There is a tendency to lump together rural America and assume that there is a one-size-fits-all solution. Developers, funders, policymakers and the public, what’s wrong with rural locations?
Appreciate the diversity of what constitutes economic base in different rural areas. I love popcorn but am tired of the pictures of cornfields that represent rural America. A large proportion of rural workers are engaged in manufacturing rather than agriculture, but we continue to describe rural America as primarily farmland.
People also don’t understand who lives there. 1/5 people live in rural areas, and 20% are people of color; Many new immigrants to the country are living in rural areas.
In most racial categories, the proportion of the population poor in rural areas is higher than in urban areas. You cannot address economic or racial disparities without focusing on rural locations.
People also don’t understand the interdependence of rural and urban. In many ways, rural America was a “necessary worker” for the nation. It manages natural resources in ways that are not equitably compensated and provides all the resources the nation needs, whether it is food or energy or water; and it offers a lot of productivity, skilled workers and leaders in many fields.
Finally, people don’t see rural locations as a source of innovation. Rural is too often an afterthought when incorporated into elements of policy and program design.
You have noted that development will fail if it does not include everyone. How important is local ownership to this work or ensuring that those most affected are at the table?
This is human-centered design. If I’m trying to do something better, I can choose to picture in my head what the problem is and then come up with a solution that I think will work. But it probably won’t work because I didn’t ask the people the solution is supposed to help about what their real roadblocks are and what design elements are needed to catalyze a working solution. .
You’ve heard the saying “Nothing about us, without us.” Another expression of this that I have heard from a community activist is: “If it because the we, do not have us, that is Not about us. “We need to keep that in mind. Can we consult? Can we share the power to co-design? Can we respect the wisdom of the people we’re working with? And can we meet people where they are?
How have Rural development inclusive approach when working with lands and tribal countries in the broader definition of rural? How do you perceive these differences in practice and what they mean for rural development?
The Rural Development Framework is a tool to organize learning, increase understanding, catalyze and align action around what is needed for all communities and indigenous countries across rural areas. rural America to be healthy places where people belong, live with dignity, and thrive. This tool includes a specific focus on eliminating practices and behaviors and policies that — intentionally or unintentionally — discriminate against rural areas on the basis of geography/size or race or class. grant.
We have just released our summary of the Rural Development Field Perspective – ideas and experiences from practitioners and experts driving new ideas for rural advancement. A focus on Indigenous nation building as an important early action factor in improving tribal sector economies, and why it should be celebrated and advocated for nation building, recognizing and assess the tribal sovereignty and unique governance structure of each tribe, and accept their culture, traditions and practices as vital to rural development.
In a chapter in a book by the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, you discuss your turning points for doing rural development differently. What are they?
Every community has a different starting point. And you have to learn how to connect and leverage their assets at that starting point. Start with local analysis and in-room know-how to determine where property’s starting point is in one place. How do people in the area explain what is true about the community and what opens the door to more action? And, bring more voices into the room who can share experiences and expand opportunities.
Then assess what people and key actors in the area already know how to do or do—or what are they most adaptable to and what are the needs. Identify action or resource gaps that can meet those needs and fill those gaps with local business, building local capacity by learning new, and using assets and energy local resources to promote essential partners to help.
Finally, intentionally design with fairness first and measure the results to strengthen, not significantly degrade (or destroy) local assets; increase equality; and build local ownership and control.
Can you discuss the role of Rural Development Centers or intermediaries in wealth building, capacity building and opportunity creation?
In rural places, you have lots of small communities that may be miles apart, but all think they’re part of the same area. And that region is the one they define for themselves, whether it’s because of geographical similarities, similar histories, commuting patterns, industries, media markets, or economic bases. All the stuff that might make you feel like, “I live at The Thumb” in Michigan but without “The Thumb government.” No one develops or improves the area of The Thumb unless they create it themselves. There is logic to working by region but no formal organization does it.
Through an RWJF grant, we spoke to 45 about what Aspen CSG calls Rural development centers to understand how they do this work and what the challenges are. We have learned that various organizations, in some rural areas, have taken on the role of working across a region on important issues and bringing the region together to tackle it. . We have to fortify these centers without any other structure and create or catalyze them when they don’t exist.
Looking down the road, what do you want to see important for rural development in the future?
- Collaboration in all areas revolves around real results of development, including how and what we measure to achieve success. This is especially important for reducing health, wealth, social and racial inequality.
- Organize and leverage rural voices in the design of programs that affect people in rural areas, at the local, state, and national levels. People have begun to cooperate to benefit the countryside. That should be formalized.
- Address climate and related natural disasters as an opportunity for local people to understand and act on. This is an opportunity for the future to improve health, future livelihoods and economies, and all natural and built capital.
Learn more about Rural Development aims to build stronger rural and regional economies, more inclusive rural communities and healthier rural people.
