In colonial times western Rhode Island was referred to as the “Vacant Lands,” and the “Quiet Corner” is a name still used for northeastern Connecticut. Both of these areas are part of the Borderlands—the largest patch of mostly undeveloped lands between Boston and Washington, DC.

A swath of land straddling the Connecticut-Rhode Island border from Long Island Sound to the Massachusetts border, the largely rural Borderlands region is even visible from space in nighttime satellite imagery, showing up as a noticeable dark spot amid the eastern seaboard’s bright lights.

How might citizens best shape the future of the Borderlands, home to some 200,000 people and within an hour drive of more than 3 million people? How can the 20-odd area towns adjust to growth pressures without losing their distinctive character—their heart and soul? How can they develop innovative, 21st-century solutions to issues like affordability, sprawl, economic sustainability and environmental conservation?

Residents of the Borderlands began meeting to wrestle with those questions, which led to the creation of the Village Innovation Pilot in 2007, in which citizens of Killingly, Connecticut and Exeter, Rhode Island are piloting processes to balance the challenge of absorbing new growth with safeguarding the unique qualities that make their communities great places to live.

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