Small Towns – BIG IDEAS – Case Studies in Small Town Community Economic Development

The N.C. Rural Economic Development Center is pleased to release Small Towns, Big Ideas: Case
Studies in Small Town Community Economic Development, the result of a collaboration between the
center and the School of Government of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

It is the latest
product of the center’s Small Towns Initiative.
The center launched the initiative in late 2005 to help hard-pressed small towns create new economic
opportunities. It grew out of the recognition that North Carolina’s smallest places serve a major role in
the economic, social and cultural well being of the state as a whole, yet many are struggling to cope
with job losses, population decline, high poverty, empty buildings and crumbling infrastructure. This
is especially true in rural communities. Future prosperity will require strategies that build on the assets,
needs and desires of each community. The Small Towns Initiative seeks to set the stage for revitalization
and growth by:

By Will Lambe, Associate Director
Community & Economic Development Program
School of Government, University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill

Full Report: http://www.sog.unc.edu/programs/cednc/stbi/pdfs/stbi_final.pdf?mc_cid=8a1f55d9a6&mc_eid=dfa0607b67