Oftentimes, people in rural settings drive long distances to bigger towns to find community engagement. This renovated soda fountain shop shows why it’s worth looking for that sense of community a little closer to home.

10 Ways Rural Communities Sabotage Themselves

Your community may need to reshape how it thinks about community and economic development.

Sketches of Shenandoah

A drive through Shenandoah National Park, and a look back at its 1930s creation, offers a glimpse into the early era of American car culture, when motoring was a recreational activity with a lighter imprint on the landscape.

Edward Erfurt, Environment, Top StoryEdward ErfurtJanuary 13, 2023Parks, car culture, history, rural, environment

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Welcoming New Americans and Building Up a Rural Economy

Jennifer Stromsten and Alex Beck are leading economic development efforts in Brattleboro, VT.

Stanwood Mulls Strong Towns-Style Main Street Makeover

This small town is considering overhauling its main street to embrace walkability and good old-fashioned main street urbanism.

System Failure and What to Do About It

Two podcast recommendations offer different takes on how the Strong Towns approach can help cities keep the promises they made to the people who live in them.

Fisher, Podcast, Top StoryLauren FisherMay 10, 2022podcast, guest podcast, rural, politics, bipartisanship, strong towns approach

I (Don’t) Want More Than This Provincial Life

When the pandemic shut down our town, I realized how much I'd taken for granted the neighbors who showed up every day to make our community work.

Community, Pattison, Rural, Top StoryJohn PattisonApril 27, 2022community, community building, neighborliness, Small Towns, small towns, Oregon, rural

A Love Letter to the Farm Share

Our Neighborhood Storyteller’s local farm share has given her access not only to great food, but to great friends, as well.

Free (Rural) Land: Any Takers?

These small towns in Kansas are offering land and housing at a steal in an attempt to fortify their shrinking tax bases. What does this mean for the future of rural America?

Upzoned, Podcast, Rural, Top StoryStrong TownsFebruary 16, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, rural, Kansas, Small Towns, small towns, housing crisis, Housing Crisis

Your Route Home IS Someone's Home

The way our highways are built turn whole regions into featureless throughways. Slow down, though, and you’ll find value where you might never have noticed it before.

Neighborhood Storyteller, Theilen, Rural, Top StoryKarla TheilenFebruary 8, 2022neighborhood storyteller, travel, tourism, North Dakota, highways, rural

Alaska and New Infrastructure Funds: We Promise Not to Waste It!

As of November 15, Alaska is flush with federal infrastructure money. How should it be spent?

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is... Helping Rural Residents with Disabilities to Thrive

Billy Altom is an advocate and leader for rural residents with disabilities across the nation.

4 Reality TV Lessons for Your Town

Your small town had a 1 in 5,000 chance to receive a reality TV makeover. What can the other 4,999 learn?

Small Town. Big Housing Crisis.

The housing crisis is hitting small, rural towns—often in even more stark and dire ways than in urban areas.

Herriges, Housing, Rural, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesOctober 27, 2021Housing, colorado, rural, Small Towns, small towns, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, housing cost

Sharing the Pie: How Farmers Are Using Cooperatives to Stay Profitable and Grow Local Economies

This excerpt from Beth Hoffman’s Bet the Farm tells how both local economies and farms can benefit from co-ops.

Local Food, Rural, Top StoryBeth HoffmanOctober 15, 2021Farming, local food, books, rural, local economy, resilience, agriculture

Musselshell Watershed: Centered on the Next Generation

The generational ranch model has been wobbling since WWII, but here's how one small community in Montana is keeping grazing land as working lands, as well as bolstering opportunities for young producers.

Who Pays for Growth in Collier County, Florida: Part 5

Technocratic growth management in Florida has failed, and a new conversation is needed. Let's start that conversation now.

Herriges, Rural, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesMay 28, 2021collier county series, Florida, growth, Development, rural, environment

Who Pays for Growth in Collier County, Florida: Part 2

Collier County's standards for new development on rural land repeatedly emphasize “innovative” growth...but when we look at their proposed mega-developments, it's really just business as usual.

The Bottom-Up Revolution is... Supporting and Developing Rural Leaders

At the West Virginia Community Development Hub, these two women are helping local leaders grow and thrive, building a better future for their communities.