Posts Tagged ‘people attraction’

Are “red marks” teaching you to aim low?

July 21st, 2010

Lately, I’ve been writing about a topic - talent attraction — that I feel I don’t know enough about.  It’s a topic that I have both a passion for and a lot of ideas about.  Unfortunately, I still feel inadequate at sharing these ideas because I know that a lot of people are critical of the concept, especially as it applies to small, rural communities.

In short, I’m afraid of being told, “How dare you, this is terrible.”

Those words – ”How dare you, this is terrible” — by Seth Godin stuck with me as I watched a short video titled “Seth Godin on how schools teach kids to aim low.” The video highlights Godin’s thoughts about how we train the creativity out of young people, but it speaks to individuals of all ages. 

 

 

(Source:  PSCSvideos, “Seth Godin on how schools teach kids to aim low,” YouTube, May 5, 2010)

Watching the video reminded me that I need to have the courage to overcome the uncertainty created by the “red marks” of people who don’t believe in the future of rural communities.  It reminded me that it’s ok to stretch the boundaries of my writing, sharing ideas that may be a bit unconventional .  In fact, it’s reminded me that I have to take on this task if I hope to be a resource in the effort to build a deeper conversation about the future of rural communities.

My guess is that I’m not alone in needing this reminder.

In many ways, rural community leaders everywhere have been taught by decades of decline to accept criticism as “truth” and as Godin suggests, to “aim low.” 

Godin’s advice doesn’t give us permission to become modern-day Don Quixote’s;  we still need to listen to and learn from the “red marks” of our critics.  But in the process, we can’t let those comments bury the creativity and innovation that can emerge from a willingness to tackle the issues.

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What’s a movie theater got to do with anything?

July 13th, 2010

Faulkton, SD (pop. 785) has a movie theater.  While doing some work in community a few years ago, the subject of the movie theater came up repeatedly in conversations.  Comments ran the gamut;  most residents greatly appreciated the theater because it gave them “something to do.”  A few, usually young people, lamented they didn’t go there much because it usually took weeks for new movies to make their way to town. 

As we think more about talent attraction, we’re going to be asking, “What are the key amenities that will attract talented individuals to small towns?”  I’m not a big moviegoer, so I tend to discount the idea of a theater as a key attractor.  But an article in the New York Times, suggests there’s something special going on at small town theaters.  (read article here)

The article notes that movie theaters are on the rise in small towns across Rural America, a trend running contrary to most economic activity.  It also identifies a special relationship between these theaters and town residents. 

“If we were in Los Angeles or Phoenix, the only reason to go to a movie would be to see it,” said Cecile Wehrman, a newspaper editor who, with members of the nonprofit Meadowlark Arts Council resuscitated the Dakota in Crosby, its plush interiors now a chic black, red and silver. “But in a small town, the theater is like a neighborhood. It’s the see-and-be-seen, bring everyone and sit together kind of place.”  (source:  Patricia Leigh Brown, “Old Movie Houses Find Audience in the Plains,” New York Times, July 4, 2010.)

It’s interesting to me that small movie theaters are on the rise at a time when movie rental businesses are closing down.

It’s never been easier for us to stay in our homes. Download a movie or surf the net; we never have to leave.  But the fact is that people want to get out and socialize.  They want to feel the neighborliness that some theaters like the one in Crosby, ND provide.   It’s clearly about the experience. 

I’m not saying that every small town should rush out to develop a movie theater as a key component of its talent attraction strategy.  But I hope they think about how they can create a way to help people connect. 

 

Note:  The NY Times article tells us that ND has 31 operating historic movie theaters.  I know of a few in SD, including Platte, Britton, and Tripp.  I’m wondering how the number in SD compares to ND.  Can anyone help me out?

 

Photo Credit:  joseph a - Flickr

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Talent attraction: If its right for Sioux Falls, is it right for small towns?

July 12th, 2010

Yesterday, Randall Beck, publisher of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, wrote an editorial calling on Sioux Falls, SD to recognize that its future will be tied to its ability to attract young people. (source - Randall Beck, “Sioux Falls must attract talent,” Argus Leader, July 11, 2010.)  

Although he doesn’t describe it in-depth, the foundation upon which he builds his argument is solid: future economic development will be fueled by the knowledge of the people living in the community and the ability of these individuals to transfer that knowledge into economic activity. If a community does not have enough talent, it had better go out and get it.  That effort is the centerpiece of the Sioux Falls Development Foundation’s new five-year blueprint for South Dakota’s largest city.

Good stuff.  I like it.

The market is no longer “rural”

What caught my attention, however, was Beck’s acknowledgement that Sioux Falls will need to find its next generation of talent in cities such as Minneapolis and Omaha in the future.  Historically Sioux Falls’ growth has been fueled by talent from rural communities across South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota.  Beck cites Hollowing out the Middle: The Rural Brain Drain and What it Means for America, a book dear to my heart, to note that those rural communities have nothing more to give.

Sadly, Beck may be right.

 

A great vision for Sioux Falls, but…

I appreciate Beck’s vision for the future of Sioux Falls.  He’s providing leadership in an area where leadership is needed.  But what about those rural communities to which Sioux Falls has been historically connected?  It feels like Sioux Falls is saying, rural communities have no future, so let’s move on.  

But that’s not the message from Hollowing out the Middle.

 

Let’s get back to Hollowing out the Middle

For those who haven’t read Hollowing out the Middle I’d recommend reading the book.  If time is short, take a look at this summary article written by its authors titled “Rural Brain Drain,” which appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education in September 2009.

The book and article offer great analysis of the issue of why young people leave rural communities.  Although painful to consider, I appreciate the authors’ assessment that part of the problem rests on resource allocation:

“What surprised us most was that adults in the community were playing a pivotal part in the town’s decline by pushing the best and brightest young people to leave, and by underinvesting in those who chose to stay, even though it was the latter that were the towns’ best chance for a future.” (source:  Patrick J. Carr & Maria J. Kefalas, “Rural Brain Drain,” Chronicle of Higher Education,  Sept. 21, 2009.

Although there’s much to be learned from Hollowing out the Middle, the authors only skim the surface of the brain drain phenomena.  The book’s greater value is that it attempts to build a deeper conversation about that issue.

Sadly, we’ve not heard enough of that dialogue in our part of South Dakota.  At times, we’ve attempted to initiate some conversation on ReImagine Rural.  But admittedly, we’ve failed to invest enough energy to generate the type of focus and attention the subject deserves.  (see articles on the subject here.)

A couple weeks ago, I mentioned that I’m interested in seeing attendees at the Midwest Rural Assembly pick up the conversation where Hollowing out the Middle leaves off.  I’ve had a few conversations with people about how that might be facilitated, but nothing has been planned as of yet.  Stay tuned if you are interested.

Whether the conversation happens at the Midwest Rural Assembly or at other venues, it must include a discussion about whether or not talent attraction strategies, which are typically reserved for urban populations, are effective in small, rural communities.  Clearly Sioux Falls believes it’s not too small, but what about the more typical small, rural communities that proliferate throughout the Midwest?

Personally, I feel it’s an option for many, but we’ve got some learning to do before we’ll get good at it.  And there’s no time like the present to get started. 

Photo Credit:  bowena - Flickr  (BTW - S.F. has done a nice job of reinventing its downtown, including efforts to redevelop the State Theater)

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Urbanophile and People Attraction

July 9th, 2010

Attracting and retaining people is a hot topic in the community and economic development fields today. I first started thinking about it years ago after reading a study titled “Natural Amenities Drive Rural Population Change” by David McGranahan (1999).  That interest was kicked up a notch when Richard Florida released The Rise of the Creative Class, identifying a clear connection between the ability of a community to attract knowledge workers and economic growth.

Although I have a love-hate relationship with the ideas put forward by Florida in The Rise of the Creative Class and in subsequent work, I do wholeheartedly embrace its basic tenant that the economies of our communities today are being driven by talented, creative people.  In his light, communities would do well to make themselves places where talented people want to live. 

Recognizing that talent attraction matters to economic growth is pretty easy and benign.  But a closer look reveals more complexity.  First, most of the creative class theories are dedicated to urban areas.  Do the principles of talent, technology, and tolerance serve as important attractor roles in rural areas like they do in urban areas?  Second, people attraction strategies consume financial resources that could come at the expense of traditional economic activities like business recruitment.  Doesn’t it make more sense to invest in creating jobs than community amenities?

Those and others are pretty big questions that I hope to spend more time addressing in the near future.  Today, I want to share a post that helped clarify some matters related to the jobs vs. amenities debate.

 

Introducing the Urbanophile

If you are interested in community development, rural or urban, you need to check out Aaron M. Renn and his Urbanophile blog.  Although his outlook for rural communities is not as rosy as I would like, he offers incredible insights into what makes cities tick.  Elements of this are very relevant to rural communities, even when it’s stuff we don’t want to hear.

Recently I found one of his posts titled “Does Anyone Really Believe Human Capital Is Important” to be very helpful because it clarified some ideas about people attraction strategies.  I think they are worth sharing.

 

Does Marketing Matter? 

The first issue Renn tackles is the notion that marketing your community for people attraction is a waste of money because “what really attracts people is a good economy, quality public services, and efficient government.”

In laying out a defense for marketing, Renn offers two comparisons.  First, he describes the value of marketing for businesses selling to customers.  He writes:

In real life, as we know, corporations spend gigantic sums on sales and marketing. Clearly they wouldn’t do this if it didn’t work. That’s not to say that every dollar spent on these activities is effective…. But it is also critical to build awareness of your product in the marketplace, to effectively communicate its brand promise and value proposition, and to induce someone to make a buying decision.” (source:  Aaron M. Renn, “Does Anyone Really Believe Human Capital Is Important”, Urbanophile, June 13, 2010)

Second, he argues that if communities are willing to market for business attraction, why wouldn’t they market for people attraction?

I agree.  Especially about the importance of brand awareness.  In fact, I’d wager that brand awareness is a bigger issue for rural communities than urban. 

That said, I hope communities don’t look at this as a carte blanche endorsement to rush out and spend large sums of money on advertising.  I think there are a lot of steps to complete before a community is ready to advertise.  And there’s a lot more to marketing than advertising.  (If I had limited resources, I’d invest a lot more in building relationships.)

 

Do jobs follow people or people follow jobs?

The second and more important topic that Renn addresses is the “chicken or egg” issue of whether jobs follow people (as the creative class theory advocates) or the vice-versa.  This is an issue that has constantly tripped me up.  Although I accept the premise that talented individual are both more likely to choose location over job and create new job growth, I’ve never been able to say definitively that one is more important than the other. 

The real value in the argument Renn presents is that he calls on communities to think more deeply about “specific niches or segments of population” with their recruiting efforts.  In this regard, people attraction efforts are no different than any other marketing exercise. 

Renn goes on to say that communities should match labor and employment needs as they determine specific population niches to recruit and the civic investments they make. 

This is all good advice, and it should cause those of us in rural communities to think more deeply about how we build communities that are attractive to talented people.  It also suggests we have a great deal more to learn about the people we hope to recruit.

We can start this learning process by going back and looking at the research by McGranahan and others about the role natural amenities in rural population movements.  We should also use the Appreciative Inquiry method to understand what has attracted new residents to our communities in the past. 

There’s bound to be a lot of differences in what communities learn from this type of exercise.  After all, “if you’ve been one rural community, you’ve only been in one rural community.“  But it’s an important step if we hope to be effective at recruiting new residents. 

If your community has already started a process like this, I hope you’ll share it with us.

 

Photo credit: Derek Purdy - Flickr

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Is there an economic opportunity in your community?

June 25th, 2010

I caught a Tweet from @dancowling the other day.  It read “Thinking Young In Your Community Development Efforts.”  That’s great advice, especially in the Upper Midwest where an increasing graying of the population is a threat to the future of our small towns.

Dan’s tweet linked to a post by Rex Nelson on the New FoundNation blog.  The post calls on rural leaders to “work smart,” rethink infrastructure investments, and focus on attracting talented young people. 

Rex also offers a list of 9 things communities must focus on in order to attract young people.  It’s a list worth passing along:

1. Stress downtown revitalization efforts
2. Provide planning grants for neighborhood revitalization projects
3. Focus on quality parks, biking trails and walking trails
4. Support local grant research and grant writing strategies
5.Work to improve the quality, safety and affordability of the housing stock
6. Support the construction and expansion of medical facilities
7. Protect the region’s environmental assets
8. Expand the application of green technologies
9. Support the development and marketing of entertainment, recreational and cultural assets
    (Source:  Rex Nelson, “Thinking Young in Your Community Development Efforts,” New FoundNation, April 28, 2010.)

Reading the list reminded me of a list I created in a post titled “5 Ways Rural Communities Can Get Ready for Gen Y” back in December 2009. I’ve copied my list below, but I’d encourage everyone to check out my original post for an explanation of each recommendation.   

1) Help create economic opportunities  (via entrepreneurship).
2) Make sure your community has third places that help introduce newcomers.
3) Develop good broadband internet capacities and wi-fi hot spots.
4) Help young people figure out “What am I going to do in this town?”
5) Rethink how you “engage” Gen Y in your community. 

Although Rex and my recommendations are quite different, I think they complement each other.   I would, however, like to highlight one point that I think is important for consideration. 

Neither list will produce a lasting result if young people can’t recognize an economic opportunity in your community. This doesn’t mean you should think focusing on recruiting businesses will solve your problems; the social and natural amenities featured on the lists above are extremely important.  But economic opportunity can’t be ignored either.

Photo Credit:  Warren Long - Flickr

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What can we learn from Hazelton, ND?

February 17th, 2010

“Did you hear the story on the radio about Hazelton, ND?” 

Those were the first words Lindsey shared with me yesterday morning as we hopped into a car before heading out on our day trek across South Dakota yesterday.  I hadn’t, so Lindsey explained. 

A family had moved from Miami, FL to Hazeton, ND (pop. 240) four years ago to take advantage of an incentive package for new residents.  Two housing lots and $20,000 were given to this family of four to move to the ND community.  The family started a business (which has since closed) and moved into a new house, excited by the opportunity to move from a crime laden, urban neighborhood.

Now four years later, they are ready to move back.  Not because of the much maligned North Dakota winter; but because they felt the community had given them the cold shoulder.  Michael Tristani, the father in the family, is quoted in the article saying, “It hasn’t been easy. No one really wants new people here.”  (source:  James MacPherson, “Small-town life fails to live up,” Associated Press via Yahoo News, Feb. 15, 2010)

Hearing Lindsey describe this story almost caused me to turn around and skip the meeting we were driving to.  Needless to say, she didn’t let me, and I was finally able to read the story this morning and learned that it’s being discussed all over the blogosphere. (see links at the bottom) .

Rather than focus on the details of situation, I’d like to offer some thoughts about what I think rural communities can learn from the story.  As I write, however, I want to be clear that I am not passing judgment on either the Hazelton community or the Tristani family.  None of us, as outsiders, will ever know the complete story. 

What can we learn from Hazelton?

1) Don’t assume that newcomers will know how to live in your small town. That concept crossed my radar a couple years ago in a book titled Get Urban. (I wrote extensively about it here.) The book’s author, an urban enthusiast, developed his thesis around the concept that many people who move to urban, downtown environments don’t recognize the nuances of life in the city. Their mental models are so tightly fashioned around living in suburbia that they think they have to drive out to suburbs to buy their groceries at Walmart, rather than stopping off at the local grocery while walking home from work. My guess is that we’ve all seen numerous more serious examples of this play out in our rural communities. But what have we done to help these newcomers?

2) Develop a “hosting concept” as a part of your community’s marketing plan. I touched on this over a year ago when I wrote a post titled “What if Starbuck’s marketed like a rural community?” A fun, insightful video embedded in the post pokes fun at how churches welcome new members. The point being, Starbucks wouldn’t be in business if its marketing strategy didn’t include efforts to “welcome” new customers; so why should churches expect anything different? I’d contend the same principle applies to rural communities; why spend money advertising your community if you don’t have a strategy to make people want to stay? At the Rural Learning Center, we’ve been developing a more robust “hosting concept,” which I’ll describe sometime in the near future.

3) Accept the mantra “The customer is always right.” I think communities who develop programs like this must be prepared to treat it like a business. The town is the product, the community is the owner, and the new resident is the customer. If the customer is upset, figure out why and do something to fix it - because the customer is always right. At the same time, most business owners will tell you that sometimes the customer may not be worth the headaches they create, and you have to find a way to let them go.

4) It’s about the relationship. For a long time, I was conflicted over the concept of offering incentives to people moving to rural communities. On one hand it feels like the strategy of offering incentives to businesses to move small, rural communities; maybe they come, but will they stay? On the other hand I appreciate the moxie of a small town who is willing to try to do something about their future. What I’ve come to believe is that the decision about offering incentives to recruit businesses and recruit people is a community-by-community decision. There’s no universal right or wrong. The chance of the initiative succeeding, however, is probably dependent on the ability of residents to build a relationship with the newcomers. Incentives may open the door, but the bonds of friendship are lasting.

5) What about the people who don’t receive incentives? This case is drawing a lot of attention, but my question is, “has your community been paying serious attention to the people who already live in your community?” My point is, try to make sure that everyone is satisfied. If you gain two new residents, but lose four current residents, you are destined to fail. Pay attention to the people who are living in your community now, and when someone leaves, have a conversation with them about why. And try to dig in deep–often the first response will not be the real reason.

There are a lot of stereotypes being thrown around in this story that worry me.  That might be worth discussing later.

Stereotypes aside, however, the story provides a good lesson for all rural communities.  If we want to grow our population, we have to get serious about how we interact with newcomers.  Hazelton is probably no better or worse than other rural communities, and there’s definitely more to the story than was reported.  They just made the headlines today.  Hopefully, your community is doing something to make sure it doesn’t make the news tomorrow — at least not in this way.

 

Other article related to this story

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Brain Drain or Brain Gain: We need to learn more

February 5th, 2010

Ben Winchester’s research on “rural brain gain,” has drawn some interesting responses in North Dakota. Based on an article titled “Report suggests ‘brain gain’ instead of brain drain,” which appeared in the January 28, 2010 Grand Forks Herald and was reprinted in the January 30, 2010 Fargo-Moorhead InForum, I’d have to say North Dakotans don’t find a lot of applicability in Winchester’s research for their state.  (If you are into negative comments, you’ll want to check out the comments at the end of the InForum article.)

Does Minnesota research apply elsewhere?

The skepticism begins with North Dakota demographer Dr. Richard Rathge who questions the applicability of research about rural Minnesota compared to rural North Dakota.  As he notes, people are more inclined to move to rural places that are high in natural amenities (e.g., West Central Minnesota) than to places with few natural amenities (e.g. North Dakota).

No doubt.  USDA research supports Rathke’s assertions.

But my gut still tells me that there’s something to Winchester’s research.  I’ve personally witnessed numerous examples of people who move to Miner County to raise their children.  The number of people moving in may not be as high as that Winchester found in his study.  But they definitely didn’t move to Miner County for the natural amenities.

And that’s why Winchester’s research is valuable.  We need to better understand what groups of people are moving to rural communities, and what’s their motivation.  Just saying young people are moving out isn’t good enough.

Does the term “Brain Drain” hurt marketing efforts?

When I originally raised the question “Should we banish ‘brain drain’ from our vocabulary?” in a blog post a couple weeks ago, I was trying to figure out if the term “brain drain” does more harm (in promoting our communities) than good (in raising awareness of a problem). I’ve yet to reach a definitive answer.

Based on what I’ve read in the Grand Fork’s article, I’ve concluded that Rathge would say that the question is mute.  At the end of the Grand Forks article, he is quoted saying:

“Here in North Dakota, we’ve seen many decades of outmigration of young adults. Community builders have been talking for decades about ways to hold them, including being positive rather than negative.”

“The bottom line is we need to provide opportunities for people who want to stay. We have to be serious about economic development in North Dakota.” (source: Chuck Haga, “Report suggests ‘brain gain’ instead of brain drain,” Grand Forks Herald, 1-28-09)

It’s more than a job

Getting serious about economic development in rural communities is vitally important.  But it requires a strategy that is more complex than new business recruitment alone.

That’s what I like about the research being conducted by Dr. David Ivan with his “Can small towns be cool?” project.  The themes he identifies in his presentations (which I outline here) offer rural communities a model for rural economic development worth consideration.

So, whether it’s brain drain or brain gain in our communities, I hope we’d all agree that it is something we ought to pay attention to.

Note:  Access to the Grand Forks Herald and Fargo-Moorhead InForum articles may require individuals sign up for a free membership with Forum Communications have been archived.  I did notice it has been reprinted and can be read on the Farm Bureau site.

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OTA Sessions: Let’s make it a rural thing

February 4th, 2010

“Chris” received a gold star for his comment on my last post.  While referencing the social media presentation Lindsey and I gave to Miner County residents, Chris highlighted the OTA Sessions conference being held in Sioux Falls, SD on March 25th and 26th.

The conference looks so enticing that Lindsey and I rushed to sign up. It looks so valuable that I’m calling on other passionate supporters of rural communities to attend. 

What is OTA?

What “OTA” stands for is a mystery.  I think its secrecy is part of the organizer’s creative marketing strategy.

But the list of speakers leaves little doubt concerning the quality of the event.  Chris Brogan, Mitch Joel, Julien Smith, Spike Jones, Jonathan Harris, and Scott Monty may not be well-known in the stuffy board rooms of corporate America, but they are rock stars in the social media and creativity worlds.  Their participation alone is enough reason for me to highly recommend the conference.

But as the OTA Sessions website describes, a larger purpose serves as the conference’s backdrop:

 ”The OTA Sessions are a chance for all of us Midwesterners to shatter the perception that creativity and thought leadership live solely on the east and west coasts.”

In other words, conference organizers are calling on us to “deny the lie” that all the smart, creative people have left the Midwest.

Ah, yes.  Brain Drain. 

We’ve been talking a lot about that term lately.  I’ve questioned the idea of banishing the term from our vocabulary because it negatively portrays the reality of rural population movements.  We’ve also been talking about how we can transform small, rural communities so that fewer talented young people leave. (See this post titled “Can South Dakota’s small towns be cool“)

What about a rural Focus?

Although OTA is intended for all creative types in the Upper Midwest, I’d like to issue a special challenge that creative people in small, rural communities attend.  It will be a great opportunity for us to learn from some of our nation’s thought leaders, as well as a chance for us to network and learn from each other. 

As I stated earlier, Lindsey and I will be in attendance, both at the conference and at the networking event the evening before.  If you chose to attend, I hope you will drop us a line and help us connect at the event. 

This may be the most influential group to grace the stage of a conference in South Dakota.  Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.

Oh, heh.  I almost forgot.  Early registrants receive a discount AND 3 free books from the authors.

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10 Reasons “Third Places” matter to Rural Communities

January 26th, 2010

Admittedly, I go a little overboard on emphasizing the importance of “third places” to the future of rural communities, but my gut tells me they play a more vital role in the social and economic wellbeing of our rural communities than most people give them credit for.   

For those who haven’t heard of them before, third places are where people meet and socialize outside of their homes (first places) and their work (second places). Sociologist Ray Oldenburg is credited with drawing attention to third places through his influential book, The Great Good Place.  Back in January 2009, I wrote this post titled “Does your Community need a Coffee Shop and other Third Places?”  It’s still one of our more popular posts here at Reimagine Rural.    

Lacking in any of my previous writing about third places, however, is a comprehensive explanation of how third places impact the economic wellbeing of small, rural communities - or any community for that matter.  For that reason, I’ve produced the following resource guide to illuminate why rural communities must get serious about their efforts to develop strong third places in their communities. 

10 Reasons Third Places Matter to Rural Communities

1. Third places are cool…and rural places could stand a little cool. It’s no secret that young people today crave “cool” environments to live and hang out. What receives less attention, however, is research that suggests Gen Yers often choose where to live before seeking permanent employment; and that “coolness” plays a role in this decision making process. If true, this tells us that for rural communities to attract young people, they need to develop some cool places young people crave. And what better way to do it than by creating a place where young and old can get together. (Another article on the subject can be found here.)

2. Third places introduce new people to the community. I’ve noted in previous posts, how important it is for new residents and visitors to feel welcomed by a community.  Wall Street Journal writer Gwendolyn Bounds offers a personal perspective of how Guinans, an Irish pub, welcomed her into the Garrison, NY community and played a critical role in her choice to move there. As Bounds came to frequent the pub, “regulars” at Guinans taught her (a former NYC resident) a great deal about how to live in a rural community (i.e. use a chain saw, fix the plumbing, and deal with the snow). It’s possible that new residents can become a part of a community without a third place, but third places seem to make the process a lot easier.

3. Third Places improve the quality of life in a community. Quality of life means different things to different people. Some say quality of life requires a community to have a strong “night life.” Other, say it requires safe environments. But as this research suggests, people who live in communities with third places perceive the quality of life in their community as being higher than those who live without them.

4. Third Places are good for tourism. When people go on vacation they are typically looking for a unique experience. More and more, they also want that experience to be authentic. In other words, they want to get a sense of a community’s character, rather than an image developed by a corporate marketing department. If your community has a scenic wonder like the Grand Canyon, or man-made attraction like the Mall of America, you may not need to worry about a third place. But as tourism expert Roger Brooks of Destination Development Inc. notes, third places are a part of each community’s “brand” and can become places where locals and visitors meet each other. If you want further proof on the importance of third places to tourism, just look at what the Irish pub has done for tourism in Ireland.

5. Third places can help improve the business climate in your small town. Increasingly entrepreneurs need to work from anywhere and at anytime. That’s why cell service, broadband internet, and wifi accessibility are vital infrastructure to any rural community. But does your community have a place where entrepreneurs can meet with clients and business partners, take advantage of technology, and remain connected to the office? If not, your community may be frustrating entrepreneurs more than you realize.

6. Third places stimulate creativity. I work from home quite a bit. Sometimes, the solitude becomes deafening, and I need to be around people. I’ve discovered that in addition to combating isolation, third places help stimulate both my productivity and creativity. Surprisingly, I’m not alone. I recently learned that J.K. Rowlings turns to cafés for inspiration while writing her monumental Harry Potter books. Now she’s creative! (And just think what would happen if a third place in your community inspired the next Harry Potter series.)

7. Third Places help people age in place. Back in the 1990s, the Rural Learning Center focused on developing senior housing options (like independent and assisted living) in our community because we learned that helping seniors age in place was important to their quality of life. F. Kaid Benfield recognized that same issue in this blog post where he emphasized that communities who follow smart growth principles should develop third places for seniors that they can walk to. The point here is that seniors need to be active and engaged. That could be accomplished with a senior citizens facility. But a more efficient use of resources would involve developing third places where all generations visit.

8. Third Places can help create jobs.  Cooltown Studios has published numerous blogs posts about third places in urban areas.  I particularly like this post, which highlights how third places help build conversations that lead to entrepreneurial thinking, a requirement for growing our economy.   On one hand, saying that third places lead to job growth is a bit abstract for me, but I do believe it’s a good reminder that entrepreneurs need places to network and build conversations in order to generate new ideas that will hopefully lead to job growth. 

9. Third Places will never be replaced by social networking sites like Facebook. There’s a school of thought suggesting that physical third places are being replaced by virtual ones. In other words, Facebook is the new third place. Now let me be clear: I believe rural communities should consider developing an online social networking strategy as a part of their economic development work. It’s a great way to connect with people both inside and outside your community. But as Mary Newsom writes on Citiwire: online social networks as third places are “mere metaphors for the real thing.”

10. Third Places help build conversation …. and conversation leads to trust. One of the beautiful things about quality third places is that they bring together people of all socio-economic backgrounds. As conversation emerges in a third place, people begin to know, understand, and trust each other. Sociologists call this bridging social capital and have recognized its importance in community and economic development in rural places. (As this paper suggest, bridging social capital is the entry point for strengthening your community socially and economically.) On a basic level, most of us can appreciate that whenever people come together for open conversation, they begin to trust each other. And when people trust each other, it’s a lot easier to get things done in our communities.

I’ve been thinking and writing about the importance of third places in rural communities for a couple years now, and I’ve really noticed the growth of good resources being published online. In addition to sharing some of those resources as links above, I’ve attempted to save my favorites to my Delicious account.  Even though I’ve saved over 60 recourses, I know the list is incomplete. 

That’s why I’d like to ask for your help.  Feel free to check out my list of favorites on Delicious, but just as important, please share your favorites with me.  And don’t think that my “10 Reasons Third Places are important to Rural Communities” list above is complete either.  I plan to revise the list in the near future, and include your thoughts and new discoveries in it.

 

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Posted in Community Development, Community Engagement, Economic Development, Quality of Life, Rural, Uncategorized | Comments (8)

No vision, No resources

January 19th, 2010

Last week I had an interesting conversation on Twitter concerning a ReImagine Rural blog post I wrote titled “Should we banish ‘brain drain’ from our vocabulary.” The post focuses on Ben Winchester’s research suggesting much of rural Minnesota is experiencing an in migration of college educated adults age 30-45.

The Twitter conversation emerged when Joe O’Sullivan (@jaosullivanx) a reporter from Watertown, SD, sent me a tweet saying, “I see people here who grew up rural return 15 years later w/ degrees. Positive development, but can you bank on it?”

My response was, “B Winchester tells us that there are more who move back than we realize. But that’s also why we need (to) intentionally work at it.”  Later I sent him a second tweet with a link to a report that highlights the importance of rural communities being intentional about developing people attraction strategies. 

Joe responded writing, “I like. But it seems that communities have either a lack of vision, or resources, or both. How do you get around that?”

 

“…lack of vision, or resources, or both” 

It’s a valid point and good question.  In making the statement, I think Joe is trying to bring “reality” into the conversation about the future of rural communities.  Too many of our rural communities don’t have a vision for the future and they don’t think they have any resources.  So what do we do about it?

My mind was flooded with thoughts, which would have required a 2-3 page essay to convey; something Twitter’s 140 character limit prevents.  Instead, I paired my thoughts down to, “No doubt! And add determination. No easy answers, but I’d say use appreciative inquiry and stick with it. What do you think?”

I recommended appreciative inquiry because I firmly believe that every community has assets.  They just need to approach their vision for the future by leveraging existing assets.  In many ways that’s what we did in Miner County, and assets started multiplying exponentially. 

I also mentioned determination because community and economic development work is fraught with frustration; economic growth seldom happens in a flash.  Only those with determined community leaders emerge successfully.

I hope that my advice was good, but I realize that I’m no expert on the subject.  What works in one rural community is not universally right for all rural communities.   So, let me repost the question here:  How do you get around rural communities who lack vision and resources or both?

 

Photo credit:  BozDoz - Flickr

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Posted in Community Development, Economic Development, Rural | Comments (0)

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