rural development:

CLICK HERE for the definitions of rural and rural development in the .network glossary.

CLICK HERE if you are a rural ED representative.

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What is rural?

The UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) has a resource paper published online titled A Review of Urban and Rural Area Definitions. It indicates that coming up with a definition of rural is a challenge. Look on page 15 of the report if you want details.

From the standpoint of economic development the operative word that combines with rural is area, as in area development. See The Free Dictionary by Farlex definition of rural area. In the final analysis, the word rural in combination with development (rural development) is best defined locally. For example, where an economic development organization is busy seeking opportunities to sustain or increase the vitality of a location it identifies as rural, therein lies a definition. Also, what is rural becomes known wherever there is concern for a specific geographic area identified as such say, for example, by the World Bank which reports that 75% of the world's poor live in rural areas. Reporting the figure suggests that the World Bank knows where the rural areas are.

For your information, The Network lists rural regions around the word that want economic development along with links to the website of appropriate contacts in position to provide location data. If interested, email us the name by which the region is or should be promoted for economic development. Also, furnish us with a website or address for a contact who can supply economic development data. In the subject line of the email identify the city or town that is the center of influence for its economic development potential. We will publish a regional profile with the name of the city or town along with a link to the contact data without cost or obligation.

CLICK HERE if interested in requesting a Global Registry of Contacts record for yourself

What more can The Network do to make economic development work? (tell us).

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economic development in small communities and rural areas

... should begin with agreement among all concerned in a particular location on what definition of economic development it to be used to guide its volunteer leaders and practitioners. The rules of a best practices approach apply. The first things that a small community or rural development organization should consider is what already drives the economy and what enterprises should be encouraged to retain their vitalitysee Priorities for Places Seeking Economic Development. Also, the entrepreneur is essential. See item #5 on the list of what a small community and/or rural area needs in order to be successful at economic development.

Essentials for small community and rural economic development organization operations:

15 considerationsa location should ...

have at least one area and local development representative working on its behalf.

coordinate regionallylists its city-region in Site Location Assistance.com.

create goals and programs that are uniquely its own, not copy or envy what others have.

build ally network and be optimistic, but realistic, in seeking support.

avoid shoring up enterprises past their prime with subsidies. Encourage entrepreneurship.

seek long-term solutions rather than quick fixes.

inform, educate, and include all facets of the community.

not allow its lead development representative to be a vested interest's liaison.

develop and maintain a prospect-oriented infrastructure as well as create/offer incentives.

be poised for action with information (see the definition of location data supplier).

be poised to provide assistance in finding sites and resources as well as cutting red tape.

protect confidential plans and actions of prospects until they are ready to announce.

operate with contributed funds wherever possible.

recognize job creation opportunities may be trumped by those for creating local wealth.

keep the looks of the area inviting and attractive (see the definition of livability appeal).

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rural development online:

Use the Google/.network search engine to find resources for small community and rural development by copying and pasting the following suggested keyword combinations (italicized) in its search box. A search tool for querying the Web only is at the top of this page.

Search the Web for ... common denominators success rural economic development

Search the Web for ... resources success rural economic development

Search the Web for ... small communities rural economic development resources

Search the Web for ... small community rural economic development basics

Search the Web for ... rural development incentives entrepreneurial

Search the Web for ... rural economic development incentives location*

Search the Web for ... rural development incentives entrepreneurial location*

* substitute the location identity for a place of interest to you for the italicized word location.

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livability appeal:

The Smart Growth Resource Library (www.smartgrowth.org) which lists livable cities in the US, as provided by www.mostlivable.org, states that the latter website's definition of livability has changed over a the years. Standard dictionary definitions have remained unchanged, however. For example, Merriam-Webster Online states that livability means ... suitability for human living. From the standpoint of promoting the economic development of a location, the definition of livability means having a marketable attractiveness based on observations and demographics indicating that people who live in an area want to remain there. Livability appeal also means that moving to a location that has it appeals to people on the outside. High livability is an expression sometimes used, suggesting that is the area being promoted ranks above competitive locations. Another expression that addresses livability appeal is quality of life, which may be seen as a header for an item of information in a location package.

Rural areas are perceived as having livability appeal, especially in cases where outsiders are attracted without having to be concerned about making a living off the land. Urban sprawl (an urbanized area) can be seen in many places as a development effort to blend the appeal of rural with the convenience of being near the city. Micropolitan areas may be created on the periphery of an urban area. Cities have an inherent problem with livability because, without commerce, they lack the basics of sustainability that exist in rural communities in areas of vitality.

For information about types of cities, see the definition of city-region in this resource archive.

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labor shed:

... a commuting pattern which is usually represented in the form of a map. AKA a commute shed, the shed feeds into where the jobs are. For example, workers coming into a community to report to their job from a surrounding area are said to be in-commuting. Workers regularly leaving a community to report to their jobs elsewhere, are out-commuters. Try copying and pasting the following italicized text in the search box at the top of this page and Googling for more information. Add the location identity of a place of interest to zero in on what you want.

Search the Web for ... "labor sheds"

Search the Web for ... "commute shed" for

Search the Web for ... "commute sheds"

Search the Web for ... "labor shed" for

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World Bank / Agriculture & Rural Development Group:

According to the main page for the rural development section of the World Bank website, the group has a strategy that is ... holistic and multi-sectoral, focused on improving the well-being of rural people by building their productive, social, and environmental assets. The page gives you the opportunity to search for rural development alsoour search produced 250 documents. Elsewhere at WorldBank.org we searched for publications using the keywords rural+development. We regularly go to the World Bank's countries and regions page to compare what we find there to the opening page of the Area Development section of our economic development network website (EDN).

CLICK HERE if you go to EDN/Area Development and do not find the country that you are interested in listed with a link. We invite you to contact us and ask that we open an area development page for any location from national to local level. Free space is available in EDN for listing rural locations anywhere in the world. The Network makes users a promise. You can test the promise and ask for a location listing at the same time with no risk and hardly any effort at all

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Conserving Communities by Wendell Berry:

The resource paper written by Berry in the mid-1990s presents 17 rules that guide communities in avoiding the modern economic and social harms of development. The rules are published in various locations on the Internet (example), in some cases independent of Conserving Communities and his other writings. For example. Amazon.com has chapter one of Berry's Sex, Economy, Freedom & Community, titled Conservation and Local Economy, available online. FMH Search contains a file that paraphrases most of the rules and adds information for those who are interested or engaged in rural enterprise and economic development.

The FMH Search file: http://www.findmehere.com/search/infohelp/berrypoints.htm

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global economy/regional economy:

A global economy supports enterprise and economic development across international borders. A definition of global economy should indicate that it incorporates all transactions and interactions of people, governments and enterprises.

A regional economy (definitions of region) can operate on a global scale without consideration for international borders. Global regions are listed in the locations section of the library with suggestions for keyword searches that relate to the mission of The Network. For a list of countries around the world and their two-letter abbreviations, CLICK HERE.

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basics of sustainability:

... are water, food, and shelter in a livable environment. In the case of the definition of a sustainable community and its attributes, as shown below, the basics are the same for all inhabitantswater, food, and shelter in an environment that isn't harmful and where conditions, such as climate, make it possible to have the basics available from local sources. This definition supports the concept that rural areas where farms exist and can provide food locally are generally suitable for sustainable communities. As communities grow, however, they approach a point where sustainability may be questionable.

Perhaps the first indicators of unsustainability are the generation of demographics that classify families as poor or, in the case of communities, run-down neighborhoodsin the cities its the increase in the number of street people or the rise of ghettos.

Commerce, of course, shores up the threat of unsustainability. The resource paper, Tourism as Economic Development; A Brief Guide for Communities and Enterprise Developers, starts out with an excellent overview of how commerce relates to the the rise of a community. Also, the website of the Local Authorities Research & Intelligence Association (LARIA) offers a resource paper titled, Unsustainable Communities, which describes work done by David Butler in Manchester, England, to define and measure unsustainability.

Glossary, Appendix L, has additional information about things that affect sustainability.

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sustainable development:

Sustainable development is a process that maintains a momentum of community development in a location for an extended period. In terms of the global economy the phrase has come to mean that first consideration is given to the wants and need of a community so that local economic development occurs without taking away what future generations will need to carry onsee the definition of sustainable community in the .network glossary. Both expressions are embraced by those who are concerned about the future of the world's environment and limited resources in an accelerating rush towards over population and a global economy.

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sustainable communities:

The following attributes of a sustainable community are paraphrased from a webfile of the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance. Sustainable community is defined in the The Network glossary under its local economic development.

Sustainable communities ...

acknowledge that economic, environmental and social issues are interrelated.

acknowledge that the above issues should be addressed holistically.**

recognize the sensitive interface between a natural and man-made environment.

understand polluting, wasteful practices and move to shift from them.

understand their natural, cultural, historical and human assets and resources.

take actions to protect and enhance their assets and resources.

consider the full environmental, economic and social impacts of their existence.

consider the full environmental, economic and social impacts of development.

nurture the wants and needs of citizens through collaboration and participation.

promote resource conservation and pollution prevention.

focus on improving community health, livability, and quality of life.

act to create value-added products and services in the local economy.

** the community as a whole. ESCR-Net.org, the International Network for Economic, Social & Cultural Rights website, addresses holistic and sustainable development of communities. For more about holistic development of communities and sustainability copy and paste the following italicized keywords in the search box at the top of this page and Google.

sustainable holistic development communities

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