Policy paper shows how local strategies are helping revitalize three small cities: Wheeling, Emporia and Laramie

Part of the historic district of Laramie, Wyoming (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)

A five-part policy paper aims to cut through stereotypes to show small-town America as it really is and discuss examples of local strategies for sustainable growth in three small cities (Wheeling, West Virginia; Laramie, Wyoming; and Emporia, Kansas) and surrounding rural areas. Its authors argue that this is more important than ever as such places struggle economically during the pandemic.

Pundits and policymakers (not to mention the general public) often paint rural and small-town America as a monolith of white people who depend on traditional industries and struggle with stagnation, decline and despair. "These characterizations are not just inaccurate; they actively obscure effective solutions for rural economic and community development and the local efforts underway to implement them," Hanna Love and Mike Powe write for the Brookings Institution.

Love is a senior research analyst for Brookings' Metropolitan Policy Program. Powe is the director of research at Main Street America, a nonprofit focused on revitalizing older and historic commercial districts. They write, "For decades, local leaders have been implementing locally tailored economic development strategies that value and build upon place-based assets, and have garnered real successes in fostering recreation, amenity-based, and service economies that support rural places of opportunity." Here's a brief summary of each part:

Main Streets are a key driver of equitable economic recovery: Downtown revitalization of commercial corridors outside metropolitan areas can foster economic revival for small businesses and make small cities more equitable, dynamic and resilient. Love and Powe provide a framework for evaluating revitalization efforts and applying elsewhere the lessons learned in Wheeling, Laramie, and Emporia.

Non-metro small businesses need local solutions to survive: The pandemic disproportionately hurts small businesses, especially outside metro areas, places that were still rebounding from the Great Recession. They often had less access to capital, poor broadband connectivity, and were more likely to be the most immediately vulnerable industries than their urban counterparts, Love and Powe write. This section discusses the role downtown revitalization and government support can play in helping underserved rural small businesses develop, survive and grow.

A flexible, accessible and healthy built environment; Non-metro residents face persistent barriers, such as lack of access to health care, broadband, and fresh food, and they're disproportionately likely to be struggling with poverty, debt, and isolation. "Rural small businesses face similar challenges in connectivity and capital access, and are suffering further due to their concentration in the most immediately vulnerable industries," Love and Powe write. This section explores whether downtown revitalization can promote the improvements needed for the health and resilience of a broader swath of rural residents and small businesses.

Main Streets can't achieve true economic revival without bridging social divides: Non-metro revitalization and growth increasingly rely on immigrants, but many places struggle with racism or elitism that makes them feel unwelcome. "This brief examines whether downtown revitalization can help foster cohesive social environments that nurture racial and economic inclusion, reflect community identity, and enhance residents’ attachments to place," Love and Powe write.

Creating a shared vision of rural resilience through community-led civic structures: "As governmental responses to the covid-19 pandemic remain inconsistent and marked by disparate outcomes by race and place, people and small businesses are turning to local organizations for relief—seeking support from the community and civic structures they know and trust. While much attention has been paid to community-based actors in cities, less is known about how community organizations and coalitions are stepping up in rural areas, where residents and small businesses face similar barriers in accessing relief," Love and Rowe write. "This brief examines how the place-based entities behind downtown revitalization can not only provide relief to residents and small businesses, but also how they can support the development and capacity of other community organizations, coalitions, and networks to build resilience in the years to come."