Posts Tagged ‘Hill City SD’

Can South Dakota’s small towns be cool?

January 29th, 2010

I’ve commented previously about efforts by travel magazines to identify “cool small towns” (read here and here). Although these lists provide some perspective for rural community development enthusiasts, I’m a bit skeptical of them largely because they are written from a “tourist’s point of view.” In other words, they’re about what urban dwellers believe is cool, and I’m not sure that always translates to what’s important to the future of rural communities.  But a new list caught my eye yesterday because it identifies small towns that “are cool” based on how well they are transitioning into the 21st century economy.  Now that’s a list worth looking at.  

Actually, the list is just new to me.  Dr. David Ivan at Michigan State University’s Land Policy Institute has been researching the subject for the last 4-5 years.   With Richard Florida’s “Creative Class theory” as the backdrop, Dr. Ivan centered his research around the question, “Can small towns be cool?”  Through his research, he has identified both themes of success (i.e. – best practices) and success stories (i.e. – what small towns are doing good things).  Rural community development enthusiasts will find value in both. 

Through review of Dr. Ivan’s presentation at the 2009 Small Town & Rural Development Conference, I was able to identify the following 10 themes being employed by successful small towns. 

 What a great list!  Readers at ReImagine Rural will recognize many of the themes as regular topics of discussion.  One theme I was surprised to see not addressed was school involvement. Granted youth are prominently featured, but most rural communities operate under the principle that the school is the heart of the community.  It causes me to wonder how we can have a successful community without school engagement. 

 

Where’s South Dakota in all this?

I became aware of this study because of Richard Longworth’s December 2009 blog post titled “Some success.” A Google search for “Can Small Towns be Cool” made me aware that I had missed an earlier post on the same subject (May 2009) from my favorite small town entrepreneurship blogger, Becky McCray. Both Longworth and McCray both identify specific towns that are on the “cool town list.”  Sadly, no small towns in South Dakota made the cut. What’s up with that?

As Longworth points out, Dr. Ivan is still conducting research and is interested in hearing of other successful small towns.  Hopefully, South Dakota’s towns haven’t been reviewed yet. But just in case, I’m going to suggest one.

 

How about Hills City?

I didn’t make the Design SD charrette in Hill City, SD last fall.  But from what Lindsey tells me, they should be on the list. 

Hill City terms itself “the heart of the hills” due to its location and proximity to major Black Hills attractions, including Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore.  But today, the town is probably better known for its arts economy.  Several years ago, a prominent artist made Hill City his home, and brought with him an idea that Hill City had the potential to develop an arts-based economy.  Since that time, the town’s leadership has embraced the idea and Hill City’s Main Street has transformed itself into an upscale shopping destination for tourists and residents alike.  Organizations like the Hill City Arts Council and Heart of the Hills Economic Development Corporation have joined forces to host events, encourage entrepreneurs, and build a stronger community (see their explicit goals here).  Hill City is definitely one of South Dakota’s cool towns!

I’ve got a few pressing tasks yet today, but I’m definitely going to send Dr. Ivan my recommendation.  And I hope you will share your recommendation as well. 

Additional Resources:

 Photo Credit: Cliff1066 – Flickr

 

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ReImagining the CCC: Could it train rural residents?

December 8th, 2009

David Becker at the Friend of the Farmer blog recently issued a call for a “reimagined” Civilian Conservation Corp that focuses on helping farmers learn how to use technology.  His idea essentially calls for unemployed college grads to assist farmers in acquiring the technology skills necessary for the 21st Century.  He explains:

The Rural Electrification Act of the 1930s brought power to rural areas. Today’s farmers, especially small farmers, need similar help not only tapping into the fire hose of information and opportunities available to them, but getting connected to guidance on maximizing its usefulness. Imagine the options: real-time access to weather and crop reports, databases of local and national agricultural extension programs, ordering parts and supplies, acquiring new skills through distance learning, even building an online marketing presence using low bandwidth social media tools.”

I think the idea makes a lot of sense. Just two weeks ago over the Thanksgiving weekend, I heard my father-in-law (a 73-year-old farmer) lament his lack of computer skills.  Becker’s idea would address just that need. I would, however, recommend that Becker’s concept be expanded to include training for all rural businesses and people– not just farmers. 

At the Rural Learning Center, we’ve been noodling around the idea of how we can develop some training activities for rural residents that helps individuals understand the marketing opportunities presented by Web 2.0 tools (like Facebook, blogging, and Flickr).  We firmly believe all rural communities and businesses could benefit from a basic understanding of social media marketing.  

There is, however, one question that training programs like the above must overcome to be successful:  How far do people with virtually no computer skills have to go before they are able to see real benefit from the training?

Take my father-in-law as an example.  He’s a successful farmer in production agriculture, but I’m pretty sure he’s never used e-mail, and I doubt he could effectively navigate the Internet to find information, including the local weather he is always interested in.   Are we biting off more than we can handle in trying to bring these skills to computer novices?

I doubt we will ever see the rebirth of a CCC program that focuses on technology training, at least not at the level it operated in the 1930s.  But that shouldn’t stop those of us with a passion for rural from developing programs that accomplish the goal of training rural residents to use technology.  After all, what’s the use of investing in broadband internet connections if we don’t also teach individuals how to use it in their businesses and daily lives? 

Photo Note: This statue, named “Work Call” is dedicated to the men of the Civilian Conservation Corps. I is located outside the Visitors Center in Hill City, SD, which also houses a CCC exhibit.

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Highlights from Hill City

October 7th, 2009

Last week I had the opportunity to spend four days with the folks in Hill City. SD during a design:SD charrette.  I say opportunity for several reasons: it is a special thing when a community invites a team in and believes they will produce something they need, and it is awesome when fifteen individually talented strangers at the start become friends lending their talents towards a common goal. 

The experience always leaves me with new impressions, ideas, and hopes.  Project Hill City was no different.  Below is an unedited, incomplete, and completely biased view of my impressions in Hill City.  I hope my mates will fill in where I’m off track. 

Preserve What’s Special

The folks in Hill City continually shared that preserving the “feel” of Hill City was top priority.   Naming what that feeling is was a bit more difficult; everything from unique character, charm, history, arts, natural beauty, and the list goes on. 

The point is, there was something special to capture about Hill City that is different than the next community, but that each community has (or should develop) that same sense.  Figuring out how to put words to it will help you make decisions regarding your community brand and design. 

Unintended Consequences

During our learning studio, we heard that some Hill City residents desired an events center: a place where people could be housed and entertained in one convenient location. 

What the design team realized is that Hill City is already an events center. Adding a separate events center  (likely to be located on the fringes of the community or out of the city limits altogether) may actually detract from the culture Hill City is trying to create.  Our recommendation is to use existing places and spaces to meet the needs of events that will be held in Hill City.

Tourists and Residents Have Different Needs

Who are you going to plan for? Understanding how residents and tourists use your community differently may help guide a comprehensive plan.  One example is of this is shared in the video below.

Matt’s point is this:  parking needs are different for residents than they are for tourists, so plan accordingly. 

Design Impacts Community

Hill City has been able to reinvent its downtown area due to the influence of the arts.  Several prominent artists house galleries in Hill City, and dozens more display their works in the galleries and shops along Main Street.  I think it is no coincidence that the community describes itself as able to work together well.  Downtown places, and the interaction that they encourage, help residents build social capital, contributing to a community’s ability to get along.  (sort of like the “third places” Mike keeps talking about)

 

 

 

These are just a few of the highlights I’ve come away from Hill City with.  All of the design:SD boards are available for viewing below.  I’d be interested in what you think!

DesignSD – Hill City Boards
View more documents from Rural Learning Center.

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