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Why is this theme important to small towns? |
As small towns expand they will have to accommodate the needs of new residents, as well as the existing community. This will include providing services such as housing, jobs, education and health care (see ‘Jobs and Employment’ and ‘Community Safety and Facilities’ components). It should also consist of including all members of the community in governance decisions. (see ‘Partnership and Governance’ component). Minority or equalities groups may be even harder to reach in small towns compared with larger urban areas. It is easy to overlook hard-to-reach members of a community due to the lack of time, money, or skills. Yet, such members have as much right as anyone else to be involved in town affairs and gain access to opportunities (see ‘Community Dialogue’ component). Existing minority groups may be as small as a single person or family. Expanding towns may even have to accommodate for minority groups, which have not previously existed in the local area.
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