Small Towns, Big Ideas

Posted by Scott Lagueux on June 25, 2011 · Leave a Comment 

Small Towns, Big Ideas (Cover, UNC School of Government)

Small towns and rural places face unique challenges in advancing economic development priorities.  Limited capacity, geographic isolation and economic hardship present obstacles to job growth and economic prosperity.  The University of North Carolina School of Government in partnership with the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center recognized a need to address these challenges.  The result, a collection of case studies entitled “Small Towns, Big Ideas,” presents 45 stories about planning and economic development in towns with populations of fewer than 10,000 residents. The  cases are organized in the following thematics categories:

• Small towns that are recreation or retirement destinations or adjacent to an abundance of natural assets
• Small towns with historic downtowns or prominent cultural or heritage assets
• Small towns with or adjacent to a college campus
• Small towns adjacent to a metropolitan area or an interstate highway

Each case study — available for review online — provides great insight and should be useful to any community working on its revival and renewal.

Filed under Downtown Revival, Economic Development