Economic development

Created by Main Street America in partnership with the National Parks Service through the Main Street Community Disaster Preparedness and Resilience Program, this publication is designed to help Main Streets and commercial district organizations better prepare for and respond to more frequent and severe disasters.

This CIRD-created document tracks potential funding opportunities and resources for various rural-related community design challenges. It will be updated periodically as new resources are identified.

Since the beginning of the Complete Streets movement in the early 2000s, more than 1,700 Complete Streets policies have been adopted in jurisdictions of all sizes and contexts across the United States. Adopting Complete Streets policies is a crucial first step to reducing traffic violence, improving health equity, responding to the climate crisis, and rectifying a long history of inequitable transportation practices. This Best Complete Streets Policies report spotlights the communities that have

Source: CIRD’s Building Momentum for Your Long-Term Vision Webinar. Authors: Emily Schmidt and Jun-Li Wang. This resource guide contains resources and examples of successful community design projects and exemplary storytelling.

Source: National Governor's Association and National Endowment for the Arts. By leveraging the creative industries, states can deploy proven strategies that help all rural communities to thrive. This action guide is part of a collaborative project between NGA, the National Endowment for the Arts and National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.

Source: Urban Design Forum and Van Allen Institute. This site has numerous resources and ideas to help neighborhoods rebound after the COVID-19 crisis, directly from urban design experts.

Source: Center for Rural Design University of Minnesota Author: Dewey Thorbeck Summary: Rural areas in North America are undergoing profound demographic, economic, cultural, and environmental change, creating considerable challenges and stress for their residents and on the ecosystems upon which they depend for their livelihoods and quality of life.

Source: NET - Nebraska’s PBS and NPR stations Author: New News and Harvest Public Media This panel discussion surveys the key challenges and opportunities facing rural America. Guests present their views about a range of topics, such as the need to diversify rural economies beyond agriculture, how to cope with a declining population, useful strategies for improving local community leadership, and the importance of collaborating with neighboring communities.

Source: The Economic Development Journal Author: N. David Milder, (DANTH, Inc.) and Andrew Dane (Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc.) Studies and best practice about the revitalization of downtowns tends to focus on larger cities. However, there are many challenges which are unique to small towns, and often aren’t recognized or addressed.

This resource article focuses on how creativity and culture can drive economic development in rural communities. The article focuses on Prince Edward County, a rural municipality of 25,000 located south of Belleville, approximately midway between Toronto and Montreal, Canada.

Tourism provides communities with numerous benefits including, new jobs, an expanded tax base, improved facilities, and a new market for local products. However, tourism can also exacerbate crowding, traffic congestion, and haphazard development if not planned for correctly. This resource article provides tactics needed to maximize the benefits of tourism, while minimizing the burdens.

Economically resilient towns, cities, and regions adapt to changing conditions and even reinvent their economic bases if necessary. This resource features case studies from seven distinct communities and the strategies they employed to re-energize their economies.

This document produced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2012 provides policy options that can help rural communities strengthen their economies while preserving rural character. These policies can help rural communities ensure that their development is fiscally sound, environmentally responsible, and socially equitable.

This resource is intended to help those who want to re-invigorate and strengthen neighborhood centers of economy, culture, and history through a smart growth approach to development.

Coming back from a natural disaster can be especially difficult for small rural towns, but tough times can also be an opportunity for recreating the vision of a town. This paper describes the story of Live Oak, Florida, one of CIRD’s 2013 host communities, which experienced heavy flooding in 2010

In October of 2017, encouraged by the National consumer demand to grow and develop local food systems in both rural and urban districts in the United States, the EPA released this toolkit, which offers federal agency support aimed at community-driven planning processes.

Is your town or community interested in a short-term project to improve public space? Check out this toolkit, the Tactical Urbanists' Guide to Materials and Design from the Street Plans Collective. This resource is great if you have ideas for 1-7 day “demonstration” projects such as pop-up bike lanes, traffic safety upgrades, or flexible and visible parks projects.

Build community and share a love for learning by starting a local Little Free Library in your neighborhood. Learn more about the Little Free Libraries / Los Libres program and how to get started with this guidebook by bcWORKSHOP.

Many rural economies are depending on local tourism and lodging, both of which were hard hit by the coronavirus. Small, independently-owned hotels would benefit from checking out this resource from Streetsense that offers guidance and recommendations for hotels to stay profitable as they look to reopen

How can rural main streets and downtown businesses bounce back from something as sudden and impactful as the coronavirus? The National Main Street Center put together this guide of tips and resources for local businesses to put together their own plan for recovery.

Amid unprecedented change due to COVID-19, retailers must get the "Back to Brick and Mortar" protocol right as public health and their business success ultimately depend on it. Recommended for Main Street projects in rural towns.