U.S. Department of Agriculture and University of Kentucky announced a digital placemaking toolkit for rural communities to help people in those communities thrive.
The Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky recently unveiled the free digital toolkit "to help rural leaders build placemaking plans in small towns and communities across America," according to a May 25 USDA news release.
"When rural people thrive, all America thrives," USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small said in the news release. "The Biden-Harris administration is committed to ensuring rural Americans can build a good life and succeed in the communities they love. That takes investment in the physical, digital and social infrastructure that builds and strengthens successful communities."
That physical infrastructure includes bridges, roads, dams, and waterways that provide a foundation for safety and opportunity, according to the release
"High-speed internet and other digital infrastructure, rural people can connect to learning, job opportunities and markets around the world. When combined with social infrastructure, like good schools, health clinics, public parks, community organizations and cultural venues, rural places can thrive," Torres-Small said in the release. "USDA is a proud partner to rural communities investing in their futures."
The interactive toolkit is aimed at leaders in rural areas who can use it to conduct assessments to determine their communities’ readiness for "placemaking activities," the news release said. The toolkit includes placemaking project examples based on a community's readiness that rural leaders can harness in an effort to replicate success in their communities.
"The toolkit also will help rural leaders identify national and regional technical assistance providers, funders and resource guides to implement rural placemaking activities in their communities," the news release said. "Regional and national technical assistance providers and funding organizations may request to be added to the toolkit's directory."
