ICMA has recently published "
Smart Growth to Work in Rural Communities." This publication is designed to provide rural decision-makers with a resource for balancing competing goals while creating more vibrant, sustainable communities. It is intended to show how smart growth approaches can be adapted and applied in the rural context, particularly in times of change. Following a brief discussion of key issues facing different types of rural communities and how smart growth is perceived in rural environments, the majority of this publication addresses how to put smart growth into practice in rural communities. This third section of this publication is framed around three key goals, which can help a community pursue its vision for accommodating and attracting sensible growth in the future, while maintaining and enhancing its rural character and quality of life.
The three goals are:
- Support the rural landscape by creating an economic climate that enhances the viability of working lands and conserves natural lands;
- Help existing places thrive by taking care of assets and investments such as downtowns, Main Streets, existing infrastructure, and places that the community values; and
- Create great new places by building vibrant, enduring neighborhoods and communities that people, especially young people, don’t want to leave.*
*Excerpt from the Introduction
