Recommended by a review panel of rural experts, the four host communities are: Greenville, Mississippi; Las Vegas, New Mexico; Tuttle, North Dakota; and Valentine, Nebraska. CIRD awardees receive a $10,000 stipend to support the workshop and follow-up planning sessions. Each community also receives in-kind design expertise and technical assistance valued at $35,000.
From the Blog
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The Prophet of Micropolis
January 7, 2019Vincent DeSantis, the author of “Toward Civic Integrity: Re-establishing the Micropolis,” published eleven years ago, works in the spirit of Holly Whyte: quietly, carefully and with great acuity. Vince was my host, at his B&B, on my trips to Gloversville, New York. He is a Gloversville native, an attorney, served as the City Court judge in town for years and is now the at-large member of the city’s Common Council. He’s the moving force behind many of the good things happening in Gloversville. What I didn’t know, I suppose because of his reserve and modesty, is that he wrote a book that was years ahead of its time and that even today should be essential reading for everyone involved in placemaking. Back in 2007, Vince was conclusively making the case for small cities and how to revitalize them. -
When Main Street is a State Highway: Building Community through Transportation in Valentine, Nebraska
January 1, 2019Highway 83 runs from North Texas straight through to Canada. Valentine, Nebraska sits somewhere in the upper middle, the closest neighbor the Rosebud Lakota Sioux reservation, where Highway 83 morphs into Main Street. Valentine is lucky: the looming façade to façade reconstruction of Main Street is seen as a cause for celebration.
Established in 1991, the Citizens' Institute on Rural Design™ has convened more than 60 workshops in all regions of the country, empowering residents to leverage local assets for the future in order to build better places to live, work, and play.
Stay Connected
CIRD supports host communities before and after their workshops via informational conference calls and webinars that cover critical topics in community engagement, rural design, partnership development, and workshop planning.