A “rural community” is typically hard to define. Often it is just thought of as the opposite urban. But small towns, farm towns and under populated towns all have different characteristics and can contribute to a different definition of “rural”. A recent report from Purdue researchers defined what constitutes a rural community in Indiana to help solve problems in such communities.
Guests for this show included Greencastle mayor Sue Murray, Frank Nierzwicki, community planner and lecturer of urban planning at SPEA, Jacob Sipe, the Executive Director of the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority and Carmen Lethig, the IHCDA Real Estate Production Manager.
Before you can solve the problems of a small town, you have to know what constitutes a "rural community" in Indiana. Purdue Extension's Center for Rural Development released a reportthat defines what a rural community is. Agriculture economist Brigitte Waldorf gave this definition of how to define counties:
Rural:
Rural/Mixed
Urban
The problems facing rural counties and towns include aging population, no access to broadband internet, a depleted workforce little job opportunity. Our panel discusses how towns facing these problems can become economically viable again, and look at some Indiana towns that have done this successfully.