Positively Corry
City of Corry, PA
HoW CAN A SMALL TOWN REVERSE DECADES OF DECLINE AND ENGAGE NEW COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS IN THE PROCESS?
SUMMARY
Similar to many small towns in America, Corry has experienced a loss of viable employment opportunities and an outmigration of its workforce age population. The impacts were felt by declining enrollment in the school district, a growing prevalence of blight in neighborhoods, and an overall lack of pride that was self-perpetuating.
czb worked closely with local nonprofit Impact Corry and an enthusiastic Steering Committee to analyze local market conditions, identify critical assets, and ultimately create a prioritized strategic plan that directs scarce resources toward revitalizing Corry.
Creating Local Capacity for Plan Implementation
In any community, plans need local champions to make the recommendations come to life.
In Corry, addressing challenges and leveraging opportunities requires a new set of community agreements and a commitment to act on them. The community decided to commit to five specific big things that Corry must get right.
Community Voices and Data Reveal Challenges and Opportunities
Throughout the project, the steering committee wrestled with the objective data and a wide variety of input from their neighbors across Corry. Ultimately, it was their responsibility to propose community priorities and identify the most important strengths to leverage.
Getting the Big Things Right Across Corry
Our team worked with community to develop detailed action plans, and identify champions and funding sources to ensure The Five Big Things could be accomplished.
A Community Strategic Plan to Guide Corry's Path Forward
Every community is different. Each has a unique set of issues as well as needs and wants. Accordingly, each requires a specifically tailored path to move forward.
Much of the work in Corry was about nurturing a committed group of diverse residents, from all walks of life, to champion the plan and move it forward. The plan is definitive in terms of its recommended implementation actions, and each of the Five Big Things has an associated ‘champion team’ taking the lead on implementation and accountability. This is small town planning at its best.
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