b-Abstract-vibrantcommunities-Muske.htm

Implications for Cooperative Extension. Rural America faces many challenges as it struggles to maintain its quality of life as it also struggles to maintain its vitality and viability. Many rural areas in the 1990’s have seen a decreasing, aging population with fewer job opportunities, a loss in services and a decrease in retail opportunities. A common feeling is that the youth are leaving for better opportunities elsewhere. Still other areas are facing rapid growth often brought about by a scenic amenity. Rural citizens are concerned with how they can maintain the quality of life they desire and keep their community and economy sound. This article proposes four elements necessary in those efforts.

Overview. Whether you work for the Cooperative Extension Service or just pay attention to the popular press, one hears a continual message about what is occurring in rural America. While some communities experienced growth in the 1990s, many others experienced a continued decline that began in 1970s or even before. As the new millennium opens, often the changes are expected to continue.

In an article written by the Southern Rural Development Center, the current state of the rural South is examined. The argument is made that the building of a sustainable, vibrant, and strong rural America, four elements are required:

Expand the quality of the human capital resource base.
Build an entrepreneurial spirit that supports local economic development opportunities.
Enhance the rural digital capacity .
Promote the broad-based involvement of individuals in local communities.

As noted, the economic make-up of rural areas today look much different than what they did only 30 or 40 years ago. Agriculture and manufacturing are no longer the major economic sectors. Today retail trade and services have become the economic engine. Over 90% of the jobs created in the 1990s were in the service sector.

The shift to these sectors has contributed to two areas of concern in the development of vibrant communities. First, the jobs in these sectors often pay lower rates than did the manufacturing jobs previously available. Second, there is also a gap between what these jobs pay, in particular the service jobs, in the urban areas as opposed to rural areas and that gap is growing. While rural service jobs paid 70% of comparable urban jobs in 1990, today the ratio has decreased to where rural service jobs now only pay 66%. Similar trends are seen in the retail trade area.

Strategies for Vibrant Communities. Although a variety of possible strategies could be implemented, the article suggests four key elements for building the long-term welfare of rural communities. The first step begins with the enhancement of a community’s human capital resources beginning with its youth. A community can assist both parents and guardians with the knowledge and tools to develop educational aspirations and nurturing. This can expand with the encouragement of positive relationships between student and teacher as well as teacher and parent. However the enhancement of human capital does not end with youth, human capital must be developed in all citizens, young and old.

The second element encourages the creation of an entrepreneurial spirit within the community. Often economic development efforts focus on recruiting a major manufacturing company. The odds of doing that are very small. Instead a more successful economic development program uses a multi-faceted approach. That effort includes working with existing businesses, the existing resource base, as well as working with local community members who are interested in starting their own business. Communities can help by developing a pool of quality workers, nurturing new businesses, enacting policies supportive to business growth and development, and finally to make it explicitly known that the development of local businesses is part of the strategy. Certainly, education, mentoring, and networking become key strategies in this effort.

Next, communities must work to ensure that all citizens have access to computers and the Internet. The inclusion of all will be necessary for full participation in the economic, political and social aspects of our country.

Finally, the development of these and other community-vitality elements requires that all citizens are involved, offering ideas, and discussing the issues that face the community and in making decisions that will affect the community. As part of the effort, all local people must be involved in the decision making and leadership opportunities available within the community.

Summary. Rural communities find themselves struggling to maintain the quality of life that many have known for years. The challenge is how to maintain a quality that will retain those currently living in the rural areas while also attracting new people with new ideas. This job will not be easy. The elements listed here are not the complete solution. They represent the cornerstones thought of rural America’s growth.