Advancing inclusive development in rural towns

Rural areas account for 85% of the nation’s persistently poor counties. This points to a clear need to advance a more inclusive economic future for rural America. This imperative is not simply a “rural” one, however. The geographic divergence that divides the country between “winner-takes-most” and “left-behind” places harms the nation as a whole by concentrating productivity in too few regions, while leaving large swaths underperforming in their economic potential. Fortunately, local leaders across rural America have long been implementing bottom-up economic development strategies to “grow-from-within” by investing in uniquely rural and place-based assets.

On October 3, Brookings Metro and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) brought together national, state, and local leaders from rural America to discuss community-centered and bottom-up approaches to inclusive economic development. The event featured the experiences and lessons learned from an in-depth Brookings and LISC-led “Learning Lab” deployed in three rural Indiana towns, which was devoted to advancing economic inclusion by linking disinvested rural districts to broader regional growth strategies. It also offered concrete policy recommendations for how state, local, and federal governments can better advance inclusive access to opportunity, quality of place, and quality of life in rural America.

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