Greenville, like many rural communities in Illinois, was following a traditional economic development strategy focused on attracting businesses into Greenville and its industrial park. After working through the planning process, Greenville expanded its vision to include support of a culture of art and creativity, with a mission to: Develop and support the arts and creativity in Greenville, to expand tourism; enhance entrepreneurial development; create economic prosperity and improve the quality of life for its residents.

To follow the plan, arts are included in all community events, pop-up shops and vendor booths are at festivals and events, artists are networking through social media, and a tourism director was hired.

Greenville has accomplished this.

The project was designed to be inclusive, both in process and perspective. In addition to geospatial mapping, the mapping process used video-based, iterative interviews to capture individuals’ reflections to curate a holistic vision around strengths and opportunities in Peoria’s cultural ecosystem. The interview methodology focused on engaging underrepresented stakeholders, and on using an iterative process of listening, capturing community thoughts, sharing those thoughts through video, and listening to responses via individual conversations, focus groups and reflection. The project encompassed non-profit, for-profit, third-sector, and other activity; a broad array of artistic and cultural forms, and ways to engage with them; an array of artists and culture-bearers; and the variety of values and meaning that people ascribe to arts and culture.

The project has contributed significantly to Peoria and Illinois by fostering reflection and connections across the area's cultural ecosystem to identify strengths and opportunities, providing community research-based cultural asset mapping products that can inform local and regional community and sustainability planning, and serving as a pilot project to inform and model how cultural asset mapping can be applied in communities across Illinois.

Counties participating include Alexander, Johnson, Massac, Pulaski and Union, which are known for their scenic beauty, outdoor recreation, historic sites, state parks, orchards, wineries, restaurants and unique lodging facilities amidst the backdrop of Shawnee Forest Country – the 289,000-acre Shawnee National Forest. The Illinois project team guided the rural, economically distressed region through a comprehensive assessment process that included an inventory of retail and hospitality sector businesses, a series of community forum events, and a business retention and expansion (BRE) program outlined to gather input on the needs of retail and hospitality sector businesses. In the final phase, the region is implementing strategies to strengthen the sectors based on the data collected. As a result of the knowledge gained during the pilot projects in the six states, the CREATE BRIDGES National Team is in the process of finalizing the new curriculum so it can be shared with Extension colleagues across the US.