Revitalizing rural areas: a comparative analysis of place-based approaches in the United States and Italy

This practice review presents two revitalization programmes in rural communities – the US Main Street Program (MS) and the Italian National Strategy for Inner Areas (SNAI). Both use place-based approaches rooted in historic heritage to revitalize rural areas suffering from structural economic decline, but they define place and they organize targeting, stakeholder engagement and participation very differently. The paper describes each programme and its achievements, strengths and structural limitations. It then suggests ways that each one, by adopting some of the strengths of the other programme, might enhance its effectiveness in the sustainable economic development of rural areas.