Purpose, History & Facts
The MAPPING (Management and Planning Programs Involving Nonmetropolitan Groups) THE FUTURE OF YOUR COMMUNITY program is a strategic visioning and planning process whereby local residents of rural communities create a long-range vision for the economic development of their community and a plan of action for achieving it. MAPPING projects enhance local decision-making processes by providing accurate information, effective forums for public dialogue and problem solving, and knowledge of innovative practices that are consistent with a community's vision for growth and change. MAPPING the Future of Your Community is a tool that local leaders and citizens can use to create a shared vision of the community's future and generate momentum to put the plan into action.
History
Governments throughout rural Illinois faced a series of threats and challenges during the 1980s and early 1990s. Employment opportunities in the industrial, manufacturing, and farming sectors were declining. As the number of goods-producing jobs declined, an exodus of young people and other talented individuals occurred in rural Illinois as higher-paying careers were sought in urban areas. Weakened economies, aging populations, and a gradual erosion of public infrastructure systems only accelerated a downward spiral of shrinking property values, limited tax bases, failing schools, and the loss of other public services in rural areas. Crisis prompted action in many towns facing socioeconomic chaos-some thrived, but a few barely survived.
THE MAPPING THE FUTURE OF YOUR COMMUNITY program was created in 1991 at the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs, located at Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL. With initial support from the Office of the Lt. Governor and the Governor's Rural Affairs Council, the MAPPING program was designed to help leaders in small rural communities improve their decision-making process for community and economic development. Since 1996 the support for this program was transferred to the IL Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
Noteworthy Facts
- MAPPING the Future of Your Community began in 1991 with support from the Office of the Lieutenant Governor and the Governor's Rural Affairs Council.
- Funding for the MAPPING project shifted to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity in FY1996.
- As of November 2006, the Community MAPPING project has been conducted in 95 cities located in 48 different Illinois counties.
- The average size MAPPING community has a population of about 3,000, however, communities participating in the program have ranged in size from as small as 313 to as large as 18,441. The average number of community participants in MAPPING programs is 30 people -- since 1991, more than 3,000 rural Illinois residents have participated in MAPPING programs!
- With the majority of support coming from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, MAPPING is designed to provide assistance to communities that might not otherwise be able to afford these services from private-sector contractors. In addition, community sponsorships, based on population size and travel costs, help offset some of our program expenses.
- Results from MAPPING community visioning and planning projects over the past 15 years are impressive - examples include houses built, entrepreneurial businesses developed, parks and recreation amenities improved, increased access to health care services, and other widespread, organized efforts for community and economic development. An outcome study conducted in 2004 revealed that 77% of MAPPING communities went on to successfully create new jobs in their communities.
