RALEIGH – The “rural-urban divide” is a hot point of conversations on the collective economic development of communities in North Carolina and throughout the broader U.S. In an upcoming event, NC State University’s Institute for Emerging Issues (IEI) plans explore the nuances of this topic, specifically showing examples of collaborations that are presently taking place in the state, often away from the spotlight of main discussion.

IEI’s ReCONNECT Rural & Urban Forum, coming uptoday at Raleigh Marriott Center City, will be a deep dive on the perceptions and realities of the rural-urban divide. The lineup features speakers from academia to philanthropy to faith-based organizations to the private sector.

The government perspective will be presented by both republican and democratic leaders including NC Governor Roy Cooper, NC House Speaker Tim Moore and senators Harry Brown, Floyd McKissick, Don Davis and Dan Blue.

Five selected community development initiatives will be presented as examples of rural-suburban-urban innovation at work:

  • Carolina Core, an initiative led by the Piedmont Triad Partnership developing four megasites totaling 7,200 acres of certified land for advanced manufacturing and industrial sites.
  • Growing Outdoors, a partnership between Asheville-based Mountain BizWorks and Henderson, Buncombe, Burke, Graham, Jackson, Macon and Mitchell counties focusing on the expansion of Western North Carolina’s outdoor industry into rural communities.
  • Project Empathy, a volunteer-led program in Transylvania County that hosts events and discussions on issues like gun control, health, justice and racial equality.
  • Project 40, a regional food system planning project involving Durham, Orange, Vance, Wake and Warren counties.
  • STEM SENC, an education expansion initiative between 27 organizations, schools, institutions and businesses across 13 southeastern NC counties.

Other highlights of the agenda include:

A series of presentations focused on rural-urban myths and realities, presented by Pew Research Center Associate Director of Research Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Triangle J Council of Governments Executive Director Lee Worsley and 2018-19 Burroughs Welcome Fund NC Teacher of the Year Freebird McKinney.

Another series discusses the benefits urban and rural partnerships have on different sectors and stakeholders. Laura Lane of UPS, Dennis Alvord of the U.S. Department of Commerce and Data Wetson of UNC Rockingham Health will present remarks from the perspective of business, public sector and healthcare (respectively).

A session will highlight collaborations between faith-based organizations and their communities, specifically a partnership between the Northern Piedmont District of the United Methodist Church and Greensboro-based Beloved Community Center that extends Guilford, Rockingham and northern Randolph counties. Relevant to the topic of this discussion, the Institute for Emerging issues announced just last week that it has received a $886,000 grant from the Duke Endowment for its Rural Faith Communities in Action Report.

Before lunch, Governor Roy Cooper will deliver an address on the imperative for bridging the gaps between rural and urban communities for the betterment of North Carolina.

A series of afternoon breakout sessions will facilitate brainstorming between attendees to strategize solutions on broadband, public housing, opioids and behavioral health, culture and recreation, transportation and workforce development. The sessions will be led by members of the General Assembly, workforce development organizations, U.S. Chamber of Commerce leadership, and other nonprofit and government representatives.

Later, the policy perspective will be presented in a session by NC House Speaker Tim Moore and NC Senator Dan Blue. Members of the media will also weigh in with a panel featuring Cullen Browder of WRAL-TV, Allen Johnson of the News & Record and Winston-Salem Journal, Ken MacDonald of The News-Journal, Melanie Sill of NC Local News Lab Fund and Tom Campbell of NC SPIN.

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The ReCONNECT Rural and Urban forum is the second step in a long-term strategy by the Institute for Emerging Issues to host biannual events on this topic over the course of three years.

The ReCONNECT NC initiative kicked off last year with an event in Asheville. According to IEI, the turnout for the Asheville event totaled 420 attendees and another 8,200 through broadcast.

Following the upcoming event in Raleigh on February 11, IEI will be hosting followup forums in Charlotte (October 2019), Raleigh (February 2020), Greenville (October 2020) and concluding back in Raleigh in February 2021.

IEI Director Leslie Boney says the goal is to leave attendees with an understanding about why working across county lines makes sense, and how they can do so in their own communities.

Boney notes that conferences on the “rural-urban divide” are not new, but the ReCONNECT series is adding nuance to the discussion by focusing how—and where—rural and urban areas are currently working together for mutual benefit.

“It turns out these alliances are happening quietly across the state—collaborations on economic development recruiting and workforce training, rural and urban areas collaborating to build food systems, or trying to figure out how to solve transportation needs or how to address affordable housing challenges,” Boney says.

The Institute for Emerging Issues has produced an Community Impact Report complete with policy followups and a track of where these conversations are going.

“We’ll be tracking outcomes over the next 2.5 years,” Boney adds, “but our greatest takeaways, we expect, will be the work done by our pioneering communities.”

https://wraltechwire.com/event/emerging-issues-forum-reconnect-rural-and-urban/