Towns, villages and neighborhoods in Alabama, and across America, face an uncertain future — a future which is increasingly threatened by large scale changes in our economy, population shifts, the impact of telecommunications and mass merchandising, and changes in land policy.

In the face of these forces, communities struggle to maintain their vitality and even their sense of identity. Whether the threat is sudden growth or stagnation, planning and design decisions can often make the difference between survival and decay, between healthy prosperity and decline. Despite the crucial importance of planning and design, small communities rarely have good access to professional assistance and information on the application of planning and design to their communities’ issues.

The Your Town Alabama program is a first step in meeting these needs. The workshop format is an intensive engagement of citizen leaders and professionals. Our time together is intended to be highly participatory with lectures, case study presentations, and interactive group problem solving, including work on realistic issues in a hypothetical small town. The goal is to provide advanced leadership skills supported by information and planning tools that can be taken home to all corners of our state and applied to the process of designing our future!

To cultivate leadership which understands the value of planning; knows where and how to find technical assistance and expertise; and has the confidence to take action on a local level: citizen leaders who have the skills to determine their community’s future — rather than be resigned to fate.

Our History

Your Town Alabama is based directly on a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) leadership initiative program Your Town: Designing Its Future that was developed specifically to respond to the design needs of small towns and rural areas in our state.