The multi-state, North Central Region (NCR) Housing Working Group has released a comprehensive guide aimed at empowering university extension educators with the skills, knowledge, and tools to tackle housing deficiencies in rural areas. The curriculum, Building Options: Flexible Housing Curriculum for Rural Communities, emphasizes community engagement, research, and education, and the development and implementation of strategies to improve access to housing in rural communities.
The thematic, multi-state group which developed the curriculum, consists of 15 extension representatives from eight NCR land-grant universities. They began meeting in 2023 to examine the assertion that the housing conditions in many of the region’s rural communities need addressing and if and how the Cooperative Extension System could play a role in improving rural housing. After examining available state and regional data and reviewing the existing solutions, programs, and resources available to assist, both within and outside of the Cooperative Extension System, they identified the need to build a regional framework that compiles the various programs and tools into one organized yet flexible offering for extension services to quickly identify, understand, and, where appropriate, utilize.
The NCR housing working group, led by Lisa Bates, Assistant Director, Community and Economic Development (CED), Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, received a 3-year grant from the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD) and was the Center’s first working group established. The members of the Housing Working Group represent the following universities: Iowa State University, Michigan State University, Purdue University, University of Illinois, University of Wisconsin, University of Nebraska, Kansas State University, and the University of Missouri.
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The North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD) is one of four Regional Rural Development Centers in the United States. NCRCRD’s work links the research and educational outreach capacity of our region’s 34 land-grant universities with rural communities to help address a wide range of development issues unique to our 12-state region. Information about NCRCRD funding opportunities.
The Center’s work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.