resettlement from their ancestral land along the coast of Louisiana, in January 2017 the Isle de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Tribe (IdJC Tribe) gathered for a pivotal community workshop, with support from the Citizen’s Institute on Rural DesignTM(CIRD).

The Akwesasne Tourism Working Group hosted a capacity building workshop on November 17-19, 2016. We caught up with the workshop team to reflect on the project, their process, and the work that lies ahead for Akwesasne. Since the conclusion of the workshop, Akwesasne was awarded $2 million of federal funding through the the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Native Americans (ANA) Sustainable Employment and Economic Development Strategies Program (SEEDS).

The city of Thomasville, Georgia (population 18,700) hosted their Citizens' Institute on Rural Design™ workshop at the Thomasville Center for the Arts and Scholars Academy on October 27-29, 2016. The goal of the workshop was to develop preliminary design concepts to inform a master plan for MacIntyre Park that would address stormwater runoff challenges in the park, while transforming it into a recreation destination that encourages active lifestyles among the city’s residents. This workshop implemented a collaborative, community led approach to revitalizing the park with a strong history and cultural heritage in the community, and brought city-wide partners together to tackle the design challenge.

The Town of Limon (population 2,000) hosted their Citizens' Institute on Rural Design™ (CIRD) workshop February 27 to March 1, 2017. The CIRD capacity building workshop successfully engaged local residents, convened partners and funders early on in the visioning process, and used the initial excitement created by the workshop to take immediate short term action that can leverage longer term projects and funding.

Affordable housing is critical to building successful rural communities. Unfortunately, for many rural residents access to affordable and reliable housing remains a challenge. This article explores USDA programs that enable the development of affordable housing, and provides key case studies that showcase the implementation of new housing development.

Trail-based development is an exciting opportunity to create engaging, healthy, and vibrant small towns and rural communities. Trail-Oriented Development (TrOD) is a tool which capitalizes on trails as community amenities and leverages the placemaking and development potential adjacent to trails.

This past October, Art of the Rural and the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) hosted the Next Generation: Rural Creative Placemaking Summit at the University of Iowa. The summit, sponsored by the NEA, USDA, and the University of Iowa, was designed to enhance cross-sector collaboration, elevate intercultural perspectives within the field, and foster greater investment for rural creative placemaking.

A farmers’ market in Corbin, KY sparks the regeneration of Main Street and builds excitement in the community about future development. Meanwhile, a community school garden in Postville, IA provides a setting for social interaction and encourages physical activity and supports nutritional education for local youth.