Last year, the community of Chittenden County, Vermont embarked on an important project: ECOS Project is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to engage citizens, organizations and municipalities in a conversation about the future of each one of the communities within this Chittenden County region.

A community planner from the “Back 40”, working on a multi-jurisdictional planning process for a small, rural community recently posed this question on Cyburbia. Planner.tk, a local design firm associate and community planner with a passion for 'saving the environment', inquires about how to drum up successful public participation in their county of less than 30,000 people. Insights and ideas came in from fellow Cyburbia members regarding useful techniques in community development as well as unique challenges faced by planners focused on rural areas.