How a 276-person town in Kansas is turning an empty school into a business incubator

With the help of the nonprofit West End Economic Development Corporation (WEEDC), communities in Southwest Colorado use creative financing and collective action to rebuild their economies after the downfall of the coal mining industry. One town, Nucla, invested in a coworking space, business classes. and other tools to help community members start and maintain small businesses.

Belgrade, Montana, a city 12 miles outside of Bozeman, uses creative financing and revitalization to ensure its identity remains independent from its rapidly growing and ever-popular adjacent city. While many residents of Belgrade work in Bozeman, the city has developed "tax-based renewal strategies" and restaurant liquor license regulations to ensure Belgrade stays on the map.

As the Mountain West transitions away from mining and other industrial economic drivers, rural cities find their way into successful economies by relying on local entrepreneurial spirit and the surrounding landscape. Businesses like SmartLam in rural Montana rely on local resources - in SmartLam's case, timber - and sustainable, future-oriented strategy to make a ripple in the economy of the rural West.

The town of Danville, Virginia survived the downfall of the mill industry by using creative financing and investing in solid economic infrastructure that will remain sustainable into the future. The town has invested in broadband and used funds from a tobacco settlement to re-install city money into local institutions.

Innovative mine reclamation projects across five states in the Appalachian region allow local organizations, schools, and businesses to clean up and utilize abandoned mine land. From a school that's transforming abandoned mine land into a field of solar panels to a housing development project that uses abandoned mine federal grant money to build affordable and energy efficient housing, the Appalachian region is using a comprehensive approach to renew blighted mines.

The town of Three Forks, Montana has managed to grow at a steady, manageable pace, relying on multiple economic drivers to keep the community afloat while other towns nearby have suffered from over-reliance on the coal and railroad industries. Town leaders learned from the downfall of the railroad boom, investing in businesses processing cement, wheat, and more to maintain economic diversification.

Unlike many other small Montana towns, the community of Three Forks has managed to humbly thrive by investing in several economic drivers rather than rely solely on the railroad as its only large employer. With booming talc and cement plants as well as new entrepreneurial spirit, Three Forks remains steady and continues to renovate for tourists and town-folk alike.

Lea County, New Mexico felt the downfall of the oil industry deeply; now, towns like Hobbs rebuild their economic infrastructure by investing in alternative energy plants as well as affordable housing for its residents. The comprehensive approach builds the economic foundation of the community while ensuring that the people working in the town have access to affordable places to live.

For years, one of Cleveland's poorest neighborhoods seemed unalterable no matter how many government programs and well-meaning philanthropies got involved; a place where abject poverty, joblessness and crime reinforce the racism in a city long divided, and where infants still die at a higher rate than almost anywhere else in the country. But a former CIA executive and a new breed of lettuce are transforming the poorest parts of the Rust Belt city.

A collaboration between the state government, tribal councils, and conservation organizations has allowed the greater one-horned rhino to make a comeback in India. Since this initiative started, the rhino population in Manas National Park has increased to almost 3,000. The program is largely successful because it sought buy-in from locals and they converted poachers into conservationists by offering them a monthly stipend.