Posts Tagged ‘people attraction strategy’

Can we turn a desert into an oasis?

January 12th, 2010

At ReImagine Rural, we talk a lot about the transformation of rural communities because we believe that our rural economies have to be something different than they were in the ‘50s and 60’s.  We often  focus our energy  around how we can turn our rural communities into places where young people want to live. And sometimes, we look to urban resources to learn what’s most attractive.  

But while working on another project, I was recently reminded that there are dangers lurking for communities who try to become something they are not.  In her book, Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, Kathleen Norris writes:  

Making the Plains a home means accepting its limitation and not, as many townspeople do even in drought years, watering a lawn to country club perfection.  Making this all we need means accepting that we are living in an arid plains of western South Dakota, not in Connecticut (which has the rainfall to sustain such greenery) or Palm Springs (which doesn’t but has the money to pretend other otherwise).”

As Norris explains, we once tried to become something we were not by transforming the unbroken sod of the Great Plains into 160 acre farms, which the reality of our arid climate would never sustain. It’s a lesson in geography that more community leaders need to understand if they hope to lead wisely. 

But does that mean small, rural communities can’t change?  By trying to learn from urban principles that are popular with young people, are we trying to turn a desert into an oasis?

I don’t think so, and I don’t believe that’s what Norris implies.  Change is possible, but we must first understand ourselves as well as the places we call home.  Otherwise, we’ll end up as something that conflicts with the realities of our cultural geography. 

And that’s part of what Norris’ book can help us accomplish.  Norris taps into her experience as a newcomer to the small, rural community of Lemmon, SD to write this book.  In it, she provides insights into how small rural communities operate that often get missed by those who have lived in small towns their whole lives.  It’s something we can all learn from. 

Photo Credit:  Larry Page - Flickr (Al’s Oasis in Chamberlain is South Dakota’s most famous oasis.)

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Should we banish “brain drain” from our vocabulary

January 8th, 2010

In his report “Rural Migration:  The Brain Gain of Newcomers,” Ben Winchester tells us that many parts of rural Minnesota are experiencing a brain gain with new residents age 30-45 moving in.  This is a very important occurrence because rural areas tend to lose younger individuals as they go off to college. 

For those who haven’t read the report, I want to share a few insights Ben sent me via e-mail. 

First, Ben’s research leads him to believe the trend he discovered in Minnesota is widespread across the Rural Midwest, including South Dakota.  While I trust Ben’s academic prowess, I’d still like to see some research to support it.  After all, my South Dakota heritage tells me that all the good stuff happens to Minnesota and not South Dakota.

Second, he highlights a point made explicit in his report:  Over half of the residents moving to rural communities come with college degrees.  This trend has helped raise the educational attainment level of rural communities.  In other words, the communities are getting smarter, not dumber, which leads to his last point.

Finally, using the word “brain drain” to describe the rural population movement creates problems for us as we try to move rural communities forward.  As Ben writes, “the use of negative language to describe the dynamics of our small towns (brain drain, outmigration) makes it difficult to foresee a way forward for our rural people.” 

This last point is one that I’ve long agreed with.  From my economic development specialist’s perspective, using “brain drain” creates a marketing challenge.  Why would we expect outsiders to look positively at our communities when we imply that the smart people are all moving away?

But I’ve continued to use the phrase anyway for a couple reasons.  First, even though it’s negative, the phrase helps focus our attention on the issue of young people moving out of our communities.  And second, I’m not aware of a term to replace it with.  

Ben and I hope to get together sometime in the near future to discuss this and other issues.  I’m open to the possibility of banishing the word from my vocabulary.  But before I do, want to throw the topic out to our readers here at ReImagine Rural. 

Should we banish the phrase “brain drain” from our language?  And if so, how can we continue to focus attention on the need to create change in our rural communities so that they become more attractive places for young people?  What do you think?

Photo Credit:  spierzchala - Flickr

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Rural “Brain Gain”! It’s true

January 6th, 2010

A few weeks ago, Jennifer Gumbel, a Gen Y lawyer from Le Roy, MN commented on a Minnesota Public Radio forum that she thought her rural communities was experiencing “brain gain” rather than “brain drain.”  In other words, young people are staying and moving into her community at a higher rate than those moving out. (see more on this here) 

Well, it looks like her intuition was right.  The University of Minnesota’s Extension Center for Community Vitality has produced a report titled “Rural Migration:  The Brain Gain of Newcomers,” which support’s Gumbel’s claims.

Using a “simple cohort technique” to analyze population growth and decline, the study found that many rural Minnesota communities are experiencing an in-migration of adults in age cohorts of 35-49.  Definitely a positive trend.  And when these new residents move in, they often bring children, causing an increase over time in the class sizes in rural schools.  This trend points out the importance for rural communities to develop “people attraction strategies” targeting young adults in their child rearing years. 

The report doesn’t analyze why residents were attracted to these rural Minnesota counties, but it does offer analysis conducted by the University of Nebraska. This research of why people age 30-44 have moved to the Panhandle region suggests they do so because they want:

I’m definitely over simplifying the analysis of the “Rural Migration:  The Brain Gain of Newcomers” report, so I hope readers will dig in deeper.  (BTW, I found it to be a very readable report.) I hope that someone will eventually study the specifics of why people are moving to these rural Minnesota communities and why they are not moving to others.  I suspect employment plays a key role, but I doubt that it the only factor.  The report has also left me hoping to discover current trends in rural South Dakota.  Could we have a “brain gain” and not know it?

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4 Ways I “listen” for Hollowing out the Middle

October 26th, 2009

Today, I stumbled on a Facebook page for Hollowing out the Middle.  It appears to have been created by the book’s publishers, who intend to use it as a means of advertising the book. 

This isn’t the publishing company’s first foray into using social media as a means of marketing the book.  In fact, I first became aware of the book because of a YouTube video they produced months in advance of the book’s release — leading me to publish this post.

I’ve decided to become a fan of the Hollowing out the Middle Facebook page because I hope it will lead me to additional resources on the book’s focus - which is how rural communities can stem youth outmigration.  

Online listening is a skill that all rural leaders need to improve.  (FYI - we all need to improve our face-to-face listening skills as well.)  With that in mind, I thought I’d share a few ways that I listen for “Hollowing out the Middle.” 

4 Ways I listen for “Hollowing out the Middle”

Some may think this may be listening overkill.  But I know the list is not all inclusive.  What it does, however, is makes sure that I am able to participate in any conversation occurring online on the subject.  If you know of other ways that I should be listening, I hope you will share. 

 

Note:  Other posts about Hollowing out the Middle on ReImainge Rural can be found here. 

Photo Credit:  wonderferret -  Flickr

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If you’ve been in one rural community…

October 23rd, 2009

Distinguished sociologist Daryl Hobbs frequently told me and fellow Miner County (SD) residents, “If you’ve been in one rural community, you’ve only been in one rural community.”  Hobbs issued that warning to remind us that each small town held its own distinguishing features.  Just because we heard of one community’s problems on the TV news, didn’t mean we should assume those same problems existed in our community.  For that reason, he challenged us (and other rural community leaders) to dig in and understand the nuances of what made our community unique. 

I was reminded of Hobb’s exhortation today while reading a book review of Hollowing out the Middle, a book I highly recommend.  Published in the Wall Street Journal, the reviewer offered a lukewarm assessment of the book’s value to rural leaders.

In the review, he also leveled one scathing criticism over the authors’ claims that small town schools in the Heartland are divided along socio-economic lines.  The reviewer writes: 

The authors are on shakier ground discussing Ellis itself. You cannot drop into a town for a year and come away with deep understandings. Their claim that “there is probably no other place in American society where the rules of class and status play out with a more brutal efficiency than in the world of a country high school” is so howlingly inaccurate that only displaced urban academics could believe it.

 The reviewer’s statement drew my attention because I too struggled with veracity of the author’s claims on this subject.  As a former teacher, I feel comfortable saying the divide was not as severe (as the authors maintain) in the two rural South Dakota schools where I taught.  I can site numerous examples of quite the opposite, where students rise above the challenges presented by the status of their birth. 

So how can the authors, claim be so far off from my personal experiences?  Perhaps it’s because they base their analysis of the rural Heartland largely from interviews in one rural community. And if you’ve been to one rural community, you’ve only been to one rural community. 

But divisions along socio-economic lines did, and I suspect still do, exist in the schools and communities where I taught.  And Hollowing out the Middle helped me see those relationships in a new light.  For instance, I know that one of the greatest advantages that rural education offers over an urban one is that teachers are able to get to know the parents of their students on a much deeper level.  After reading the book, however, I can’t help but wonder how I and other fellow teachers might have imposed conditions of the parents onto their children. 

Some readers will undoubtedly be offended by the author’s claims.  But I don’t think they intend the claim as a condemnation.  Rather, they intended it as a tool for helping us examine what lies beneath the surface of our behaviors. 

Therein lays the value offered by the book.  While I can’t agree that “the rules of class and status play out with a more brutal efficiency” in the rural towns and schools that I’ve experienced, I know that elements of it exist in all of our rural schools in the Heartland. And I think that every community could develop a richer understanding of itself by holding a conversation on the subject. 

So let me conclude by asking, “Do you think socio-economic divisions are as pervasive in your rural school as the authors suggest?”  Is that a conversation you are willing to have? 

 

Photo Credit: Alexandraless - Flickr    (Let’s hope young people don’t jump for joy at the prospect of leaving rural communities after graduation.)

 

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It’s not easy to ReImagine Rural

October 14th, 2009

Hollowing out the Middle has been gaining attention on the regional and national scale.  The book’s major premise - that rural communities must be more thoughtful in addressing the issue of youth outmigration - is not always well received, but it has been thought provoking. 

I recently listened to a 45 minute interview of Maria J. Kefalas (one of the book’s authors along with Patrick J. Carr) on the “On Point with Tom Ashbrook” show on National Public Radio.   Kefalas was joined on the show by Creighton University Professor Ernie Goss, and Douglas Burns, a columnist for the Daily Times Herald in Carroll, IA.

There’s a lot of good stuff worth listening to on the show, but I thought the best comment was delivered by Kefalas when she stated: 

There’s a growing realization that in order to continue to exist….the old way of life has to cease to exist.  When you are faced with oblivion - or reimagining - and abandoning this cherished way of life, that’s a huge challenge.”

Kefalas used the words “reimaging” numerous times throughout the interview to describe what rural communities should be focused on.  Obviously, those are cherished words at the Rural Learning Center, where “ReImage Rural” is our trademarked tag line. 

In using this language, I think Kefalas recognizes the importance of transformation rather than revitalization as a community development strategy.

Some readers may think I make too big a deal of the difference between the two, but I would disagree.  Revitalization beacons to the past, while transformation speaks to fundamental change.  In other words, transformational strategies will mean “the old way of life has to cease to exist.”

It’s always easier to imagine a future that is based on the known past–rather than reimagining based on an unknown future.  It is time, however, that we stop taking the easy path. 

Past Posts about Hollowing out the Middle

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Are polar bears more important than rural communities?

September 18th, 2009

Let me begin by saying that I love polar bears and believe Americans need to alter their daily lives to help combat the global warming that is destroying the polar bear’s environment.

But it also seems to me that most Americans care little about the future of rural communities.  And apparently, I’m not alone. 

 

Hollowing out the Middle agrees

I’m still working my way through the recently released Hollowing out the Middle:  The Rural Brain Drain and What it Means for America, but I’m far enough along to offer a few thoughts.  (I also wrote about it back in April, before it was released.)

The authors open by asking the question that often troubles me:  “Why should we care about the future of small towns in the Heartland?”(p. ix)  They then offer a statement that inspired the above headline:

Though the small town claims an iconic place in the American psyche, we are considerably less alarmed by the emptying out of the prairie and plains towns than by the endangered status of the polar bear, an altogether more universally vulnerable symbol and one that our kids can easily comprehend and mourn the loss of.  (p. ix)

Unlike most books that begin with “whoa onto us” statements like the above, the authors quickly redirect the direct the energy of the book from blaming others to that of self-reflection. 

They close their preface by stating, “It is people’s actions that ultimately determine whether a place hollows out.” (p. xiv)

Yes! I agree.

 

We are responsible

Rural residents have as much responsibility for the future of their communities as free market economics or government policies.  We choose where we buy our groceries.  We choose how trashy or vibrant our communities look.  And we choose how our young people feel about their communities by what we tell them and how we invest in them. 

Unfortunately, little attention is ever directed at this last statement.  And that’s why this book is so important.

 

Just Do it!

So why do Americans today care so much for the polar bear and so little about rural communities?  I suspect it’s because some passionate individuals took notice of the polar bear’s plight and have attempted to do something about it.

I know that’s an oversimplification, but I’m confident our actions will speak loader than our words alone. 

Where should you begin?  I’d recommend purchasing Hollowing out the Middle and learning more about why young people are leaving the American Heartland.  And then, if you think it’s worthy, recommend it to a friend, and spark a conversation on the subject. (I’ve already purchased a copy for a friend at the Souuth Dakota Department of Education.)

It seems to me that as we take action (like Iroquois, SD is doing) and build a conversation, we will be successful at raising the awareness of the importance of Rural America.  Not only will our communities be stronger, but others will finally “get it” and understand our passion for rural. 

And who knows, maybe someday we’ll be as important as the polar bear.

 

Photo credit (top):  Oxfam International - Flickr.  (Let me be clear that I am in no way attempting to belittle those who seek to save the polar bear.  On the contrary, we can learn much from their passion.)

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Don’t Ask, Don’t Care

September 9th, 2009

Have you asked a young person lately what they think of their community or what they’d like to change to make it a more attractive place for young people to live? 

If you haven’t, you are not alone.  According to a study of young people in rural northeast Nebraska, only 29% of the 1,833 students in the study responded that they had been asked questions of this nature.

That begs the question: if we don’t ask, does it mean we don’t care?

I don’t think so.  It’s my observation that rural residents care deeply about the future of their communities and recognize how important young people are to that future.  The problem is that we don’t know any better.

 

But not knowing is not an excuse!

That’s why I’ve been waiting impatiently to read Hollowing out the Middle, ever since I learned about it back in April.  The authors studied the “brain drain” issue in a rural town in Northeast Iowa, and concluded that rural residents play a significant role in driving young people away.   

The book, which was recently released, should arrive on my doorstep by Friday.  (Thank you Amazon.) Even though I’m sure it will offer insights into how we can better retain our young people, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that one of the first steps is to show young people that we care about them.  We may think that young people already know this, but when we don’t ask questions like “what do you want this place to be like?” they tend to forget. 

It may be a few weeks before I’m able to finish Hollowing out the Middle, and I’ll share my insights with you here.  What I haven’t shared with you yet, however, is that there’s more to the story about Nebraska’s youth. 

 

The Rest of the Story

What’s remarkable about the Nebraska youth study is that despite not being asked about the future of their rural communities, most still want to return.  According to the Nebraska Community Foundation (who helped fund the study along with The Connie Fund), 51% of those surveyed could see themselves living in the area in the future if career opportunities are available.  And only 12% felt that their rural community was too small.  (See page 6-7 of the Summer 2009 issue of the Nebraska Community Foundation’s newsletter). 

That news leaves me wondering what the results would be if we started asking young people what they want their communities to be like, and then made  them a part of the effort to achieve it. 

 

See also:  Omaha World Herald article titled “Neb. kids like hometowns.” 

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The “Buffalo Commons” Revisited

June 24th, 2009

The Buffalo Commons, a 1987 article by Frank and Deborah Popper, is a proposal to abandon the Great Plains and return the area to native short-grass prairie. As you might have guessed, the Poppers’ idea has been less than welcomed by residents of the Great Plains. Their idea has recently been challenged by a University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) study that suggests young people and families are returning to the plains.

UNL undertook their study ( “Today’s Buffalo Commons - Not what you might expect” ) to explain the unexpected population increase in the Nebraskan panhandle. They found that the area had an encouraging influx of new, young inhabitants.

How can we bring this encouragement to other areas? The study not only points out facts, but brings hope to rural areas. There can be in-migration. People will come. However, it is going to take some active recruiting and providing ongoing support for new families once they arrive.

Whatever a community’s views and actions toward newcomers may be, towns need to realize that they need people. Accepting and welcoming new, young people will bring life and vitality to a community. A new generation will thrive in rural areas; they are looking for places to raise families (which is good news for rural schools too).

Small towns can get the entire community involved in the recruitment process. Tell young friends and family all the great things that are going on in your small town. Yes, young people need jobs, but they are looking for a “community” to call home - not just a workplace.

If we were to do a similar study, what would we find about your community? It’s time to tell the Poppers and ourselves that people are coming here to live. Rural life on the plains is flourishing; we just need to think about attracting people in new ways.

 Other resources

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Third Places in the blogosphere

May 8th, 2009

As mentioned previously, I believe third places help build social capital within a community, make a community a more attractive place to live, and help develop a sense of place.  It’s probably a stretch to say they can solve every problem in a community, but I think third places are pretty important. 

We haven’t spent much time talking about third places lately, so I thought I’d provide a quick highlight on a couple references that I have stumbled across in the blogosphere lately.

First, Daryl Phillips, Executive Director of the Hickman County Economic Development Association, discovered our original post about third places and writes about the role third places play in his community. 

Second, the eclectic blog titled Our Third Place was launched in February.  To date, seven posts populate the site, providing first hand experiences of third places. 

Third, an older post on The Greater Great Washington blog describes how a third place can help make a community more attractive and walkable. Granted it references Washington, DC, but I think there is still some applicability for rural. 

These are but three of the innumerable posts about third places that have come to my attention.  In the future, I’ll try to do a better job of bringing them to your attention as well.

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