The Citizens' Institute on Rural Design™ is a National Endowment for the Arts leadership initiative in partnership with the Housing Assistance Council and buildingcommunityWORKSHOP.
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Webinar II will explore the role of design for rural communities affected by COVID-19, including responding to economic challenges and adapting to new social and spatial boundaries.
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From the Blog

  • Mara Mintzer listening to an elementary student share their ideas for a local community park. (Credit: Lynn M. Licktieg)

    TED Talk Design Leader on How to Engage Youth

    March 2, 2020
    Mara Mintzer spoke with the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design about her award-winning work at the intersection of design, education, and community engagement with one overriding theme: youth voices matter, and they matter right now. 1.6 million people have viewed Mintzer’s How Kids Can Help Design Cities TED Talk. We suggest a listen, too, as it buttresses CIRD’s recent conversation with Mara. And don’t let “cities” get in the way; Mara notes the utter rural applicability of her approach.
  • A photo of the Entiat Museum from a recent photo contest. (Photo credit: Entiat Chamber of Commerce)

    CIRD Learning Cohort Community Spotlight: A Mecca of Recreation in Entiat, WA

    January 30, 2020
    Meet Alyce Brown, a CIRD community leader with a big vision for the small town of Entiat, WA. Working with local organizations and stakeholder groups, Brown plans to transform the town into a tourism destination that provides year-round recreational services to visitors and long-term prosperity to the region.
Over 60 workshops in all regions of the country.
Where We Work

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.

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Webinars

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.

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