There is so much happening right now in eastern Kentucky to help usher in the new economy. Every community has at least one story about at least one person who is moving and shaking and collaborating to make their place stronger for the future ahead. We’ve been trying to feature some of these stories on this blog in our Transition in Action series.
In the process of collecting those stories, we’ve realized that it really does take a village to make change happen, and that even though we’ve been telling individual stories, when those stories are combined, they show the full interconnected web of what’s happening in their respective communities.
That’s why we’ve decided to shift the focus of TIA a bit. Instead of just telling one story a week from one community, we’re going to be taking a deeper dive into one respective community a month in the hopes of more fully capturing the entire landscape of community building work that’s happening there. We’re hoping these deep dives will make the full scope of Just Transition in the region more apparent, and we’re hoping it will help to shed some light on all the good things that are going on in eastern Kentucky at this critical juncture.
We’re kicking things off this month in Hazard, Ky. We hope you’ll stick around to learn more about what’s happening there, because it surely is a lot.
"In that century, Lynch has mirrored the history of Eastern Kentucky as coal jobs swung up and down and families moved out to find work during hard times.... Now, like the rest of the region, Lynch is looking for a new way forward. Residents are trying to promote tourism and small businesses to create jobs, and a study about the possibility of merging with two nearby towns is underway."
It was the world’s largest company coal town. As it turns 100, it fights to stay alive.
kentucky.com
The Kentucky coal town of Lynch, in Harlan County, turns 100 this year. The town has dwindled from its heyday and faces challenges that include a declining population and tax base, but residents are trying to breathe new life into the town.
"Once the people in our region can get affordable broadband at work and at home the potential for community and economic development is great."
Transition in Action, Broadband: Mimi Pickering
appalachiantransition.org
Who are you, and what’s your role at your organization? I am Mimi Pickering and I am a documentary filmmaker and director of Appalshop’s Community Media Initiative. For a number of years I have bee…
"Gallardo’s take away point for these communities is that “the real threat to economic development is the digital divide,” and that rural communities have real opportunities to prosper despite their size or geographic locale when they’re able to secure access and implement adoption in their communities."
Watch: Bridging the Digital Divide, Dr. Roberto Gallardo
appalachiantransition.org
This month, we’re exploring why broadband is so important to rural communities. No one quite answers that question like Dr. Roberto Gallardo, an extension professor who specializes in Tech Outreach…