Preserving Rurality

Neal Peirce writes that the challenges of the current economy and the need to lure business is threatening to erode the qualities that make places "rural".

"Rural America varies greatly, with towns and farms, mining communities, prairies, forests, rangelands covering thousands of square miles nationwide. But it's also the outer suburban edge communities, plus second home and retirement concentrations, not to mention 'gateway' communities near our coastlines and national parks.

But from all sorts of rural communities, states Matthew Dalbey, a chief author of the new report, questions have rolled in - 'We're different from big cities and suburbs; how can we put ‘smart growth' to work to stay rural, to preserve our quality of life, but still develop?'"