Research continues into Emporia’s future direction.
Last fall, the city and Tunica County, Mississippi, were approved to split $250,000 in funding through the US Department of Agriculture’s Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge. The early public work has already seen a round of input meetings and is into a short 10-minute survey available at rpa2023.com/emporia.
City leaders and the city’s partner, Atlas Community Studios, say the survey — along with last month’s public input sessions — will develop a snapshot now to help the city later. Here’s Atlas Vice President Alex Holland:
The survey asks for opinions on the condition of public infrastructure; opportunities for job seekers, housing, recreation and cultural experiences; favorite activities; economic development challenges and more. Holland says survey responses will remain anonymous. Once the survey work is done, background work shifts to focus groups, additional interviews and data research.
The USDA is looking for certain facest as part of the city’s finished plan, including an analysis of broadband Internet capacity for homes and businesses, strategy development to improve local housing, new or enhanced cultural and recreational amenities, strengthened workforce development and establishing a peer exchange network.
