Local Design Workshop

Past workshops
With support from a wide range of design, planning, and creative placemaking professionals, CIRD design workshops bring together local residents and local leaders from non-profits, community organizations, and government to develop actionable solutions to a specific design challenge. Workshops are facilitated by CIRD’s experienced resource team members in partnership with and driven by local people who are deeply invested in their community.
Interactive workshop activities allow community members to vote on ideas in Millinocket, Maine. Photo courtesy Malorrie Ann Photography.

“We have been working a lot on improving our community engagement strategy and CIRD has reinforced our work in a positive way... a wider range of people were engaged--beyond the scope of what groups we were able to engage before. The CIRD process helped in understanding how to broach some of the harder topics and provide an avenue to talk about them.”

— Akwesasne Mohawk Territory team member

Where we work

To date, the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design has convened more than 80 workshops in all regions of the country, bringing together local residents with teams of design, economic development, and creative placemaking professionals. Together, professionals and citizens leverage local and regional assets to guide the design of their communities.

The 2023-2024 multi-day design workshops, offered in both in-person and virtual forms, will focus on each community’s unique design challenge. Dates for each workshop and members of the resource team are forthcoming.

Selected workshops communities for 2023-2024 are:
Ada Adams leads a tour of important Black sites in Athens, OH during the workshop for Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Photo by Omar Hakeem.

Featured workshops

Workshops
May 7-9, 2024
Ft. Washakie/Wind River Reservation, WY

Eastern Shoshone Cultural Hub on the Wind River Indian Reservation

The Eastern Shoshone Tribe is working toward the construction of a new facility in Fort Washakie, WY, that can house the Tribe’s cultural center and museum and also be a repository for Tribal archives, artifacts, and records from the Tribal Historic Preservation Office. The CIRD local design workshop focused on creating a building program that ties together these different uses while honoring the Tribe’s many cultural assets, ancestral collections, and rich history.
Workshops
February 26-28, 2024
Sunnyside, WA

Affordable Housing Development with Community in Mind in Sunnyside, WA

With affordable housing demand at an all-time high, especially for Central Washington farmworker communities, Catholic Charities Housing Services is creating a high-density neighborhood in Sunnyside, WA that provides around 200 affordable homes along with community connector amenities such as green spaces, community centers, and avenues for personal and professional growth. CIRD worked with CCHS, local stakeholders, and community residents to more deeply explore these neighborhood concepts.
Workshops
September 23–25, 2024
Dublin, TX

Creating Connection & Economic Opportunity through Park Spaces in Dublin, TX

On the edge of downtown, Dublin City Park is a vital green space and gathering place for family outings and events. The park is the site of the beloved Hispanic Heritage Festival and potentially many more events, including the local farmers market which contributes to Dublin’s economy. CIRD worked with the Dublin Public Library, Park staff, city officials, and more on design concepts to revitalize the existing park pavilion and parkland to create a functional, accessible park for all.
Workshops
November 29-December 1, 2023
Thompson Falls, MT

An Outdoor Space Reimagined in Thompson Falls, MT

The Kaniksu Land Trust is working closely with the United States Forest Service and other Thompson Falls organizations, residents, and local officials to reimagine a parcel of Forest Service land affectionately known as “The Orchard.” CIRD’s local design workshop opened up communications between the local Forest Service office and the community in Thompson Falls, making space for honest conversations about the community’s goals for the project.
Workshops
March 20-22, 2024
Grenada, MS

A Swampland Gathering Place for Grenada, MS

Only one-half a mile from Grenada’s town square, the Lee Tartt Nature Preserve is an ecological gem and hub for environmental education and community healing. Just north sits the Grenada Airfield Hangar, which retains historic value and might anchor economic development if preserved or re-purposed. CIRD worked with city officials, educators, artists, and youth, on design concepts for a gathering place that will connect people with nature while offering possibilities for the historic hangar.
Workshops
June 10–12, 2024
Two Harbors, MN

A Waterfront Masterplan to Celebrate Natural Beauty and Community Identity in Two Harbors, MN

Two Harbors, MN, offers access to nature and a warm welcome on the rocky shores of Lake Superior. This tight-knit community of 3,600 is working to improve its quality of life and visitor experiences while taking advantage of the picturesque lakeshore that encompasses the town. The CIRD workshop for Two Harbors focused on planning a waterfront that’s vibrant and sustainable while honoring the town’s identity and history.
Workshops
July 31-August 2, 2024
Mount Sterling, KY

Trail Revitalization and Community Connection in Mount Sterling, KY

CIRD’s local design workshop in Mount Sterling, KY focused on reimagining the Adena Trail, a vital green space for the local community. Persistent flooding and the area’s current utilization for a historic event have limited the community’s access to the site. CIRD worked with the Gateway Regional Arts Center and others on design concepts for an amphitheater, boardwalk, and other amenities that transform the Adena Trail into a place of gathering and recreation for community members year-round.
Workshops
December 7th, 2023
Boswell, IN

Boswell Elementary’s Transition from School to Town Commons

Driving down Route 41 in rural western Indiana, a pit stop in Boswell is an opportunity to see rural design and creative placemaking happening in real time. With leadership from J.O.B.S. Renewable Fund, Inc. and support from CIRD, citizens are collaborating to repurpose the local elementary school and nearby grounds. The local design workshop focused on ways to turn the closed school into a multi-use indoor and outdoor space that meets the multiple needs of Benton County’s residents.
Local residents vote on streetscape concepts during a workshop in Valentine, NE. Photo by P&W Photography.

Engaging expert rural design leaders

Our program is led in partnership with respected architects, landscape architects, community planners, economic development experts, and transportation planners, many of whom live and work in rural places and are passionate about their work. CIRD strives to connect workshop communities with both national and local or regional expertise. If you are a designer interested in working with CIRD, contact cird@ruralhome.org.
Lizzie MacWillie from bcWORKSHOP leads a session in Millinocket, ME. Photo by Malorrie Ann Photography.

Workshop stories

Stories
November 21, 2024

Arts-Driven Economic and Community Development in Mt. Sterling: A National Model

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, is ground zero for showcasing the power of arts-led economic and community development in rural communities. The 2024 CIRD local design workshop, hosted in this small town where the distinct cultures and landscapes of eastern and central Kentucky come together, is already informing the national rural design conversation. Gateway Regional Arts Center and their partnerships in Mt. Sterling offer insights for any community that wants to anchor the future of public space in arts, culture, and design.
Stories
August 20, 2024

An Interview with Rory Doyle

CIRD recently engaged Rory Doyle, a nationally renowned photographer based in Cleveland, Mississippi in the rural Mississippi Delta, to document their time working with community members in Grenada, Mississippi, through CIRD’s local design workshop focused on Grenada, Mississippi’s Chakchiuma Swamp. In this interview, CIRD caught up with Rory to talk about rural development, his approach to photojournalism, and amplifying rural storytelling.
Stories
September 26, 2023

Valentine ‘proud’ of Main Street overhaul, aiming to continue boosting infrastructure

In 2018, Valentine, Nebraska (population 2,630) partnered with CIRD for a Local Design Workshop, bringing together hundreds of citizens, local elected leaders, the Nebraska Department of Transportation, and rural design experts to reimagine Valentine’s Main Street corridor, which doubles as a state highway. A recent Norfolk Daily News article highlights ongoing progress in Valentine, mentioning CIRD’s catalytic role.
Stories
March 31, 2023

CIRD Spotlight The Mississippi Delta: Sharing the Blues, Literature, and now Rural Design! —Lessons from Delta Design Build

When the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design (CIRD) team speaks to thought leaders in rural design across the country, there is unanimous and emphatic praise for Emily Roush-Elliot’s work over the last decade in the Mississippi Delta.

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