Small Towns
Paving the way to Talent’s Long-Term Recovery
Learn more about the CITY OF TALENT URBAN RENEWAL WORK PLAN From https://www.talenturbanrenewal.com/workplan Why is Talent considering an Urban Renewal plan? Talent lost 1/3 of our housing in the Almeda fire, including much of our more affordable housing. We lost 60% of our businesses. Firefighters were needed to respond to…
Read MoreInvitation to sponsor the Community Website Partnership
Greetings! Today you and your business are invited to partner with the Community Website Partnership to connect rural Oregonians and strengthen rural communities through technology. Our nonprofit organization helps rural communities to be informed and resilient as recently featured in the Southern Oregon Business Journal: https://southernoregonbusiness.com/community-website-partnership-informing-inspiring-and-pro moting-resilience-in-rural-oregon/. By embracing diversity…
Read MoreArrggghhh! The stores in my town close too early!
By Becky McCray and Deb Brown. https://saveyour.town/ I got a great email from Dane in response to my last newsletter. He said: Thanks for suggesting that businesses stay open an extra hour.You might also tell them to not be closed two or even three days a week. A lot of businesses…
Read MoreWe Used to Just Call These “Houses”
By Daniel Herriges Senior Editor for Strong Towns We have a way in the modern world of rediscovering things that humans have always done but branding them as something trendy and a little alien. So it goes with the explosion of interest in “tiny houses” as an answer to what…
Read MoreSharks kill off good ideas
By Deb Brown One of the communities I was in for an Embedded Community Experience sent me some good news. City and community leaders want to take a “Shark Tank” approach in trying to fill vacant storefronts. At first this looks like a great idea! They have a building owner willing to put…
Read MoreEverything you think you know about gentrification is wrong
By Joe Cortright Facts are stubborn things: And they don’t support the folk wisdom equating gentrification with displacement. There’s a palpable and growing amount of cognitive dissonance between the accepted conventional wisdom about the intrinsically evil nature of gentrification, and a body of careful detailed research that shows that its…
Read MoreRefuge and Prospect: The Front Porch
Yesterday and today, we are celebrating the past, present and future of the surprisingly powerful front porch. by Beth Ann Fennelly My approaching birthday has me taking stock, as approaching birthdays do. This year isn’t a milestone — I’m merely being ushered into my (write it!) late 40s. But I’m…
Read MoreThe small towns that survive will be the ones that are open to new ideas
BY: BECKY MCCRAY In a world driven by frenetic change, which small towns are going to thrive? We know rural people play a key role in our society, so some small towns will have a future. Some small towns are innovative and progressive. Other small towns are stuck in the…
Read More