AFN Member Shares their Use of Thriving Downtowns Playbook

In June 2022, AFN’s Downtown Revitalization Group, in collaboration with Central Appalachian Network (CAN), released their jointly-commissioned project, Thriving Downtowns: An Investment Playbook for Rural Appalachia. This playbook highlights seven projects from the Appalachian region, identifies the unique successful elements in each, and draws out some common learnings (i.e., enabling conditions) for use by practitioners of rural downtown revitalization. AFN member the Appalachian College Association has made great use of the playbook, and their president, Beth Rushing, kindly shared a glimpse into their ongoing work:

“Thriving Downtowns provides an investment playbook for rural Appalachian communities who wish to engage in downtown revitalization to spur economic, social, and cultural vitality. As a former downtown resident and lifelong fan of downtown spaces, the case studies and tools offered in this playbook appealed to me. And as an advocate of higher education in Appalachia, I was especially excited to see references to colleges and universities as important potential partners for downtown revitalization.

I serve as the president of the Appalachian College Association (ACA), a consortium of 34 private colleges and universities in central Appalachia. While most of our member institutions are relatively small, collectively we have more than 77,000 students and at least 10,000 full time faculty and staff, and over $1.4 billion in annual expenditures. Our member institutions are essential to the economic, cultural, and social lives of the communities where they’re located. They play a crucial role in addressing the issues Appalachian communities face – in health care, education, business, and civic life. 

Students, faculty, staff, and alumni of colleges and universities are often deeply invested in having vibrant downtown communities. They want to work, dine, shop, and play in such spaces. They often have expertise to bring for the development of new businesses as well. 

One example within the Appalachian College Association is Tennessee Wesleyan University’s LITE House. The LITE House is a collaborative project developed by Tennessee Wesleyan’s Goodfriend School of Business and leaders from the Athens/McMinn area.  It is an entrepreneurial ecosystem that provides services such as:  co-working space, private offices, mentors for start-up business, summer camps focusing on entrepreneurship for children and teens, workshops for women in business and so much more.  The LITE House is helping to develop budding entrepreneurs for the community and the region. 

The Playbook describes several ways that colleges and universities can be partners in rural downtown revitalization. On November 17, 2022, Ruthie Caldwell and Melissa Levy, two of the authors of the Playbook, met with representatives from ACA institutions to discuss how the Playbook’s observations and tools might be utilized by colleges and universities to enhance the downtown areas of their communities.”

It's inspiring to learn how members like ACA are putting AFN resources to good use and enhancing their investment strategies to bring new life to downtowns across the region. If you have a project you’d like to share with your fellow AFN members, please contact us.