Rural Communities Design Initiative
A model of innovation and prosperity
in rural communities
The Rural Communities Design Initiative (RCDI) is a collaborative effort between WSU design disciplines, including WSU faculty in History, Business, Sociology, & Communications, WSU Extension, and rural community partners throughout the Pacific Northwest. The RCDI aims to enhance the social, cultural, economic, and natural capital of unique rural places through design interventions in the physical environment.
Rural Communities Design Initiative (RCDI), an action-oriented program of research focusing on the revitalization of very small rural, under-resourced communities with populations of less than 2000. Finding new ways to restore, preserve, and revitalize such communities can entice investors, encourage the young to stay, and provide opportunity for those who have left to return.
The RCDI promotes economic prosperity in small, rural communities through community engagement and participatory design in a Rural Community Studio (RCS). The RCS pairs the creative resources of design students and faculty with the goals of rural communities throughout the Pacific Northwest. The design interventions aim to transform the built environment through:
- Community visioning through participatory design
- Capacity building through community build projects