Document Type

Capstone Project

Publication Date

Summer 7-25-2025

Keywords

Applied Anthropology, Applied Research, Design Research, Rural Design, Placemaking, Stevenson Center, Rural, Community Engagement, Revitalization, Community Engaged Design

First Advisor

Dr. Gina Hunter

Second Advisor

Dr. Livia Stone

Abstract

Sierra Mack-Erb is a 2025 graduate of the Stevenson Center’s Applied Community and Economic Development Fellows Program at Illinois State University, earning their M.S. in Cultural Anthropology. This report summarizes their experience conducting capstone research during their second year professional practice with the Housing Assistance Council, a national nonprofit that supports affordable housing efforts throughout rural America, and overviews their graduate capstone research study. As a fellow at the Housing Assistance Council, Sierra spent significant time supporting the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design, a national rural design program and the focal point of their capstone research study. CIRD is a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Housing Assistance Council. Focusing on rural communities with populations of 50,000 or less, CIRD’s goal is to enhance the quality of life and economic vitality of rural America through planning, design, and creative placemaking. This research study sought to understand the value and meaning rural community members ascribe to design as a result of participation in this program and served as the program’s first in-depth participant evaluation. Leveraging ethnographic methods that prioritize in-depth interactions with rural community members, this research finds that CIRD’s unique community-engaged design process is significantly valuable to rural participants, both socially and economically, due to its emphasis on locally led solutions development and its stewardship of a vast rural network that connects communities facing common obstacles. As such, it is a vital resource to rural communities engaged in design and development projects and rural revitalization efforts.

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