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Community and Economic Development

All Community and Economic Development Content
Group of people having discussion over coffee

Creative Placemaking

Creative placemaking can use arts, culture, and design to stimulate dialogue, promote economic development, and catalyze systemic changes that are essential to the development of communities.

A diverse group of young adults meeting inside a repurposed barn.

What is Placemaking?

Placemaking inspires people to collectively reimagine and reinvent public spaces as the heart of every community. By this definition, placemaking is possible for communities of all shapes and sizes in South Dakota.

Aberdeen Healthy Landscapes, Healthy Communities Initiative team.

Pilot Communities Selected for Healthy Landscapes, Healthy Communities Initiative

The Healthy Landscapes, Healthy Communities Initiative will provide communities across South Dakota an opportunity to envision vibrant public spaces through an engaged planning and design effort.

Agritourism proprietor and a local official meeting at a pumpkin patch.

Agritourism Provides Economic Benefits

Not only can agritourism support communities by generating income, agritourism has the potential to create jobs and support local economies.

Sign posted alongside a rural walking and biking path with a family walking in the distance.

Using Assets to Build Communities

A community asset is anything that a community already has that can be used to improve its quality of life. Learn some expert tips for identifying and leveraging your community's unique assets.

Multi-ethnic family unloading a moving truck.

The Vital Role of Newcomers in Rural Communities: Making Places Feel Like Home

In small towns and rural areas, new folks bring big changes that matter a lot. And when they feel welcomed and understood, they stick around and help make things better for everyone.

A green road sign that says South Dakota with the sunset in the background

Newcomers Survey

SDSU Extension has launched a newcomer survey to gain a better understanding of the reason that people are moving to South Dakota and will use the results to develop programming efforts to help communities welcome and retain newcomers. 

Volunteers working on a community construction project.

Our Community Will Never Change

Change is inevitable in all small towns, but communities have a choice to either let change happen passively or work together to direct it in a way that moves their shared vision into the future.

Young couple with moving truck.

Understanding the New Folks in Town

In rural communities, making an effort to understand newcomers better may result in them staying in your community longer, while also attracting more people like them.

Diverse group of townspeople meeting in a small group.

Marketing Your Hometown

Is your small town ready to grow? Learn how Marketing Hometown America, an Extension-based program, can help your community develop a plan to attract new residents!