What is Rural Design?
CIRD is based upon the idea that design can be a powerful tool for rural communities to build upon existing assets and improve the way a community looks, its quality of life, and its economic viability.
CIRD workshops bring together participants from one or several communities in a geographic region to address specific local or regional challenges. The workshop might address a specific site within a town or community, or a broader issue throughout the region tied to loss of employment opportunities; rapid growth from suburban sprawl and loss of agricultural lands; location of new facilities and transportation networks; or changing demographics.
With the guidance of resource team members and CIRD program staff, CIRD workshops introduce a wide range of rural design strategies that can help a community address these challenges. These design strategies include:
- downtown revitalization
- arts-based development
- heritage preservation
- growth management
- land and agricultural conservation
- transportation and facility planning
- aging in place design standards
To learn more about rural design strategies used in past CIRD workshops, visit our Where We Work page.