Download or read book Rural and Small Town America written by Glenn V. Fuguitt and published by Russell Sage Foundation. This book was released on 1989-11-21 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Important differences persist between rural and urban America, despite profound economic changes and the notorious homogenizing influence of the media. As Glenn V. Fuguitt, David L. Brown, and Calvin L. Beale show in Rural and Small Town America, the much-heralded disappearance of small town life has not come to pass, and the nonmetropolitan population still constitutes a significant dimension of our nation's social structure. Based on census and other recent survey data, this impressive study provides a detailed and comparative picture of rural America. The authors find that size of place is a critical demographic factor, affecting population composition (rural populations are older and more predominantly male than urban populations), the distribution of poverty (urban poverty tends to be concentrated in neighborhoods; rural poverty may extend over large blocks of counties), and employment opportunities (job quality and income are lower in rural areas, though rural occupational patterns are converging with those of urban areas). In general, rural and small town America still lags behind urban America on many indicators of social well-being. Pointing out that rural life is no longer synonymous with farming, the authors explore variations among nonmetropolitan populations. They also trace the impact of major national trends—the nonmetropolitan growth spurt of the 1970s and its current reversal, for example, or changing fertility rates—on rural life and on the relationship between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan communities. By describing the special characteristics and needs of rural populations as well as the features they share with urban America, this book clearly demonstrates that a more accurate picture of nonmetropolitan life is essential to understanding the larger dynamics of our society. A Volume in the Russell Sage Foundation Census Series

Download or read book Small Town America written by Robert Wuthnow and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2015-05-26 with total page 518 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A revealing examination of small-town life More than thirty million Americans live in small, out-of-the-way places. Many of them could have joined the vast majority of Americans who live in cities and suburbs. They could live closer to more lucrative careers and convenient shopping, a wider range of educational opportunities, and more robust health care. But they have opted to live differently. In Small-Town America, we meet factory workers, shop owners, retirees, teachers, clergy, and mayors—residents who show neighborliness in small ways, but who also worry about everything from school closings and their children's futures to the ups and downs of the local economy. Drawing on more than seven hundred in-depth interviews in hundreds of towns across America and three decades of census data, Robert Wuthnow shows the fragility of community in small towns. He covers a host of topics, including the symbols and rituals of small-town life, the roles of formal and informal leaders, the social role of religious congregations, the perception of moral and economic decline, and the myriad ways residents in small towns make sense of their own lives. Wuthnow also tackles difficult issues such as class and race, abortion, homosexuality, and substance abuse. Small-Town America paints a rich panorama of individuals who reside in small communities, finding that, for many people, living in a small town is an important part of self-identity.

Download or read book The Future of Smalltown and Rural America written by United States. Congress. House. Select Committee on Small Business. Subcommittee on Small Business Problems in Smaller Towns and Urban Areas and published by . This book was released on 1972 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Future of Smalltown and Rural America the Impact on Small Business written by United States. Congress. House. Select Committee on Small Business. Subcommittee on Small Business Problems in Smaller Towns and Urban Areas and published by . This book was released on 1972 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Left Behind written by Robert Wuthnow and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2019-04-30 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How a fraying social fabric is fueling the outrage of rural Americans What is fueling rural America’s outrage toward the federal government? Why did rural Americans vote overwhelmingly for Donald Trump? And is there a more nuanced explanation for the growing rural-urban divide? Drawing on more than a decade of research and hundreds of interviews, Robert Wuthnow brings us into America’s small towns, farms, and rural communities to paint a rich portrait of the moral order—the interactions, loyalties, obligations, and identities—underpinning this critical segment of the nation. Wuthnow demonstrates that to truly understand rural Americans’ anger, their culture must be explored more fully, and he shows that rural America’s fury stems less from economic concerns than from the perception that Washington is distant from and yet threatening to the social fabric of small towns. Moving beyond simplistic depictions of America’s heartland, The Left Behind offers a clearer picture of how this important population will influence the nation’s political future.

Download or read book The Big House in a Small Town written by Eric J. Williams and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2011-03-03 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work is an in-depth, on-the-ground examination of how prisons impact rural communities, including a revealing study of two rural communities that have chosen prisons as an economic development strategy. A recent study by the Urban Institute estimates that one-third of all counties in the United States house a prison, and that our prison and jail population is now over 2.1 million. Another report indicates that more than 97 percent of all U.S. prisoners are eventually released, and communities are absorbing nearly 650,000 formerly incarcerated individuals each year. These figures are particularly alarming considering the fact that rural communities are using prisons as economic development vehicles without fully understanding the effects of these jails on the area. This book is the result of author Eric J. Williams' ground-level research about the effects of prisons upon two rural American communities that lobbied to host maximum security prisons. Through hundreds of interviews conducted while living in Florence, Colorado, and Beeville, Texas, Williams offers the perspective of local residents on all sides of the issue, as well as a social history told mainly from the standpoint of those who lobbied for the prisons.

Download or read book Strong Towns written by Charles L. Marohn, Jr. and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2019-10-01 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new way forward for sustainable quality of life in cities of all sizes Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Build American Prosperity is a book of forward-thinking ideas that breaks with modern wisdom to present a new vision of urban development in the United States. Presenting the foundational ideas of the Strong Towns movement he co-founded, Charles Marohn explains why cities of all sizes continue to struggle to meet their basic needs, and reveals the new paradigm that can solve this longstanding problem. Inside, you’ll learn why inducing growth and development has been the conventional response to urban financial struggles—and why it just doesn’t work. New development and high-risk investing don’t generate enough wealth to support itself, and cities continue to struggle. Read this book to find out how cities large and small can focus on bottom-up investments to minimize risk and maximize their ability to strengthen the community financially and improve citizens’ quality of life. Develop in-depth knowledge of the underlying logic behind the “traditional” search for never-ending urban growth Learn practical solutions for ameliorating financial struggles through low-risk investment and a grassroots focus Gain insights and tools that can stop the vicious cycle of budget shortfalls and unexpected downturns Become a part of the Strong Towns revolution by shifting the focus away from top-down growth toward rebuilding American prosperity Strong Towns acknowledges that there is a problem with the American approach to growth and shows community leaders a new way forward. The Strong Towns response is a revolution in how we assemble the places we live.

Download or read book The Future of Smalltown and Rural America written by United States. Congress. House. Select Committee on Small Business. Subcommittee on Small Business Problems in Smaller Towns and Urban Areas and published by . This book was released on 1972 with total page 11 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Small Town Rules written by Barry J. Moltz and published by Que Publishing. This book was released on 2012-03-26 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Technology and economics are transforming business in a completely unexpected way: suddenly, even the largest companies must compete as if they were small, local businesses. Suddenly, your customers can talk to everyone else across the nation, and people listen to them, not your carefully crafted advertising or branding. It's just like doing business in a small town, where "reputation is forever." Suddenly, communities and personal connections are critical to your success - just as they've always been in small towns. The best small-town and rural entrepreneurs have been successfully overcoming these challenges for centuries. Their lessons and techniques are suddenly intensely valuable to even the largest companies, most dominant brands, and most cosmopolitan businesses. Small Town Rules adapts these lessons and techniques for today's new "global small town": one knitted together through the Web, Facebook, and Twitter. Two pioneering entrepreneurs and social media experts show how to: * Survive seasonal cycles and year-to-year fluctuations the way rural farmers and businesses do * Use "small town entrepreneur secrets" for coping with limited access to people and capital * Reduce risk by "piecing together" multiple income sources * Start using customer-driven communication to your advantage * Interact with customers on a more human scale, no matter how big you are * Rediscover your company's local roots, and more

Download or read book Our Towns written by James Fallows and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2018-05-08 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BEST SELLER • The basis for the HBO documentary now streaming on HBO Max For five years, James and Deborah Fallows have travelled across America in a single-engine prop airplane. Visiting dozens of towns, the America they saw is acutely conscious of its problems—from economic dislocation to the opioid scourge—but it is also crafting solutions, with a practical-minded determination at dramatic odds with the bitter paralysis of national politics. At times of dysfunction on a national level, reform possibilities have often arisen from the local level. The Fallowses describe America in the middle of one of these creative waves. Their view of the country is as complex and contradictory as America itself, but it also reflects the energy, the generosity and compassion, the dreams, and the determination of many who are in the midst of making things better. Our Towns is the story of their journey—and an account of a country busy remaking itself.

Download or read book The Politics of Resentment written by Katherine J. Cramer and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2016-03-23 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An important contribution to the literature on contemporary American politics. Both methodologically and substantively, it breaks new ground.” —Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare When Scott Walker was elected Governor of Wisconsin, the state became the focus of debate about the appropriate role of government. In a time of rising inequality, Walker not only survived a bitterly contested recall, he was subsequently reelected. But why were the very people who would benefit from strong government services so vehemently against the idea of big government? With The Politics of Resentment, Katherine J. Cramer uncovers an oft-overlooked piece of the puzzle: rural political consciousness and the resentment of the “liberal elite.” Rural voters are distrustful that politicians will respect the distinct values of their communities and allocate a fair share of resources. What can look like disagreements about basic political principles are therefore actually rooted in something even more fundamental: who we are as people and how closely a candidate’s social identity matches our own. Taking a deep dive into Wisconsin’s political climate, Cramer illuminates the contours of rural consciousness, showing how place-based identities profoundly influence how people understand politics. The Politics of Resentment shows that rural resentment—no less than partisanship, race, or class—plays a major role in dividing America against itself.

Download or read book Rural and Small Town America written by Tim Slack and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2024-08-06 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contemporary America is centered around urban society. Most Americans reside in cities or their surrounding suburbs, and both the media and modern American sociology focus disproportionately on urban life. Rural and Small-Town America looks at what we can learn from rural society and confronts common myths and misunderstandings about rural people and places. Tim Slack and Shannon M. Monnat examine social, economic, and demographic changes and how these changes pose both problems and opportunities for rural communities. They assess changes in population size and composition, economies and livelihoods, ethnoracial diversity and inequities, population health and health disparities, and politics and policies. The central focus of this book is that rural America is no paragon of stability. Social change abounds, accompanied by new challenges. Through analysis of empirical evidence, demographic data, and policy debates, readers will glean insights about rural America and the United States as a whole.

Download or read book Challenges for Rural America in the Twenty First Century written by David L. Brown and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2015-08-26 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The twentieth century was one of profound transformation in rural America. Demographic shifts and economic restructuring have conspired to alter dramatically the lives of rural people and their communities. Challenges for Rural America in the Twenty-First Century defines these changes and interprets their implications for the future of rural America. The volume follows in the tradition of "decennial volumes" co-edited by presidents of the Rural Sociological Society and published in the Society's Rural Studies Series. Essays have been specially commissioned to examine key aspects of public policy relevant to rural America in the new century. Contributors include:Lionel Beaulieu, Alessandro Bonnano, David Brown, Ralph Brown, Frederick Buttel, Ted Bradshaw, Douglas Constance, Steve Daniels, Lynn England, William Falk, Cornelia Flora, Jan Flora, Glenn Fuguitt, Nina Glasgow, Leland Glenna, Angela Gonzales, Gary Green, Rosalind Harris, Tom Hirschl, Douglas Jackson-Smith, Leif Jensen, Ken Johnson, Richard Krannich, Daniel Lichter, Linda Lobao, Al Luloff, Tom Lyson, Kate MacTavish, David McGranahan, Diane McLaughlin, Philip McMichael, Lois Wright Morton, Domenico Parisi, Peggy Petrzelka, Kenneth Pigg, Rogelio Saenz, Sonya Salamon, Jeff Sharp, Curtis Stofferahn, Louis Swanson, Ann Tickameyer, Leanne Tigges, Cruz Torres, Mildred Warner, Ronald Wimberley, Dreamal Worthen, and Julie Zimmerman.

Download or read book Crime and Policing in Rural and Small Town America written by Ralph A. Weisheit and published by Waveland Press. This book was released on 2005-09-21 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While most researchers see the urban setting as being the only laboratory for studying crime problems throughout the United States, Crime and Policing in Rural and Small-Town America directly challenges this notion with an authoritative look at crime and the criminal justice system in rural America today. The assumption that rural crime is rare and comparable across various communities has led to incompatible theories and irrelevant practices. In order to transform this misconstruction, the Third Edition offers a clear outline of the definition of rural and provides a vital argument for why rural and small-town crime should be studied more than it is. The book also explores the individual nature of issues that emerge in these communities, including illegal drug production, domestic violence, agricultural crimes, rural poverty, and gangs, in addition to the training needs of rural police, probation in rural areas, and rural jails and prisons. Responding to rural crime requires an awareness of its context and how justice is carried out, as well as an appreciation of how features vary across rural areas. Understanding the relationships among crime, geography, and culture in the rural setting can reveal useful ideas and implications for crime and justice in communities across the United States.

Download or read book Survival of Rural America written by Richard E. Wood and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2008-03-25 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the high plains of Kansas, the future of rural America is at stake. Small farming communities are the heart and soul of America, but it's no secret that they're under siege. Family farms are disappearing and manufacturing is outsourced. Schools close, jobs vanish, and local stores can't survive. Some communities resort to giving away land just to get people to move there. Richard Wood knows that rural communities need more than jobs or money to survive: they need to become valued again as desirable places to live. He takes a closer look at what has happened in several Kansas farming towns and shows that there is much more depth and diversity to rural life than meets the eye. Wood traveled the back roads to gather stories of people in some of the most vulnerable communities that are trying to stave off depopulation. These are not just accounts of people scrambling to survive in incipient ghost towns like Ada, but gritty success stories like Plainville, where an upscale design business ignited a revival, or Atwood, which shifted from industrial recruitment to home-grown entrepreneurship. Unlike Thomas Frank, whose What's the Matter with Kansas? used the state as a political yardstick, Wood sees it reflecting major economic and population trends throughout the world. Looking at projects as small as community medical clinics or plans for vast buffalo grassland parks, he also sees a robust future for small-town pioneers, folks who are betting their-and rural America's-future on such things as alternative energy (think "ethanol"), sustainable natural agriculture, tourism, and the enduring appeal of rural life to outsiders. With dozens of photos that bring rural America to life, Wood provides an inside look at what really makes this country tick-and at some of the developments that may turn the tide against what seemed an inevitable decline. Although the odds are stacked against rural recovery, the small victories that Wood shows us hold the promise that transformation and revival may yet stave off the final bitter harvest.

Download or read book Local Government Administration in Small Town America written by James C. Clinger and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-10-12 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In government administration and leadership, rural community leaders face unique challenges in delivering public services including (but not limited to) education, health care, and public safety. Meanwhile, residents who live in smaller and more isolated rural settings often face greater difficulties accessing provisions and services or commuting to work, among other economic development challenges. These factors may affect a community’s resiliency to and recovery from shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Local Government Administration in Small Town America devotes some overdue scholarly attention to the governance and administration of public programs in small towns and rural communities in the United States. The chapter contributors to this volume analyze some of the unique challenges rural communities face, as well as the policy tools that their governments employ to address them. The book explores ways that small town governments collaborate with one another, the state, and the federal government, and examines how local government officials use knowledge of people and place to improve policy performance. The chapters are designed to provide cases and strategies for students and practitioners in public administration to use in a small town environment, while also considering a community’s distinctive social and political culture, which determines how local political leaders and government practitioners might respond to demands and challenges they face. Local Government Administration in Small Town America is an essential resource for undergraduate and graduate students studying local government, as well as for rural practitioners navigating evolving challenges unique to their communities.

Download or read book Rural and Small Town America written by Tim Slack and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2024-08-06 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contemporary America is centered around urban society. Most Americans reside in cities or their surrounding suburbs, and both the media and modern American sociology focus disproportionately on urban life. Rural and Small-Town America looks at what we can learn from rural society and confronts common myths and misunderstandings about rural people and places. Tim Slack and Shannon M. Monnat examine social, economic, and demographic changes and how these changes pose both problems and opportunities for rural communities. They assess changes in population size and composition, economies and livelihoods, ethnoracial diversity and inequities, population health and health disparities, and politics and policies. The central focus of this book is that rural America is no paragon of stability. Social change abounds, accompanied by new challenges. Through analysis of empirical evidence, demographic data, and policy debates, readers will glean insights about rural America and the United States as a whole.