tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/small-towns-89029/articlesSmall towns – The Conversation2023-02-23T03:01:20Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1999842023-02-23T03:01:20Z2023-02-23T03:01:20ZWhy do small rural communities often shun newcomers, even when they need them?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511551/original/file-20230221-20-7q3yiq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=585%2C6%2C3416%2C2257&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image: Saleena Ham</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Do you remember the time you and your friends started a secret club and didn’t let anyone else join? Well, it’s kind of like that in some small rural communities. Even though these communities really need to attract and keep newcomers, some longstanding residents belong to a special “locals” club. Many newcomers who moved from the cities in recent years would know this all too well.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10371656.2022.2061723">My research</a> to understand the experience of newcomers in small towns found a few common themes in what happened to them. It found social identity was a factor that can often inhibit progress, resilience and acceptance of change in rural social groups. </p>
<p>Locals are regarded as the legitimate residents and often have greater local power and privileged status. They can be used to calling the shots for the community. They may hold back change by undermining or failing to accept or support new people, their ideas or businesses.</p>
<p>Newcomers can be intrinsically disruptive to the old and comfortable social norms of small towns. While newcomers want to show their value as residents by offering their new ideas or experience, these are not welcomed by locals because they disrupt the status quo and make them uncomfortable. </p>
<p>I interviewed <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/rj/RJ22023">89 residents and recent residents</a> in two rural Queensland communities with populations under 2,000. The locals often say newcomers or outsiders don’t have a right to have a say about the town and certainly not to make changes. They question their social legitimacy and tell stories of their inferiority as residents. </p>
<p>Even when newcomers manage to make a difference, the locals can ignore, criticise or undermine their achievements.</p>
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<img alt="Two horses stand in a paddock in front of homes in a small town" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511546/original/file-20230221-14-wkgv06.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=464%2C0%2C3398%2C2268&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511546/original/file-20230221-14-wkgv06.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511546/original/file-20230221-14-wkgv06.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511546/original/file-20230221-14-wkgv06.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511546/original/file-20230221-14-wkgv06.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511546/original/file-20230221-14-wkgv06.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511546/original/file-20230221-14-wkgv06.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">People who move to a small town hoping for a quiet life as part of a close-knit community might be in for a shock.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image: Saleena Ham</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lets-just-do-it-how-do-e-changers-feel-about-having-left-the-city-now-lockdowns-are-over-188009">'Let's just do it': how do e-changers feel about having left the city now lockdowns are over?</a>
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<h2>How are newcomers undermined?</h2>
<p>In one town, a newcomer became the leader of a business group. He had experience, was energetic, accessed grants and consulted to develop a plan. But then problem after problem was found with it. It was suggested the whole process begin again. He could not move the business community forward to adopt the plan.</p>
<p>They wore him down. He was burned out by their active and passive resistance. After a couple of years, he ended his community involvement, exactly as the locals expected, because he “was not local”.</p>
<p>In another community, a new catering business opened. The locals thought it was too much like the city, certainly too flash for this little place. They made bookings without turning up, complained to the local council that bylaws were broken, suggested one partner was having an affair, and shared rumours of poor hygiene practice. </p>
<p>The business made social connections with other new businesses and created local events, attracting outsiders. The owners experimented, marketed, found clientele beyond the town and survived, but it was very tough when it did not need to be. </p>
<p>The locals undermine, censure and attack, in overt or subtle ways, newcomers who are seeking to belong and contribute until they become disillusioned or just withdraw. Businesses fail and people leave. The small community stays the same, familiar and declining, and the locals are happy because they were proved right about the newcomers.</p>
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<img alt="Main street of a small country town" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511327/original/file-20230221-24-2rbujj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511327/original/file-20230221-24-2rbujj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511327/original/file-20230221-24-2rbujj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511327/original/file-20230221-24-2rbujj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511327/original/file-20230221-24-2rbujj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511327/original/file-20230221-24-2rbujj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511327/original/file-20230221-24-2rbujj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Newcomers can revitalise a small town, but that doesn’t ensure they’ll be made to feel welcome.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-young-women-say-no-to-rural-australia-100760">Why young women say no to rural Australia</a>
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<h2>Why do residents behave like this?</h2>
<p>One reason this happens is because people who live in small communities feel so attached to their community. It is as if it’s an extension of themselves. </p>
<p>So, when someone new comes in and wants to change things, it feels personal. The people who have lived there for a long time read it as a personal attack that threatens their values, stories, history, status and privileges. They feel like they have to defend their story of their special community from the outsiders and anything they might want to introduce. They resist and repel in order to unconsciously protect and defend their place in the secret insiders’ club.</p>
<p>Change can make people feel socially uncertain. Uncertainty about identity can make people feel like they have to act to protect what they know and love: it’s who they are. </p>
<p>It can seem like they’re being senselessly mean and self-sabotaging, but they see it as necessary and justified to protect the familiar qualities and social order of their community or social group. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511547/original/file-20230221-18-2j01er.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511547/original/file-20230221-18-2j01er.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511547/original/file-20230221-18-2j01er.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511547/original/file-20230221-18-2j01er.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511547/original/file-20230221-18-2j01er.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511547/original/file-20230221-18-2j01er.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511547/original/file-20230221-18-2j01er.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Many small towns need to attract new residents to prosper, but some existing residents resent changes to their social order.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image: Saleena Ham</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-in-lockdown-but-is-moving-to-the-country-right-for-you-148807">It seemed like a good idea in lockdown, but is moving to the country right for you?</a>
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<h2>Why should communities welcome newcomers?</h2>
<p>Newcomers also want to belong. They want friendship, to be themselves, acknowledged and accepted. They want to build community, contribute ideas, initiatives and effort. These things are vital for small communities to survive and stay vibrant.</p>
<p>Fear of social censure for breaking the local social norms <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-02/facebook-regional-admins-say-misinformation-hurting-communities/100460662">flows into many other small town subjects</a>: rejection of new agricultural practices, exclusion of the socially different, opposition to new business, rejection of developing precincts or modernising services. </p>
<p>Rural locals describe themselves as traditionalists, old school, practical. They expect to embrace hardship, inconvenience and loss as their unique identity. They see their group as morally superior to others. </p>
<p>This also makes it hard for people inside the secret club to get help when they struggle with mental health, financial failure, domestic abuse or grief. If they break the identity norms, will they be shamed or mocked? </p>
<p>Stoicism and resilience is integral to the secret club’s membership. Who are you if you can’t hack hardship? Can you still belong?</p>
<p>So, next time you hear about an unfriendly small rural community that undermines change, remember that it might be a social identity issue. They may be acting to protect their special insiders’ status and familiar way of life. </p>
<p>And small community members could remember that welcoming and reaching out to a newcomer or outsider may make all the difference to both that individual’s social success and the future of the community.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/has-covid-really-caused-an-exodus-from-our-cities-in-fact-moving-to-the-regions-is-nothing-new-154724">Has COVID really caused an exodus from our cities? In fact, moving to the regions is nothing new</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199984/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Saleena Ham does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many small towns badly need to attract new blood to prosper. Yet some residents are so bound up in their community – it’s part of their identity – that they struggle with the changes newcomers bring.Dr Saleena Ham, Adjunct Research Fellow, Rural Sociology, University of Southern QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1767752022-03-08T13:15:38Z2022-03-08T13:15:38Z3 things that influence college graduates from rural areas to return to their communities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448433/original/file-20220224-23-1ums70j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C15%2C5092%2C3374&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rural students who grow up with strong ties to their schools are more likely to return to their hometowns after they graduate from college.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/downtown-in-the-tourist-town-of-red-lodge-montana-near-news-photo/661681564?adppopup=true">Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When high-achieving students from rural areas go off to college and graduate, they <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-31/the-place-of-college-grads-in-the-urban-rural-divide">often choose to live</a> in suburban or urban areas instead rural communities like the ones where they grew up, decades of <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.311063">research</a> have shown. </p>
<p>Often they are following the advice of <a href="https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1014&context=psychologyfromthemargins">adults</a> – or just deciding on their own – to search for success in cities, where <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/42896/49474_eb26.pdf?v=1040.7">career opportunities</a> are more abundant. Teachers, coaches and neighbors might <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/206257/hollowing-out-the-middle-by-patrick-j-carr/">reinforce the message</a> to leave behind the small-town life and its <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2014/december/rural-areas-lag-urban-areas-in-college-completion">limited career opportunities</a>.</p>
<p>But that <a href="https://journals.brandonu.ca/jrcd/article/view/445/108">long-standing pattern</a> might be changing. <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2018/03/22/rural-counties-are-making-a-comeback-census-data-shows">Some rural communities</a> are <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2019/february/rural-population-trends/">beginning to see</a> their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-020-09611-w">college graduates return</a>.</p>
<p>I am a researcher who studies <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=iqAm6jsAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">higher education and rural communities</a>, and my colleagues and I wondered what might be leading adults to return to rural communities a decade or two after they graduate from college elsewhere.</p>
<p>To find out what might be prompting some college graduates to return to their rural hometowns later in life, we conducted a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ruso.12416">study</a> using <a href="https://addhealth.cpc.unc.edu/documentation/study-design/">national data on the well-being of adolescents into adulthood</a> to look at why people who grew up in rural places decided to return. Specifically, we took a look at whether their middle and high school experiences had any connection to their decision to return home in their late 30s or early 40s. We considered only those individuals who had gone at least 50 miles away to complete a bachelor’s degree. We found three factors that contributed to college graduates coming back home.</p>
<h2>1. Tight-knit school communities</h2>
<p>We found that the more students enjoyed school and felt as if they belonged, the more likely these college-educated adults from rural areas returned home. Even after considering demographic, neighborhood and college characteristics, positive middle and high school experiences remained significant. This demonstrates the lasting value of supportive teacher-student and peer relationships. </p>
<p>This is consistent with other research that has found college graduates who return had <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/small-town-natives-are-moving-back-home-11615611660">roots that made them feel grounded</a> in their rural hometowns. When the students maintain relationships with people back home, it makes them feel as if <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/41446817">they still belong</a> when they return. </p>
<h2>2. Fewer people and more land</h2>
<p>College-educated people from smaller towns or open, undeveloped land were twice as likely to return home as people who grew up in slightly larger rural towns. </p>
<p>Rural places are rich with natural resources, from vast countrysides with fertile soil to dense forests that purify the air we breathe. Rural people are often attached to the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ruso.12016">natural environment</a> and have an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ruso.12044">appreciation</a> for land. Connecting with nature, breathing in fresh air and enjoying peace and quiet can offer deep life <a href="https://doi.org/10.3386/w24592">satisfaction</a>.</p>
<h2>3. Contributing to their communities</h2>
<p>College graduates who grew up in rural communities where relatively few people went to college were more likely to return home than those from communities with more college-educated adults. Returners often feel a need to <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/45361/52906_err185.pdf?v=0">give back</a> to their communities. This has been <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2015/july/why-some-return-home-to-rural-america-and-why-it-matters/">accomplished</a> by returners filling positions as doctors, lawyers, teachers or entrepreneurs. They also volunteered to make a difference. College graduates provide several <a href="https://research.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/education-pays-2019-full-report.pdf">societal benefits</a>, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ruso.12024">contributing</a> to their community’s economic growth, participating in community activities and sharing new perspectives.</p>
<h2>A focus on the benefits</h2>
<p>Our research comes at a time when some rural communities have begun to invest in <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/multi-chapter-report/building-resilient-rural-places-strategies-from-local-leaders-to-strengthen-rural-assets-diversity-and-dynamism/">local businesses</a>, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-05/documents/competitive_advantage_051215_508_final.pdf">outdoor recreational activities</a> and <a href="https://www.richmondfed.org/publications/research/econ_focus/2020/q1/district_digest">local schools</a> to attract both newcomers and returners. </p>
<p>Much attention has been given to a “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/206257/hollowing-out-the-middle-by-patrick-j-carr/">rural brain drain</a>,” as described by sociologists Patrick J. Carr and Maria J. Kefalas, and all the reasons young people leave rural communities. But our research shows some of the characteristics of rural communities that have been associated with a return home.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephanie Sowl does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While many students who grew up in rural communities leave for good after going off to college, some are returning to their rural roots. A scholar who studies education and small towns explains why.Stephanie Sowl, Ph.D Candidate in Higher Education, Iowa State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1506102021-01-21T13:16:15Z2021-01-21T13:16:15Z5 ways Biden can help rural America thrive and bridge the rural-urban divide<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/376870/original/file-20201231-57963-rwm7s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1347%2C1206%2C1818%2C1105&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">President Joe Biden talked about healing the rifts and uniting America in his inaugural address on Jan. 20, 2021.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/colemans-bar-b-que-is-a-popular-place-to-eat-and-show-off-news-photo/696487040">Michael S. Williamson/Washington Post</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s no secret that rural and urban people have grown apart culturally and <a href="https://equitablegrowth.org/gaps-in-u-s-rural-and-urban-economic-growth-widened-in-the-post-great-recession-economy-with-implications-amid-the-coronavirus-recession/">economically</a> in recent years. A quick glance at the media – especially social media – confirms an ideological gap has also widened.</p>
<p>City folks have long been detached from rural conditions. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/20/books/review-ramp-hollow-ordeal-of-appalachia-steven-stoll.html">Even in the 1700s</a>, urbanites labeled <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/26/books/review/white-trash-by-nancy-isenberg.html">rural people as backward</a> or different. And lately, urban views of rural people have <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1770062">deteriorated</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/law/faculty_and_staff/directory/eisenberg_ann.php">All three</a> <a href="https://law.ucdavis.edu/faculty/pruitt/">of us are</a> <a href="https://law.unl.edu/jessica-shoemaker/">law professors</a> who study and advocate intervention to assist distressed rural communities. The response we often hear is, “You expect me to care about those far-off places, especially given the way the people there vote?”</p>
<p>Our answer is “yes.”</p>
<p>Rural communities provide much of the food and <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781793623102/Urban-Dependency-The-Inescapable-Reality-of-the-Energy-Economy">energy</a> that fuel our lives. They are made up of people who, after decades of exploitative resource extraction and neglect, need strong connective infrastructure and opportunities to pursue regional prosperity. A lack of investment in broadband, schools, jobs, sustainable farms, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/claryestes/2020/02/24/1-4-rural-hospitals-are-at-risk-of-closure-and-the-problem-is-getting-worse/">hospitals</a>, roads and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/08/business/in-rural-america-fears-that-beloved-post-offices-will-close.html">even the U.S. Postal Service</a> has increasingly driven rural voters to seek change from national politics. And this sharp hunger for change gave Trump’s promises to disrupt the status quo <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.10.045">particular appeal</a> in rural areas.</p>
<p>Metropolitan stakeholders often complain that the Electoral College and U.S. Senate give less populous states disproportionate power nationally. Yet that power has not steered enough resources, infrastructure investment and jobs to rural America for communities to survive and thrive.</p>
<p>So, how can the federal government help?</p>
<p>Based on our years of research into rural issues, here are five federal initiatives that would go a long way toward empowering distressed rural communities to improve their destinies, while also helping bridge the urban/rural divide.</p>
<p><iframe id="uxPx9" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/uxPx9/4/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>1. Get high-speed internet to the rest of rural America</h2>
<p>The COVID-19 era has made more acute something rural communities were already familiar with: High-speed internet is the gateway to everything. Education, work, health care, information access and even a social life depend directly on broadband.</p>
<p>Yet 22.3% of rural residents and 27.7% of tribal lands residents <a href="https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-50A1.pdf">lacked access to high-speed internet</a> as of 2018, compared with 1.5% of urban residents.</p>
<p>The Trump administration undermined progress on the digital divide in 2018 by <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3554721">reversing an Obama-era rule</a> that categorized broadband as a public utility, like electricity. When broadband was regulated as a utility, the government could ensure fairer access even in regions that were <a href="https://www.deseret.com/utah/2020/12/6/22150163/covid-19-broadband-internet-service-open-access-public-utility-infrastructure-remote-work-learning">less profitable for service providers</a>. The reversal left rural communities more vulnerable to the whims of competitive markets.</p>
<p>Although President Joe Biden has signaled support for rural broadband expansion, it’s not yet clear what the Federal Communications Commission might do under his leadership. <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/21557495/biden-fcc-digital-divide-net-neutrality-section-230">Recategorizing broadband as a public utility</a> could help close the digital divide. </p>
<p><iframe id="TaY2t" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/TaY2t/4/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>2. Help local governments avoid going broke</h2>
<p>It’s easy to take for granted the everyday things <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3222719">local governments do</a>, like trash pickup, building code enforcement and overseeing public health. So, what happens <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2579369">when a local government goes broke</a>?</p>
<p>A lot of rural local governments are dealing with an invisible crisis of <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-risk-of-fiscal-collapse-in-coal-reliant-communities/">fiscal collapse</a>. Regions that have <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3346576">lost traditional livelihoods</a> in manufacturing, mining, timber and agriculture are stuck in a downward cycle: Jobs loss and population decline mean less tax revenue to keep local government running.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A street in Schuylkill Haven." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/376869/original/file-20201231-17-x8rcow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/376869/original/file-20201231-17-x8rcow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376869/original/file-20201231-17-x8rcow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376869/original/file-20201231-17-x8rcow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376869/original/file-20201231-17-x8rcow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376869/original/file-20201231-17-x8rcow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376869/original/file-20201231-17-x8rcow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, was once known for coal mining, an industry that has declined as the economy has changed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/street-sign-marks-forget-me-not-street-on-september-15-2020-news-photo/1273090214">Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Federal institutions could help by expanding capacity-building programs, like <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/cdbg/">Community Development Block Grants</a> and <a href="https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/rural-economic-development-loan-grant-program">Rural Economic Development Loans and Grants</a> that let communities invest in long-term assets like main street improvements and housing. </p>
<p>Rural activists are also calling for a <a href="https://www.stormlake.com/articles/joe-biden-should-pledge-to-create-a-national-office-of-rural-prosperity/">federal office of rural prosperity</a> or <a href="https://nationaleconomictransition.org/">economic transitions</a> that could provide leadership on the widespread need to reverse declining rural communities’ fates.</p>
<h2>3. Rein in big agriculture</h2>
<p>Only <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=58290">6% of rural people</a> still live in counties with economies that are farming dependent.</p>
<p>Decades of policies favoring <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/aepp.13056">consolidation of</a> <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/74672/eib-161.pdf?v=2338">agriculture</a> have emptied out large swaths of rural landscapes. The largest 8% of farms in America now <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Highlights/2019/2017Census_Farms_Farmland.pdf">control more than 70%</a> of American farmland, and the rural people who remain increasingly bear the brunt of decisions made in urban agribusiness boardrooms.</p>
<p>Rural communities get less and less of the wealth. Those in counties with industrialized agricultural are more likely to have <a href="https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/trouble-in-farm-country.php">unsafe drinking water</a>, lower incomes and <a href="http://www.pcifapia.org/_images/212-8_PCIFAP_RuralCom_Finaltc.pdf">greater economic inequality</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/12/01/democrats-rural-vote-wisconsin-441458">What many rural people want</a> from agricultural policy is increased antitrust enforcement to break up agricultural monopolies, improved conditions for agricultural workers, conservation policies that actually protect rural health, and a food policy that addresses rural hunger, which <a href="https://frac.org/hunger-poverty-america/rural-hunger">outpaces food insecurity in urban areas</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Fields all the way to the horizon." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/376868/original/file-20201231-23-1r8brtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/376868/original/file-20201231-23-1r8brtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376868/original/file-20201231-23-1r8brtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376868/original/file-20201231-23-1r8brtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376868/original/file-20201231-23-1r8brtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376868/original/file-20201231-23-1r8brtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376868/original/file-20201231-23-1r8brtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The largest 8% of farms control more than 70% of U.S. farmland today.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/barley-harvest-in-reardan-washington-news-photo/1162778108">VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Access to affordable land is another huge issue. <a href="https://www.youngfarmers.org/landaccess/">Beginning farmers cite that</a> as their biggest obstacle. Federal support for these new farmers, like that imagined in the proposed <a href="https://www.booker.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/JBF%20Section%20by%20Section%2011.16.20.pdf">Justice for Black Farmers Act</a> or in <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3714326">other property-law reforms</a>, could help rebuild an agriculture system that is diversified, sustainable and rooted in close connections to rural communities.</p>
<p>Biden’s plan to bring former Secretary of Agriculture <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/09/black-farmers-tom-vilsack-agriculture-usda-biden-cabinet-444077">Tom Vilsack</a> back in the same role he held in the Obama administration has <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/12/11/democrat-tom-vilsack-usda-secretary-farms/">cast doubt</a> on whether Biden is really committed to change. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/tom-vilsacks-lonely-fight-for-a-forgotten-rural-america/2016/09/26/62d7ee64-7830-11e6-ac8e-cf8e0dd91dc7_story.html">Vilsack</a> built a <a href="https://medium.com/political-sense/biden-picks-vilsack-for-usda-secretary-what-a-disappointment-4f24843643fe">suspect record</a> on racial equity and has spent the past four years as a <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/food/2020/12/biden-vilsack-usda-agriculture-shirley-sherrod/">marketing executive for big dairy</a>, leading many to worry his leadership will result in “<a href="https://thecounter.org/biden-usda-tom-vilsack-ag-secretary-backlash/">agribusiness as usual</a>.”</p>
<h2>4. Pursue broad racial justice in rural America</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=99538">One in five</a> rural residents are people of color, and they are two to three times more likely to be poor than rural whites. Diverse rural residents are also significantly more likely to live in impoverished areas that have been described as “<a href="https://www.degruyter.com/columbia/abstract/book/9780231544719/10.7312/tick17222-009.xml">rural ghettos</a>.”</p>
<p>More than <a href="https://pubag.nal.usda.gov/catalog/6326380">98% of U.S. agricultural land</a> is owned by white people, while over <a href="https://globalmigration.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk821/files/inline-files/naws_research_report_13jan2019.pdf">83% of farmworkers</a> are Hispanic.</p>
<p>Criminal justice and law enforcement reforms occurring in cities are <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3591431">less likely to reach</a> small or remote communities, leaving rural minorities <a href="https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/hllr14&div=21&id=&page=">vulnerable</a> to discrimination and vigilantism, with limited avenues for redress.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Farmworkers in a field in California." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/376867/original/file-20201231-49513-1hjbr1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/376867/original/file-20201231-49513-1hjbr1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376867/original/file-20201231-49513-1hjbr1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376867/original/file-20201231-49513-1hjbr1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376867/original/file-20201231-49513-1hjbr1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376867/original/file-20201231-49513-1hjbr1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376867/original/file-20201231-49513-1hjbr1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Over 83% of U.S. farmworkers are Hispanic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/farm-laborers-from-fresh-harvest-working-with-an-h-2a-visa-news-photo/1211310309">Brent Stirton/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At a minimum, the federal government can enhance workplace protections for <a href="https://repository.law.wisc.edu/s/uwlaw/item/19752">farm laborers</a>, strengthen protections of <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2020/09/21/racial-justice-push-creates-momentum-to-protect-black-owned-land">ancestral lands</a> and <a href="https://www.hcn.org/articles/economy-indian-country-can-help-solve-rural-americas-decline-opinion">tribal sovereignty</a> and <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/democracy/reports/2019/09/16/474354/civil-justice-needs-federal-leadership/">provide leadership</a> for improving <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3198411">rural access to justice</a>.</p>
<h2>5. Focus on the basics</h2>
<p>People who live in distressed rural communities have <a href="http://legalruralism.blogspot.com/search/label/attachment%20to%20place">important place-based connections</a>. In many cases, the idea of “<a href="http://www.youthcirculations.com/blog/2020/2/26/the-just-move-argument-reflections-on-distributive-justice-mobility-and-rural-america">just move someplace else</a>” <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/struggling-americans-once-sought-greener-pasturesnow-theyre-stuck-1501686801">is a myth</a>.</p>
<p>The greatest historic progress on rural poverty followed large-scale federal intervention via Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal and Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty. Although these reforms were implemented in ways that were <a href="https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jflp/vol13/iss1/7/">racially unjust</a>, they offer models for ameliorating rural poverty.</p>
<p>They created public jobs programs that addressed important social needs like conservation and school building repair; established relationships between universities and communities for agricultural and economic progress; provided <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40365025?seq=1">federal funding</a> for K-12 schools and made higher education more affordable; and expanded the social safety net to address hunger and other health needs.</p>
<p>A new federal antipoverty program – which urban communities also need – could go a long way to improving rural quality of life. The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act targeted many of these issues. But urban communities’ <a href="https://equitablegrowth.org/gaps-in-u-s-rural-and-urban-economic-growth-widened-in-the-post-great-recession-economy-with-implications-amid-the-coronavirus-recession/">quicker and stronger</a> recovery from the Great Recession than rural ones shows that this program neglected key rural challenges.</p>
<p>Some of these steps will also require Congress’s involvement. So the question is, will federal leadership take the bold steps necessary to address rural marginalization and start mending these divisions? Or will it pay lip service to those steps while continuing the patterns of neglect and exploitation that have gotten the U.S. to where it is today: facing an untenable stalemate shaped by inequality and mutual distrust.</p>
<p><em>This article was updated to clarify that the largest 8% of U.S. farms control more than 70% of U.S. farmland.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150610/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new federal antipoverty program for both rural and urban areas is part of the solution, but the power of Big Ag, lack of internet and struggling towns need attention, too.Ann Eisenberg, Associate Professor of Law, University of South CarolinaJessica A. Shoemaker, Professor of Law, University of Nebraska-LincolnLisa R. Pruitt, Martin Luther King, Jr., Professor of Law, University of California, DavisLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1483102020-10-26T12:02:03Z2020-10-26T12:02:03ZIn rural America, resentment over COVID-19 shutdowns is colliding with rising case numbers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365362/original/file-20201025-19-1jktsyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C662%2C4311%2C2258&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Business restrictions early in the pandemic, when rural towns had few cases, triggered a backlash that haunts them now.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/worker-of-the-aspen-cafe-wears-a-mask-as-she-is-seen-behind-news-photo/1211912309">Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As COVID-19 spreads through rural America, new <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/23/us/covid-worst-day.html">infection numbers are rising</a> to peaks not seen during this pandemic and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/23/us/covid-hospitalizations.html">pushing hospitals to their limits</a>. Many towns are experiencing their first major outbreaks, but that doesn’t mean rural communities had previously been spared the devastating impacts of the pandemic.</p>
<p>Infection rates in rural and frontier communities <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/24/coronavirus-rural-america-outbreaks/?arc404=true">ebbed and flowed</a> during the first seven months, often showing up in pockets linked to <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/why-meatpacking-plants-have-become-covid-19-hot-spots/">meat packing plants</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/failure-to-count-covid-19-nursing-home-deaths-could-dramatically-skew-us-numbers-137212">nursing homes</a> or <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-coronavirus-crisis-reveals-about-vulnerable-populations-behind-bars-and-on-the-streets-137455">prisons</a>.</p>
<p>Even if they had no cases, many rural areas were under <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6935a2.htm">statewide public health orders</a> that left businesses closed and events canceled. And that has become part of the problem today. The early compassionate and cohesive community responses to COVID-19 quickly gave way to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/05/27/862831144/why-parts-of-rural-america-are-pushing-back-on-coronavirus-restrictions">growing anger and compliance fatigue</a>, especially when some isolated towns didn’t see their first positive cases until summer.</p>
<p>That resentment toward public health recommendations, including mask-wearing, is now on a crash course with rising case numbers in the <a href="https://covidactnow.org/?s=1178286">Mountain West, Midwest and Great Plains</a>. Rural counties have witnessed sharp increases in cases, to the point where over 70% of the nation’s nonmetropolitan counties had <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/welcome-to-the-rural-wave-rural-cases-are-likely-to-keep-climbing/2020/10/23/">earned a “red zone” designation</a>, suggesting local viral spread was out of control. The reality, though, is <a href="http://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMe2029812">COVID-19 has never been “under control” in the U.S</a>.</p>
<p>As professors of family medicine with experience in <a href="https://som.ucdenver.edu/Profiles/Faculty/Profile/30536">rural health policy</a> and <a href="https://som.ucdenver.edu/Profiles/Faculty/Profile/21948">medical practice</a>, we have been studying the barriers rural communities are facing during the pandemic and how they can solve COVID-19-related challenges. </p>
<p>Understanding the drivers of increasing COVID-19 cases in rural places is critical to both curtailing the current surge and limiting flareups in the future.</p>
<p><iframe id="KeWw8" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/KeWw8/11/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Why rural cases are on the rise</h2>
<p>Several factors have contributed to the rise in rural case numbers. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.aei.org/politics-and-public-opinion/the-urban-rural-divide-over-the-coronavirus-outbreak/">politicization of the pandemic</a> – and of mask-wearing – has hampered both public health efforts and collaboration among businesses, community organizations and health care entities. Political tensions have given rise to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2589-7500(20)30084-4">misinformation, reinforced on social media</a>, that can be difficult to turn around. If people aren’t taking protective measures, when COVID-19 does come in, it can easily and quickly spread.</p>
<p>In some communities, the <a href="https://time.com/5831319/coronavirus-rural-america/">resumption of small-town activities</a>, such as school, church and sports events, has led to more infections. Experts have pointed to social gatherings, including the nearly <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/10/17/sturgis-rally-spread/">500,000-strong Sturgis motorcycle rally</a> in South Dakota in August, as sources of the recent COVID-19 surge in the upper Midwest. </p>
<p>Working from home is also nearly impossible for many rural jobs. <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2020/03/05/481340/rural-communities-vulnerable-coronavirus/">Paid sick leave may also be difficult to come by</a>, prompting some people to choose between working while sick and isolating at home without pay. <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/why-meatpacking-plants-have-become-covid-19-hot-spots/">Meat and poultry processing plants</a> and other farm industries often employ <a href="https://www.tableau.com/about/blog/2020/4/what-you-need-know-about-covid-19-data-and-rural-america">immigrants</a> whose living and commuting realities can make social distancing difficult. Many rural places are heavily dependent on recreation and <a href="https://www.americancommunities.org/in-americas-second-home-communities-covid-19-poses-special-concerns-now/">service industries</a>. When <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/thousands-from-coronavirus-hotspots-flocked-to-maryland-and-virginia-as-parts-of-the-states-reopened/2020/05/20/c34172b6-99e7-11ea-89fd-28fb313d1886_story.html">visitors arrive from out of town</a>, they may bring COVID-19 with them.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man partially wearing a mask waits for an employment interview in Imperial County, California." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365315/original/file-20201023-23-12ya5rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365315/original/file-20201023-23-12ya5rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365315/original/file-20201023-23-12ya5rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365315/original/file-20201023-23-12ya5rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365315/original/file-20201023-23-12ya5rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365315/original/file-20201023-23-12ya5rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365315/original/file-20201023-23-12ya5rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Unemployed workers wait to fill out job applications in a region hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/faustino-who-is-currently-unemployed-waits-after-filling-news-photo/1258000442">Mario Tama/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Local health care is already short-supplied</h2>
<p>Pinpointing COVID-19 outbreaks early and stopping the spread can also be harder in rural areas.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305864#_i2">Funding for rural public health departments</a> has long been anemic, crippling their ability to test, share data and conduct contact tracing. Limited resources also constrain education and outreach efforts.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ivantageindex.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/CCRH_Vulnerability-Research_FiNAL-02.14.20.pdf">Many rural hospitals</a> and <a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20200415.293535/full/">primary care practices</a> entered the pandemic in financial trouble and <a href="https://www.astho.org/generickey/GenericKeyDetails.aspx?contentid=22780&folderid=5158&catid=7237">chronically short-staffed</a>. They reside squarely at the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-FrrAYfY0Q">end of the supply chain</a>, making acquisition of needed personal protective equipment and testing supplies difficult. Rural hospitals have <a href="https://khn.org/news/as-coronavirus-spreads-widely-millions-of-older-americans-live-in-counties-with-no-icu-beds/">fewer ICU beds per capita</a> than their urban counterparts. <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/health/maps">Lack of consistent broadband coverage</a> can make access to telehealth difficult, as well. </p>
<p>These factors, compounded by caring for a population that is comparatively <a href="https://www.nihcm.org/categories/rural-health-in-america-how-shifting-populations-leave-people-behind">older, sicker and poorer</a>, leave rural communities extraordinarily vulnerable as cases continue to rise.</p>
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<h2>How to turn the tide of rising cases</h2>
<p>Intervening now can slow the rate of rise of COVID-19 cases in rural hot spots while simultaneously building a more robust long-term response.</p>
<p>To be most effective, each rural area’s unique demographics, economies and perspectives should be considered as policies are developed.</p>
<p>For example, allowing rural communities to exert control over their reopening and closing decisions based on local disease transmission dynamics would allow them to better balance disease mitigation with economic impacts. Some states allow rural communities with few or no cases <a href="https://www.cpr.org/2020/05/29/a-slap-in-the-face-some-rural-counties-frustrated-with-how-colorado-grants-health-order-waivers/">to apply for waivers</a> from statewide public health orders. These applications generally look at local infection data, containment measures and health care capacity. </p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jrh.12432">Changing the nature of the conversation</a> around COVID-19 in the community can also help in implementing simple, effective measures like mask-wearing. When communications are personal, they may be more accepted. For example, a public service message could remind people that wearing a mask keeps your favorite business open and your grandmother healthy. Framing levels of risk in understandable terms for different types of activities can also help, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/7-tips-for-staying-safe-as-covid-19-cases-rise-and-colder-weather-heightens-the-risk-146981">how to exercise or socialize safely</a>. Working with trusted local messengers, such as business owners and faith leaders, can help convey evidence-based information.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A cafe owner wears a protective face mask in Stillwater, Oklahoma." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365316/original/file-20201023-13-i0y3qf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365316/original/file-20201023-13-i0y3qf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365316/original/file-20201023-13-i0y3qf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365316/original/file-20201023-13-i0y3qf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365316/original/file-20201023-13-i0y3qf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365316/original/file-20201023-13-i0y3qf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365316/original/file-20201023-13-i0y3qf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Stillwater, Oklahoma, pulled back on requiring people to wear masks in stores last spring after officials said some customers threatened store employees.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/kelly-lyda-owner-of-the-aspen-cafe-stands-in-front-cafe-on-news-photo/1211912339">Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Planning is also essential. Communities need to prepare so they can get supplies, testing and treatment when needed; protect the most vulnerable community members; educate the community; and support people in isolation and quarantine. A <a href="https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/rural-and-risk-covid-19">rural regional approach to testing</a> and contact tracing, sharing supplies and <a href="https://www.aha.org/system/files/media/file/2020/08/aha-cs-lincoln-0820.pdf">swapping staff</a> could help bridge some of the gaps. Getting test results closer to home could decrease wait times and courier costs. Sharing resources across health care organizations could also minimize the burden of response.</p>
<h2>3 ways to strengthen systems for the future</h2>
<p>COVID-19 isn’t likely to be the last pandemic rural America will see. Here are three ways to strengthen rural systems for the future.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>By partnering with universities and local and state agencies, communities can incorporate their unique susceptibilities into dynamic <a href="https://www.techwire.net/news/experts-say-state-covid-models-are-inaccurate-in-rural-areas.html">epidemiological models</a> that could better inform local public health and economic decisions.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/news/governor-mills-introduces-rural-reopening-plan-2020-05-08">Aligning public health and health care</a> measures could help governments better balance pandemic responses and ensure all parts of the community are moving toward the same goal.</p></li>
<li><p>Increasing broadband access and internet speeds in rural and frontier communities could also help. During the pandemic, people everywhere have appreciated the need for <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/internet/rural-broadband-coronavirus/">internet connectivity</a> for education, remote work and purchasing goods, as well as virtual health care.</p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148310/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren Hughes’ work to strengthen rural health infrastructure is funded in part by the ZOMA Foundation. She is also affiliated with the Rural Health Redesign Center Organization.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roberto Silva receives funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
</span></em></p>Coronavirus cases have risen sharply across the Mountain West, Midwest and plains. Over 70% of nonmetropolitan counties are now “red zones,” suggesting viral spread is out of control.Lauren Hughes, State Policy Director, Farley Health Policy Center; Associate Professor of Family Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusRoberto Silva, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, University of Colorado DenverLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1430652020-08-18T16:49:57Z2020-08-18T16:49:57Z‘Schitt’s Creek’ and ‘Letterkenny’ are love letters to rural Canada<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352069/original/file-20200810-18-16vkrrx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=60%2C20%2C6720%2C4426&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The cast of 'Schitt's Creek' at the Canadian Screen Awards in 2019 — that year, the show won Best Comedy Program or Series.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>At the 72nd Emmy awards held on Sep. 20, <em>Schitt’s Creek</em> took home seven awards and <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/emmys-schitts-creek-sets-record-for-most-wins-in-a-single-season-for-a-comedy">set the record for most wins in a single season for a comedy series</a>. The show has captured the popular imagination in ways that few pieces of <a href="https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/cancon.htm">CanCon</a> have achieved outside our borders. Its quotable script and GIF-able ensemble of characters — featuring <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/06/eugene-levy-schitts-creek">Canadian comedic royalty</a> — play out in its namesake rural small-town of Schitt’s Creek, created as a stand-in for “<a href="https://doi.org/10.22230/cjc.2018v43n2a3207">Anytown, North America</a>.”</p>
<p>Another Canadian-created show, <em>Letterkenny</em>, has been described as a “<a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/10/11/20909844/letterkenny-hulu-review-pitter-patter">love letter to small town life</a>.” Beginning as a YouTube series that highlighted the very specific “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwyCwL-apAJQjmSp5jKGzaw">Letterkenny Problems</a>” experienced in rural midwestern Ontario (specifically, <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/listowel">Listowel</a>), the show was picked up by Canadian streaming service Crave in 2015. By 2016, <a href="https://www.bellmedia.ca/the-lede/press/letterkennys-huge-launch-on-cravetv-fuels-second-season-order/">nearly one in three subscribers had watched the series</a>.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_KLSbCtinXs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The first episode of the web series ‘Letterkenny.’</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Audiences may consume media without necessarily digesting it. As rural researchers who love a good giggle but who spend a lot of our time reminding people that “<a href="https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/working-together-a-guide-to-collaboration-in-rural-revitalization">if you’ve seen one rural town, you’ve seen <em>one</em> rural town</a>,” we can’t help but wonder how these two shows may serve to both challenge and reinforce people’s perceptions of rural life.</p>
<h2>In and out of place</h2>
<p>Both <em>Schitt’s Creek</em> and <em>Letterkenny</em> feel like love letters to rural Canada — but they are written by and for very different paramours. <em>Schitt’s Creek</em> is about outsiders becoming insiders, and the portrayal of people and place reflect this kind of outside-in perspective. Its six seasons show us <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6j34v96HkQ">a gentle evolution</a> (or a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B-WrdOjh5k_/?igshid=d7gau2tl4hxu">dispositional peregrination</a>, as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCFndZFbyEI">Moira Rose</a> <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/03/schitts-creek-moira-roses-bombastic-diction-fashion/584689/">would say</a>) as each member of the Rose family becomes slightly less awful through their rural-based redemption arcs. </p>
<p>In contrast, <em>Letterkenny</em> is very much written by and for <a href="https://cultmtl.com/2018/03/letterkenny-jared-keeso-montreal/">people in a particular community and relies on dialogue and stories that are specific to that place</a>. It features <a href="https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/television/how-letterkenney-puts-the-mythos-of-the-canadian-dirtbag-to-bed">rural people and places that are unlikely to be featured in sweeping tourism ads</a> meant to capitalize on place as a consumable good: Wayne (“the toughest guy in Letterkenny”) and company are not for sale.</p>
<p>Pop culture representations of rural people and places tend to range from <a href="https://eprint.ncl.ac.uk/file_store/production/222557/15B1C9C2-09FF-4DBC-8058-8CEC8693218F.pdf">idealistic reverence</a> to <a href="https://www.citizen-times.com/story/opinion/2019/06/27/taylor-swifts-you-need-calm-down-and-appalachian-myth/1572788001/">cartoonish caricatures</a>. The “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2007/sep/02/communities.money">rural idyll</a>” presents a romanticized vision of rural places as healthier, happier but ultimately emptier places than urban areas. On the flip side are stereotypes that paint rural places as backward and populated by ignorant fools. It’s a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/01/03/five-myths-about-rural-america/">dangerous and disingenuous dichotomy</a>.</p>
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<p>The reason <em>Schitt’s Creek</em> and <em>Letterkenny</em> make such interesting comparisons is that each show dances between winking at itself versus making rural places the butt of the joke. They <a href="https://www.thesputnik.ca/letterkenny-brings-canadian-stereotypes-to-new-levels/">lean into</a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fieT8bktYh4"> stereotypes</a> at times, while actively working to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/07/opinions/schitts-creek-final-season-utopia-yuko/index.html">disprove them</a> at others. </p>
<p>This dance is not without its missteps. <em>Letterkenny</em> has been called out for its <a href="https://femfilm18.wordpress.com/2018/10/16/letterkenny-problems/">problematic undercurrents of misogyny, racism and homophobia</a> while also being noted for how it <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/television/is-the-world-ready-for-letterkenny/article36750954/">confronts these issues through overt parody</a>. <em>Schitt’s Creek</em> falters in the same ways <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gzTRwnFmFM">the 1960s American sitcom <em>Green Acres</em></a> did more than a generation before it, but with a new twist: this time, the urbanites are a family of bankrupted socialites <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/06/schitts-creek-moira-rose-catherine-ohara">stranded in a small town</a> (run by a mulleted mayor) that <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/09/schitts-creek-and-the-subtle-joy-of-the-marriage-sitcom/598540/">they’d originally purchased as a joke</a>, like “<a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/no-netflix-i-am-not-going-to-finish-watching-schitt-s-creek-1.4163856"><em>The Beverly Hillbillies</em> in reverse</a>.”</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1215616386053083137"}"></div></p>
<p>However, an obvious affection for the weird and wonderful ways of their respective imaginary communities shines through in both shows. <em>Letterkenny</em> is <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/television/article-what-to-binge-watch-now-to-remind-us-of-who-we-really-are-decent/">refreshing</a> because it unabashedly embraces <a href="https://25yearslatersite.com/2018/08/10/the-surprising-quality-of-canadian-comedy-a-primer-for-americans/">the complexities of contemporary rural life</a>. Much of <em>Schitt’s Creek</em>’s humour stems from the Rose family’s <a href="https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a30613498/schitts-creek-best-alexis-rose-quotes-moments/">delusions of grandeur</a> and how the community handles the Roses’ often cringe-worthy behaviour with grace.</p>
<p>Both <em>Schitt’s Creek</em> and <em>Letterkenny</em> use their locations not just as background scenery, but as <a href="https://tv.avclub.com/the-setting-itself-is-a-character-17-fictional-tv-to-1798233194">titular characters</a>. By actively imagining a rural place that is progressive, smart and empathetic — things that Daniel Levy, the show’s co-creator, says “<a href="https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/daniel-levy-interview-schitts-creek-1234571257/">small towns are so often not shown as</a>” — <em>Schitt’s Creek</em> invites us into a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/q/tuesday-jan-7-2020-katherine-moennig-avkash-mann-and-more-1.5416148/schitt-s-creek-diehards-organize-fan-convention-final-pilgrimage-to-set-1.5416430">quirky and accepting universe</a>. There, everyone is treated dignity and respect (witness, for example, <a href="https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a31984312/schitts-creek-a-little-bit-alexis-true-story/">the wide-eyed but gentle reactions to the now-iconic song “A Little Bit Alexis”</a>). </p>
<p>The “<a href="https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/letterkenny-hulu-comedy-season-7-review">near-Shakespearean</a>” wordplay in <em>Letterkenny</em> often carries plot lines that see a group of mostly straight, cis-gendered white men engage with the complexity of life in ways that are <a href="https://www.autostraddle.com/letterkenny-is-the-surprisingly-queer-canadian-comedy-youve-been-sleeping-on-445550/">both human and humane</a>. (It also might be a town not-so-secretly <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/evjqg4/women-secretly-run-the-town-of-letterkenny">run by strong and smart women</a>.) We can’t dismiss its inhabitants as stupid or stereotypical. </p>
<p>In many ways, each show treats its inhabitants the way we’d all like to be treated: like whole human beings who sometimes get it wrong, but keep trying anyway.</p>
<h2>Stay weird, small towns</h2>
<p>Why does it matter that the Roses aren’t heroes and <em>Letterkenny</em> wasn’t created for city folks? Because the storytelling is so much richer as a result. These imperfect, reality-adjacent places ask us what it would be like if, as Levy puts it, “<a href="https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/daniel-levy-interview-schitts-creek-1234571257/">we were all a little more compassionate and empathetic</a>.” </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/B8rW364lT3S","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>For those of us who call rural Canada home, they serve as gentle fun-house mirrors, offering inspiration and exasperation in equal measure as we see versions of ourselves reflected back to us. They remind us, as essayist and cartoonist Tim Krieder put it, that “<a href="https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/15/i-know-what-you-think-of-me/">if we want the rewards of being loved we have to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known</a>,” and that rich, surprising experiences can and do exist beyond city limits and urban imaginations. </p>
<p>The take-home souvenirs — <a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/cbc-schitts-creek-Zdg7kl9bnyqXrPH2jq">a heart-warming “boop!”</a> on the nose and an invitation to <a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/cravecanada-valentines-day-valentine-letterkenny-45aI96X6uJ1figHLMb">share a beer with even the most unlikely of friends</a> — are a reminder of the power of relationships and community. We should all be so lucky to find ourselves celebrating what makes us weird and wonderful in communities like <em>Schitt’s Creek</em> and <em>Letterkenny</em>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143065/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>S. Ashleigh Weeden is a PhD Candidate in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development at the University of Guelph. Ashleigh is involved in a variety of research initiatives related to future-oriented rural policy, rural infrastructure, and place-based approaches to rural development. Ashleigh has received funding from the Rural Policy Learning Commons, Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation, the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance, the Digital Justice Lab, and the University of Guelph to support her research activities.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maggie J. Whitten Henry is a Master of Arts (Island Studies) Candidate at the University of Prince Edward Island. Maggie has received funding from the Rural Policy Learning Commons and the University of Prince Edward Island to support her research activities, and currently receives a Graduate Student stipend for her role as Interim Coordinator of the Institute of Island Studies at the University of Prince Edward Island.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laurie Brinklow does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Shows like ‘Schitt’s Creek’ and ‘Letterkenny’ upend how we imagine rural Canada to be. The small-town dynamics represented are wonderful presentations of what it means to be human.S. Ashleigh Weeden, PhD Candidate, School of Environmental Design & Rural Development, University of GuelphLaurie Brinklow, Course coordinator, Master of Arts in Island Studies, University of Prince Edward Island, University of Prince Edward IslandMaggie J. Whitten Henry, Master of Arts (Island Studies) Candidate, Institute of Island Studies, University of Prince Edward IslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1410162020-06-29T19:51:13Z2020-06-29T19:51:13ZHow small towns are responding to the global pandemic<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344163/original/file-20200625-33524-1m2hhre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C14%2C4927%2C3590&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Patrons eat outside at a small cafe in West Reading, Pennsylvania, as the community begins to reopen.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/bambi-good-and-her-daughter-alaina-of-reinholds-talk-with-news-photo/1249265204">Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Before the global pandemic hit, small towns across America were dealing with struggling economies, aging roads and bridges, and declining populations. </p>
<p>The coronavirus added new challenges, like additional demand for <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2020/04/28/484016/rural-america-starting-feel-impact-coronavirus/">limited hospital beds for an aging population</a>, many of whom have chronic health conditions.</p>
<p>Fortunately, as I’ve seen in my work at the <a href="https://www.smalltowncenter.msstate.edu/what-we-do">Small Town Center at Mississippi State University</a>, small towns have the advantage of being <a href="https://smartcitiesconnect.org/why-small-is-smart/">more nimble and responsive</a> <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90107689/small-towns-can-be-resilient-too">to crisis than cities</a>, largely because they have fewer regulations and more opportunities to be creative about problem-solving. </p>
<p>The pandemic has increased local leaders’ attention to their residents’ health – not just in terms of doctors and hospitals but also identifying new ways to help people get fitter, spend more time outdoors, eat healthier and boost local economies. Here are some ways people in small communities are adapting existing plans and creating new ways to keep their towns active and vibrant.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344165/original/file-20200625-33519-idmnvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344165/original/file-20200625-33519-idmnvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344165/original/file-20200625-33519-idmnvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344165/original/file-20200625-33519-idmnvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344165/original/file-20200625-33519-idmnvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344165/original/file-20200625-33519-idmnvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344165/original/file-20200625-33519-idmnvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344165/original/file-20200625-33519-idmnvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Previously busy town centers, like in Woodstock, Illinois, suddenly became very quiet and empty when the pandemic struck.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-stroll-through-a-nearly-deserted-town-square-on-news-photo/1217269318">Scott Olson/Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Paths and parks</h2>
<p>Many small towns are now looking to invest in sidewalks and bike paths. Communities like my own in Starkville, Mississippi, have done some work already, but are seeing an enormous increase in interest in walking <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/18/nyregion/bike-shortage-coronavirus.html">and cycling</a>, for both recreation and commuting. </p>
<p>There is plenty of evidence that extensive networks of bike paths and sidewalks <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/where-we-live/wp/2017/10/09/walkable-neighborhoods-provide-health-environmental-and-financial-benefits/">create healthier communities</a>. They offer <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/features/walk-friendly-communities/index.html">more recreation space</a> for people looking for activities that are outdoors and close to their homes.</p>
<p>But more than that, these routes are useful for people who need to visit local businesses or medical offices but are no longer willing or able to take a bus or get a ride from a friend, neighbor or ride service. Mississippi State University is installing additional bike racks around campus, to help people get to work and class without using public transit, which may be limited because of social distancing requirements. </p>
<p>With <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/article243784962.html">gyms</a> <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/06/24/appeals-court-says-michigan-gyms-must-stay-closed-now/3255383001/">closed</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2020/06/15/11-ways-pandemic-will-change-travel/">vacation travel</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/06/coronavirus-pandemics-impact-on-travel-tourism-in-5-charts.html">more limited</a>, residents and their communities are also <a href="https://www.metropolismag.com/architecture/landscape/covid-19-landscape-architecture/">placing new value on parks</a> and open spaces. Unfortunately, <a href="https://www.nrpa.org/blog/highlighting-the-power-of-rural/agencies">many small towns</a> <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2Fs12160-012-9426-x">do not have</a> <a href="https://www.tpl.org/parkserve">ample parks and green spaces</a> for recreation. Nor do many rural towns have sidewalks.</p>
<h2>Food options</h2>
<p>Many people around the country are limiting their trips to grocery stores, and are exploring buying <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/industries-seeing-growth-during-coronavirus-155936095.html">directly from local farmers</a> for the first time. The <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-farming-trfn/farmers-prosper-in-pandemic-as-americans-shop-local-idUSKBN22C2YX">farmers make more money</a> by cutting out the middleman, and consumers can get fresh local produce at affordable prices.</p>
<p>Small towns are also seeing more of the <a href="https://www.13abc.com/content/news/Food-trucks-businesses-booming-during-COVID-19-569637261.html">urban phenomenon of food trucks and carts</a>. Those businesses can be cheap to start – making them <a href="https://www.hungrynomadtruck.com/food-trucks-are-taking-on-smaller-cities/">well suited for small towns</a> with fewer potential customers.</p>
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<p>In urban areas, food trucks often set up in designated areas, but in small towns, I’m seeing that the food trucks travel to customers’ neighborhoods or businesses – much like ice cream trucks make the rounds. They are also using digital technology to <a href="https://www.zipwhip.com/blog/how-food-trucks-attract-customers-texting/">reach customers in new ways</a>. In Starkville, Mississippi, for instance, people can <a href="https://www.facebook.com/starkvillemomandpop/">use Facebook to request</a> that the Mom and Pop breakfast-and-lunch truck visit their neighborhood. </p>
<p>Starkville also has several food carts that set up outside a local factory to <a href="https://extension.unh.edu/blog/10-creative-ways-businesses-are-serving-customers-during-crisis">offer workers easy lunch options</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344166/original/file-20200625-33511-1yvf5tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344166/original/file-20200625-33511-1yvf5tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344166/original/file-20200625-33511-1yvf5tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344166/original/file-20200625-33511-1yvf5tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344166/original/file-20200625-33511-1yvf5tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344166/original/file-20200625-33511-1yvf5tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344166/original/file-20200625-33511-1yvf5tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344166/original/file-20200625-33511-1yvf5tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Tourism businesses are key to many small towns, including Cannon Beach, Oregon, where lodging staff and guests have to wear masks and separate themselves with plastic barriers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Virus-Outbreak/bdbd6a34ac534cf580a44fe2dfcfe074/5/0">AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus</a></span>
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<h2>Boosting tourism</h2>
<p>Small-town industries and manufacturing businesses are mostly gone, leaving the communities looking for ways to diversify their economies. Some places have invested in cultural tourism, which encourages travelers to visit particular communities and learn about their local culture.</p>
<p>Many forms of tourism are suffering from social distancing and other travel limitations, but in-state visitors are still welcome across the country. Some states are welcoming tourists from other states <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2020/06/19/road-trip-alert-travel-to-or-through-these-states-can-mean-you-need-to-self-quarantine/#1d047f275b2b">without asking them to self-quarantine</a>.</p>
<p>Since 2015, the Quitman County Economic Development Foundation, the Marks Historical Society and local officials in Marks, Mississippi, have been working to grow the town’s tourism base. Marks is
the home of a <a href="https://civilrightstrail.com/attraction/mississippi-freedom-trail/">cultural trail</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/05/13/610097454/how-a-mule-train-from-marks-miss-kicked-off-mlks-poor-people-campaign">honoring the starting point</a> of Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic 1968 <a href="https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/poor-peoples-campaign">Poor People’s Campaign</a>.</p>
<p>It’s a self-guided tour for cars, bicycles and pedestrians that includes both local historical sites and local restaurants and businesses. It’s an example of how communities can promote history and the local economy while encouraging biking and walking in an obesity-ridden region. The trail has <a href="https://www.mississippi.org/news-room/tourism-report-shows-revenue-jobs-continue-to-rise-in-mississippi/">improved the local economy</a>, benefits that can continue despite the pandemic because it’s a form of tourism that easily allows social distancing.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344164/original/file-20200625-33546-7ud1iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344164/original/file-20200625-33546-7ud1iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344164/original/file-20200625-33546-7ud1iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344164/original/file-20200625-33546-7ud1iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344164/original/file-20200625-33546-7ud1iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344164/original/file-20200625-33546-7ud1iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344164/original/file-20200625-33546-7ud1iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344164/original/file-20200625-33546-7ud1iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The small town of Tenino, Washington, issued wooden currency, being printed here on an 1890s-era press, to help residents and local merchants alike get through the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Virus-Outbreak-One-Good-Thing-Wooden-Money/84bb31170fcd4b2dbcb99dd19a5e187d/22/0">AP Photo/Ted S. Warren</a></span>
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<h2>Shopping</h2>
<p>Like communities of all sizes, small towns are looking at the <a href="http://www.reflector-online.com/life/article_f743b514-3589-11ea-9a5d-cf152a192d3d.html">physical layouts of their public spaces and businesses</a>. Some are too small to accommodate many visitors while still observing social distancing. For instance, one small-town coffee shop in Starkville has opened a walk-up window to serve patrons who can remain outside in a well-spaced line.</p>
<p>Many towns are expanding restaurants’ sidewalk seating areas for outdoor dining, even taking over parking spaces on nearby streets or <a href="https://www.universalhub.com/2020/short-roslindale-square-street-shut-preparation">closing roads entirely</a> – something cities are doing as well. My center is involved in developing one of these new “<a href="https://www.theurbanist.org/2020/05/18/the-year-of-car-free-streateries/">streateries</a>” which can not only accommodate social distancing measures but make downtown businesses more visible to community members and passersby. As opposed to urban streateries, our design is specifically geared to small towns with limited budgets and quick assembly using volunteers with minimal expertise. </p>
<p>In these efforts, small towns are continuing to adapt to adversity. To do so, they may take lessons from elsewhere – even large cities, like Singapore’s idea to have fun by <a href="https://matadornetwork.com/read/singapore-colorful-tape-turning-social-distancing-guidelines-art/">creating art as a way to mark proper social distancing</a> in public spaces – while adapting them to local needs. Some of these temporary adjustments to meet short-term problems may even turn into longer-term ways to address the needs of small towns and the people who live in them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141016/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leah Kemp does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Local leaders and business owners have had to get creative to help their residents stay healthy and keep community economies going.Leah Kemp, Director and Primary Researcher, Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center; Adjunct Professor of Architecture, Mississippi State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.