Rural Needs, Statewide Answers Webinar: Living in the Middle of Everywhere
Wednesday, August 28, 2024, 12:00–1:00 pm
Virtual
About the Event
The notion that rural residents live “in the middle of nowhere” perpetuates a negative narrative that is not based on the reality of community life. Modern life is complex, as we live, work, shop, and play in a wide region. At the same time, most of our planning is done at a city or county level.
In this webinar, rural sociologist Ben Winchester discussed this dynamic and its implications for tourism, marketing, transportation planning, resident recruitment, and housing. He also reviewed an asset-based community development exercise that can help us better understand this web of regional activity as it varies by age and interest.
The webinar was held as part of CTS's Rural Needs, Statewide Answers: Improving Transportation for All Communities thematic focus in 2024.
Speaker
Benjamin Winchester is a rural sociologist with the Department of Community Development at University of Minnesota Extension. Ben has been working both in and for small towns across the Midwest for over 25 years. He conducts applied research on economic, social, and demographic topics surrounding the theme of “rewriting the rural narrative.” He recently received the international Rural Renewal Research Prize in 2021 for this work. Ben lives in St. Cloud, Minnesota, with his wife and two children.