Kyra Troendle, a senior in Community and Regional Planning, presented a paper entitled “Investigating Social Networks in Support of Rural Shrink Smart” at the 17th Iowa State University Symposium on Undergraduate research and creative expression on April 20, 2023. Kyra worked as an undergraduate researcher on a project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. Kyra was hired to work as a summer intern as part of the NSF-funded research project entitled “Overcoming the Rural Data Deficit to Improve Quality of Life and Community Services in Smart & Connected Small Communities.” As part of her research, she worked with select communities to expand understanding of how social networks in small rural communities played a role in increasing social capital that further led to positive community-level changes. The abstract of her presentation is given below:
“Some communities continue to thrive as they lose population because they adapt and stay focused on quality of life, community services, and investing in the future of the town. Rural smart shrinkage is achieved through this dedication towards adaptation to population loss and devotion to mitigating the negative effects of population loss. This rural smart shrinkage can serve as a successful alternative to a focus on population growth. Shrinking small towns are characterized by towns experiencing faster than average population loss, and smart outcomes include faster than average gains in quality of life. There are many factors that could correlate this smart shrinkage including demographics, workforce, and social capital.
Smart shrinkage towns include diverse groups engaged in community organizations and social networks. Understanding how organizations and residents work together to build social capital which allows them to accomplish different objectives is imperative to identifying smart shrinkage. Specifically how various civic and social organizations network, the role individuals play, and how this activity is sustained provides insight. Through engagement in collective actions for greater community goals, shrinking towns can preserve the quality of life standards. By identifying community needs and obtaining resources to implement projects robust social networks are formed.”