Community Builders

Technical assistance: the goals of the technical assistance program are to: 1) help communities make tangible progress on specific livability objectives; 2) build local capacity to help communities advance livability solutions on their own; and 3) create models and success stories that inspire and inform progress in other communities within the american west region. In fy21, we delivered assistance to several Colorado communities, including: gunnison county, eagle county, the town of silverton, and the town of hotchkiss. Our work in gunnison and eagle county focused on pandemic response and recovery. In hotchkiss we helped local partners working to transform a publicly owned building into a Community / downtown asset. In silverton, we are helping the Community create a vision and Community master plan to guide future growth and development.

Tools & insights: our tools and insights program provides stories, information, and tools to give communities resources and inspiration to build more livable places. This year, we developed new tools focused on educating people on brownfields clean-up and revitalization.

Training: the goals of the training program are to: 1) increase knowledge, competence, and leadership abilities of people who make/influence decisions about how the Community grows and changes over time; and 2) help local leaders develop the partnerships, tools, inspiration, and direction they need to advance livability. In fy20, we hosted the building better places training in grand junction, Colorado for local leaders who want to build leadership and understanding of planning, policies and engagement to shape more livable communities for everyone. We also developed and delivered virtual training on pandemic economic recovery through partnerships with the Montana downtown coalition and Colorado main street program.