With the American Mountain Theater and Scenic WV Rail Excursions, the Elkins area has experienced some exciting improvements in its “quality of place.” The important point about these investments is not only how it draws in tourism dollars (over 300 buses full of tourists are projected for 2008), but how it builds Elkins into a…

Part of retaining any important demographic is to ensure there is a strong sense of community for them. Almost any region can be “home” if there are strong relationships in place. Towards that end, Generation West Virginia, a statewide coalition of young leaders and talent organizations, is launching their efforts with a special event April…

The Washington Times recently documented the impact of Wal-Mart’s decision to leave Oak Hill and open up a larger “super center” in Fayetteville. The impact on Fayetteville’s city budget has been significant, but Oak Hill has developed a spunky attitude about filling the void. The town set some revenue aside in a rainy-day fund, aware…

Does your community want to move forward but the public officials or informal leaders are not sure how to proceed? A good place to learn the “tools of the trade” for community and economic development is the Community Development Institute East. This national training program that will be held April 28 through May 2 at…

Two more case studies on how to re-invigorate life in smaller towns and cities. Johnstown, PA, a rustbelt city in Western PA, that has declined from a population of 63,000 fifty years ago to just 22,000 today as heavy manufacturing collapsed. Can a ghost town come back to life? From AP: Decades after heavy industry…