Rural Communities: Legacy and Change

by Cornelia Butler Flora, Jan L. Flora, Susan Fey

Communities in rural America are a complex mixture of peoples and cultures struggling to survive by implementing innovative approaches to their problems. These people range from miners who have been laid off in West Virginia, to Laotian immigrants relocating in Kansas to work at a beef processing plant, to entrepreneurs drawing up plans for a world-class ski resort in California's Sierra Nevada.This thoroughly revised edition of Rural Communities focuses on various capitals in rural areas-natural, cultural, human, social, political, financial, and built. This integrative approach provides students with a framework for understanding rural society based on the concepts and explanations of social science. Issues covered include racial and cultural diversity; globalization and rural communities; the central role of communities in organizing a sustainable future; and building community in the context of ubiquitous change. Updates to the third edition include a new chapter on governance, as well as new material on increasing tensions over international immigration, the differential impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on rural communities, and the rural impacts of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the south. The authors also examine the international trade regime, economic restructuring, and the choices for communities and regions in the face of these changes.

 

Genres: Social Science, School

416 pages, Paperback

First published July 29, 1992

Reviews

[Chris Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, and found it incredibly informative. I started it out of an interest in rural america and found it to be an indepth study of the diversity and adversity of rural american communities. It also gave a broad and thorough analysis of city governance and its relation to state and federal government. In general I also found it to be remarkably non-partisan in its take, I wouldn't say completely (particularly in the final section of the book, which I found to be less well written overall) but pretty well considering it is covering inherently political material.
It is written in a very accessible way and presented with great organizational structure, also full of great graphs and info.
Would highly recommend for anyone interested in civics, governance, contemporary issues in rural america and the USA and World at large.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll never teach rural politics without this textbook again. Only issue is that the promised PBS videos are not accessible and students have commented they would like access to those.

[Lloyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was required reading for a class.

The book is well written, as a peer reviewed research book should be. It is geared toward those interested in the social sciences rather than those interested in rural communities as history or narrative. The Flora's are well written authors in social science research circles and, as the creator or the "community capitals concept," this book is a good introduction to its use.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Again, required reading. This book is easier to read about rural communities, brings out some interesting points. I would never pick up this book just to read it though. Well, maybe if I got really, really bored. Meh.

[Tara Brabazon · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this is a U.S.-centric book, there is a strong attention to the diversity of ruralities. Specifically an array of case studies and strategies are explore that investigate rural poverty.