THE RURBAN FRINGE

Do Small Communities Foster Entrepreneurship?

While studies, practitioners, and scholars have long flogged the importance of entrepreneurs in revitalizing rural areas, do small communities do the same thing?
Brian Whitacre and Lara Brooks examined five rural Oklahoma towns with successful entrepreneurship examples to determine just that … and captured their findings for the Daily Yonder, an online compendium of rural news.
In their study, [...]

The Rurban Fringe ‘Eat Local’ Challenge: Day 100

That’s a wrap, folks!  I’ve reached the end of the challenge … but not without a few struggles, highlights, and revelations along the way.  I’d like to take some time to reflect on what it meant for me, personally, to consciously think about the purchase and consumption of local food items over a period of time … [...]

A Municipal Insighting Initiative

Communities of Tomorrow, a partnership venture dedicated to exploring innovative and sustainable infrastructure solutions, is working with a number of Saskatchewan communities to prepare brainstorming sessions on creative approaches to infrastructure challenges.
Calling the process insighting, the sessions aim to gather everyone from equipment operators to senior engineers together to tackle challenging infrastructure problems and devise solutions.
It’s [...]

The Decline of Rural Volunteerism

Did you know …

rural residents are more likely to have a strong sense of belonging to their local community;
rural residents are more likely to attend public meetings; and
rural residents are more likely to do volunteer work?

It’s true.*  
It’s also been documented that rural volunteerism helps nurture community sustainability.
Yet there are signs that volunteering rates may be [...]

Community Schools Get Celebrity Backing

In the US, a Senate bill calling for $1 billion to expand the number of full-service community schools is gaining momentum.
A twist on the traditional school model, community schools often provide additional services to students and their families such as primary, dental, or mental health care, career counselling, or nutrition education.
The bill proposes to set up a [...]

keep looking »