The Rural Livability Project

News & Updates

Check out the latest from our team!

Media Mention: The Livability Lens

The Wisconsin Counties Association featured the Rural Livability Project in its March 2026 issue, with an article by Tessa Conroy… Read More
The Rural Livability Project logo

New Publication: Impacts of Housing Financial Stress on Community Health

Steve Deller, Erin Gaede, and Tessa Conroy published a new study about the impacts of housing financial stress on expenditures… Read More
The Rural Livability Project logo

New Publication: Multidimensional Measures of Quality of Life

Yang Cheng, Tessa Conroy, and Steven Deller recently published new research on how different data-driven methods translate into different quality… Read More
Groupshot of the Rural Livability staff at NSARSC Workshop Conference

Research Recap: North American Regional Science Council Annual Meeting

Led by Tessa Conroy and Steven Deller, interdisciplinary scholars from around the country gathered to discuss rural livability in a… Read More
A group of rural community members attend a concert in a park. The stage is covered in a partial dome.

Media Mention: Livability as an Evolving Strategy for Economic Development

Mckenzie Boyce and Steven Deller were recently featured in a department article outlining how research from Ag and Applied Economics… Read More
Opening slide for a presentation titled The Impact of Housing Financial Stress on Community Well-Being, presented Oct 8, 2025

In the Community: Badger State Housing Alliance

Erin Gaede presented research on the impact of housing financial stress on community well-being for the “Curds of Wisdom” talk… Read More
Landscape of a rural town pockmarked with trees beneath a dramatic sky with a pastel orange sunset along the horizon.

New Publication: Linking Agriculture and the Nonfarm Rural Economies

In new research featured in Choices Magazine, Mckenzie Boyce and Steven Deller find “viable farms depend on healthy, diversified rural… Read More
headshot for Danielle Schmidt-Larios, Research Assistant at the Rural Livability Project

Award: Rural Sociological Society awards “Prosperity Across the United States” the Ron Wimberly Award

At their annual meeting in Salt Lake City, the Rural Sociological Society awarded the Ron Wimberly Graduate Student Paper Award… Read More
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