The Request for Proposals is on the new CIRD website: www.rural-design.org. The deadline for submitting a proposal is Tuesday March 5, 2013. CIRD will offer three free application-assistance calls to answer questions and guide interested applicants in assembling their proposals on January 23, February 7, and February 28. For more details and to register, visit www.rural-design.org/application-assistance.

On November 13, 2012, the National Association of Counties (NACo) presented a webinar in partnership with NADO Research Foundation that discussed strategies to engage elected officials and other community leaders in community planning projects. This webinar featured innovative strategies from regional planning projects and a “clinic” to critique outreach materials submitted by a select number of HUD 2010/2011 sustainability grants recipients.  Speakers included Elisa Ortiz, Smart Growth America; Bethany Wilcoxon, Des Moines Area MPO (Iowa); and Carol Davis, New River Valley Planning District Commission (Virginia).

View the webinar recording here. For more information, contact Cindy Wasser at NACo at cwasser@naco.org or 202.942.4274.

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This webinar was produced by NACo, through a subcontract agreement with NADO Research Foundation. NADO Research Foundation provided overall guidance and project direction. The work that provided the basis for this webinar was supported by funding under an award with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The substance and findings of the work are dedicated to the public. The author and publisher are solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication. Such interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government.

The three new briefing papers showcase how a number of small communities are tackling sustainability and smart growth through asset based economic development.

Pella, Iowa has a thriving downtown with many locally owned businesses. The local businesses are supported by both the local manufacturing and tourism industries. The downtown design guidelines emphasize the city’s Dutch heritage. Photo courtesy of the city of Pella.

The first paper starts off by defining asset-based economic development and provides several case studies on industry and industrial clusters, including the city of Pella, Iowa. If that name sounds familiar it may be because you have Pella windows or doors in your home keeping the warmth in and cold out.  There are other industries that help keep this small town manufacturing cluster alive and well, and as the case study in the brieing paper notes, there is a strong public-private partnership effort to recruit and develop sectors and industries that are compatible with the community’s economic strengths.  Other communities in Colorado and Arkansas are also profiled in this first paper. Read it here.

The second briefing paper looks at natural resource strengths and working landscapes, which often provide the basis for rural economic activities.  In this paper, a case study of Killington, Vermont showcases how one community has focused its efforts to strengthen and sustainably grow its economic base, largely around tourism and recreational amenities.  Importantly, while many on the east coast think of Killington as a winter resort area, the community has worked hard to showcase Killington as a four-seasons community with outdoor, cultural and recreational amenities year round. Read it here.

Part three looks more closely at historic and cultural resources as well as existing infrastructure such as Main Streets and town squares.   Silver City, New Mexico and Lindsborg, Kansas are profiled more closely in this paper providing lessons learned for other communities considering how to benefit from their existing infrastructure and historic and cultural amenities. Read it here.

You can also access all three papers, and learn more about ICMA’s work on sustainability and smart growth issues, on ICMA’s sustainability topic page.

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This report was researched and written by ICMA, through a subcontract agreement with NADO Research Foundation. NADO Research Foundation provided overall guidance and project direction. The work that provided the basis for this publication was supported by funding under an award with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The substance and findings of the work are dedicated to the public. The author and publisher are solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication. Such interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government. For more information, contact Tad McGalliard at ICMA at tmcgalliard@ICMA.org

Who should attend: Government officials, planners, developers, investors, nonprofits, and others interested in transit-oriented development.

• Read about the city of Moline’s efforts to transform an old warehouse into the Moline Multimodal Station and the city of Cincinnati’s Streetcar Project in the 2012 Partnership for Sustainable Communities accomplishments report.
• View a video about sustainability efforts in Moline at http://www.sustainablecommunities.gov/studies.html#FC9.
• Learn more about the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

Webinar Details

Thursday, November 15, 2012, 1:00 to 2:15 Eastern

• To join this webinar, click on https://epa.connectsolutions.com/epasmartgrowth. Log in as a guest. No pre-registration is required.
• Audio will be available through a conference service. Call 1-888-850-4523. Participant passcode: 719661. This conference has a maximum audio capacity of 299 callers. Please share phone lines if possible.
• Please test your computer prior to attending the meeting at http://admin.adobeconnect.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm
  • The Connection Test checks your computer to make sure all system requirements are met. If you pass the first three steps of the test, then you are ready to participate in a meeting.
  • If you do not pass the test, perform the suggested actions and run the test again.

The presentation is available here.

For an example of the type of projects that ArtPlace has funded in rural America, see this video: http://www.artplaceamerica.org/articles/the-whirligig-project/.

Letters of Inquiry will be accepted between September 17 and November 1, 2012 for ArtPlace’s third round of funding. For more information and to apply, see here: http://www.artplaceamerica.org/loi/.

Our Town will invest in creative and innovative projects in which communities, together with their arts and design organizations and artists, seek to:

• Improve their quality of life;
• Encourage greater creative activity;
• Foster stronger community identity and a sense of place; and
• Revitalize economic development.

Other key information:

• Complete Our Town application guidelines are available at arts.gov/grants/apply/OurTown/index.html
• Application deadline is January 14, 2013 at 11:59 pm. This deadline is earlier than last year.
• Program Inquiries: Email OT@arts.gov to schedule a call with an NEA design program specialist
• For Our Town FAQs, go to arts.gov/grants/apply/OurTown/FAQ.html
• Webinars to learn more about this funding opportunity will be held on November 6 and 13, 2012 at 3:00 pm EST at arts.gov

Projects may include arts engagement, cultural planning, and design activities. Definitions of these activities can be found in the FY 2012 Our Town grant announcement.

Now in its third year, Our Town has provided $11.57 million to fund 131 projects in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.  Those projects are diverse in geographic distribution, number and types of partnerships, artistic discipline, and type of project. As regards population size, in FY 2012 alone, 41 of the 80 grants supported projects in communities with populations under 50,000.

To view a map of these projects along with descriptions and images, visit the Our Town section of the NEA website.

Our Town grant examples in rural communities:

The Yadkin/Pee Dee Lakes Project  (Central Park and Star, NC, $50,000)
Central Park NC and the Town of Star partnered again on an Our Town grant related to the creation and promotion of a glass arts community in Star. Project activities include planning and development of a new annual FireFest event, an annual glass public sculpture competition, and development of multimedia promotional materials for the community including video, social media, wayfinding signage, and downloadable print materials.

Wormfarm Institute (Reedsburg, WI, $50,000)
Wormfarm’s Our Town grant will support the planning, pilot, and evaluation of Farm/Art D-Tour. These guided and self-led tours will take place primarily along rural roads in northern Sauk County, Wisconsin, and will feature farm-based ephemeral art installations and performances; mobile farm stands designed and built by artists; and interpretative signage about rural culture and the local arts, food, and farming communities.

Program inquiries: Email OT@arts.gov to schedule a call with an NEA design program specialist.