Post on 08-Feb-2016
description
Rural Gentrification?:
Social, Cultural, and Economic Change in “Rural” North America
Changes in Rural North America Since the 1960s
• Industrialization of Agriculture• Rural Depopulation• Aging Demographics• Resource Depletion• Environmental Conflicts• Retirement Economies
How Rural Land Markets Work
• “Highest and best use”• Modest competition and relative stability• Minimal role of “speculator-developers”• Changing role of state actors• Role of finance capital• Real estate agents/brokers• Minimal role for builders• Appraiser, title companies, others
Rural “Rent-Gaps”
• Rural vs. urban investment and consequences for rural areas
• The emergence of “rent-gaps”• Narrowing of gaps in urban areas matched
by widening in some rural areas?• Changes in the nature of demand
(economic restructuring, social movements, new demographics)
Example and Interlinkages:Selective “Rural Gentrification”
• Expansion of markets for retirement property, hobby farms, etc.
• Pre-existing geography of environmental amenities
• Proximity to population centers• Preservation rather than development• Non-traditional class and cross-class
conflicts and alliances
Rural Gentrification andRural Cultural Change
• Types of areas impacted (accessibility vs. inaccessibility)
• New labor economies• Place-based environmental politics• Geographies of exclusion and insularity• Commodification of nature• Commodification of lifestyle• Change in rural landscape & culture
Types of Areas Impacted
New Labor Economies
Place-Based Environmental Politics
Geographies of Exclusion and Insularity
Commodification of Nature
Commodification ofLifestyle
Change in Rural Landscapeand Culture
Conclusions
• Rural gentrification is selective and highly class-based
• Unusual cross-class alliances have been crucial in facilitating the process
• Old economies have been fetishized and commodified
• New economies rely on cultures of environmental preservation and exclusions based on market processes + (in)accessibility
Could it Happen Here?
• Does northern Minnesota feature the conditions necessary for rural gentrification to happen?
• Would it be a good thing if it did happen?• Is it already happening???
DISCUSS!!!