Landscape Architect by day, economic and community development proponent...well, also by day and sometimes by night.
We have both been thinking about rural communities since moving to rural Custer in 2001 (well, Matt moved back to his hometown) and have been mulling this question; Why do some rural towns thrive and other languish? We're not the only ones wondering. Dakota Resources has been working to ensure that communities and entrepreneurs thrive for almost 25 years!
At Tallgrass, we've been putting together our observations about rural communities in our area and we think that the answer might be found by looking at parallels in nature. Tanya drops some hints at our thinking in this article about Custer. What do YOU think the difference is between towns that thrive or die?
From Dakota Resources
“I look at it like building a garden. You have to start with building healthy “soil” first to support a very large variety of businesses and that’s how you build a thriving community. Right now, Custer is the most vibrant it’s been in 20 years, but all that early effort laid the groundwork for younger people to come in and start these new businesses.” - Tanya Olson, Tallgrass Landscape Architecture
Read the first part of our two part series about the work Custer Area Economic Development Corporation is doing in their community.