Oregon Rural Communities Explorer

The Oregon Rural Communities Explorer provides public, online access to social, demographic, economic, and environmental information about Oregon’s rural counties and places.  It is a public, unbiased information system and teaching tool for rural leaders, engaged residents, program practitioners, and foundations.  2005-2009 Oregon Community Data now available! The Oregon Communities Reporter Tool has just been updated with data for 2005-2009 from the American Community Survey and 30 other sources.

The Oregon Rural Communities Explorer provides access to information about:

• The environment, economy, and demography of rural communities, including statistics for urban communities in Oregon
• Rural community vitality
• The causes, consequences, and significance of rural issues
• How communities work and change
• Where additional rural resources are and how to use them

In order to fulfill this mission, The Oregon Rural Communities Explorer team regularly collects, maintains, analyzes, and presents:

• Community data
• Rural research
• Community stories and local reports contributed by Oregon residents
• Historical documents and community visions contributed by Oregon residents

Additional resources and portals

What is available & how is it useful?  Social, demographic, environmental, and economic data for all 723 (urban and rural) places and 36 counties in Oregon collected by many public agencies

Use this information to:

• Identify the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities in a community
• Anticipate future changes in the community
• Focus policy or program efforts in the community using clear metrics

Rural community visions, priorities and indicators as set by communities

Use this information to:

• Focus time, energy, and money on reaching community-defined goals
• See if the community is reaching its goals Rural issue essays and research Use this information to:
• Understand the causes, consequences, and significance of environmental, economic, demographic, and social issues

Focus on actions that tackle issues from their root causes GIS (Geographic Information Systems) tools to map issues across the state

Use this information to:

• Target investments and programs on the places that have the need
• Identify communities with similar issues that could work together

Rural stories, local reports, and historical documents

Use this information to:

• Advocate for change that respects the local culture and history
• Use locally-created knowledge to guide programs and policies
• Promote the community to outsiders

A visual model that shows how communities work and change

Use this information to:

• See how you can change a community with different focuses of action

Rural organizational resources, issue experts, social networks, and guides to additional data

Use this information to:

• Identify organizational partners and allies
• Identify experts who can help assess and explain community issues
• Network with other engaged residents and organizations
• Access more data and better analysis tools
  
  Content Contact:  Lena Etuk