Community Economic Development and Rural AmericaWord格式文档下载.docx

Community Economic Development and Rural AmericaWord格式文档下载.docx

《Community Economic Development and Rural AmericaWord格式文档下载.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《Community Economic Development and Rural AmericaWord格式文档下载.docx（22页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

Policymakersatalllevelsandprivateeffortsfromlocalneighborhoodgroupstonationalfoundationshaveadoptedplace-based,locallyledeffortsthatpromoteeconomicadvancementthroughmarket-basedefforts--allhallmarksoftheCEDapproach.[1]

TheCEDapproachsucceedsbyharnessingthetalent,energy,andresourcesofpeopleandinstitutionswithinadefinedgeographicarea. 

Thisdefinedplacedescribesthecontoursoftheeconomicdevelopmentproject,drawingonassetsincludingphysicalinfrastructure,economicpotential,andpoliticalandcommunitystructures. 

Incommunitiesthatofferarichfabricofresourcesofpeople,infrastructure,andorganization,projectscanformandstartoperatingfollowingafairlyefficientprocess.Becauseofthis,CEDisoftendiscussedinanurbanOrnonruralcontextwithexistinginfrastructure,acriticalmassofpeopleandorganizations,andaccesstootherresources. 

ThisarticleexploreshowthesecoreprincipalsoftheCEDapproachtranslatetoaruralcontext,whereresourcesaredifficulttofind.

Thefirstpartofthearticleconsidersthedefinitionofrural,lookingattherangeofdefinitionsthatarefoundforwhatisruralanddescribingthedynamicsthataredrivingchangeinruralAmerica. 

Whatemergesismorethanaquantitativemeasure. 

Ruralcanbedefinedbymorethanpopulationdensityandinsuchawayastoreflectthedifferencesinaccessandresourceallocationthatpersistinthesecommunities.

Thesecondpartofthearticledefineswhatcommunityeconomicdevelopmentmeans. 

Forpurposesofthisdiscussion,CEDasastrategyreflectsfiveelements:

（1）itisastrategythatpursuesmarket-basedapproachestodevelopment

（2）witheffortsthatareledbynonprofitorganizations（3）workingindefinedgeographicplaces（4）tocreatehousingorjobs（5）thatarefacilitatedbyprofessionals.[2]AlloftheseelementsworktogetherundertheCEDapproach,gainingcontrolovermoreassetsthanwouldbepossiblewithoutthestrategyandresultinginlastingchangewithinacommunity.

Eachoftheseelementsismoreeasilyimplementedinanonruralasopposedtoaruralcommunity. 

Despitethepotentialdifficultiesintranslation,CEDapproachescanyieldsignificantresultsinruralcommunities. 

TherearetheredistinctelementstosuccessfulCEDprojectsinruralareas,andthisarticleconcludeswithadiscussionofthem. 

Successfulruralprojectsare,first,stronglysupportedbylocalgovernment. 

Second,theyaredesignedatanappropriatescale. 

Third,theyintegratecollaborativeactionamongindividuals. 

AlthoughalloftheseelementsmaybefoundinnonruralCEDprojects,theytakeonaslightlydifferentcharacterinaruralcontext.

ProjectsthatreflecttheCEDapproach,oratleasttheplace-based,organicqualitiesoftheapproach,dosucceedinaruralcontextandinfacthaveproventhemselvestobeveryimpactful. 

ThisdiscussionendswithacasestudythatexploresoneexampleofaruralCEDprojectthatconformstotheelementsdiscussedabovebutdiffersinsignificantwaysfromCEDprojectsinnonruralcommunities.

I. 

WhatIs"

Rural"

?

RuralAmericaistheplaceleftbehind.Itis

dyingonthevine,avictimofstrangulationby

social,politicalandeconomicneglect.That

neglectispropellingus,gradually,butpowerfully,

towardnationalhumandisaster.--U.S.Senator

JamesAbourezk（SouthDakota）,1973

PlaceplaysacentralroleintheCEDstrategy,beginningwiththeassessmentofbothneedsandassetsandcontinuingtothedefinitionofthecommunitytowhichtheeffortisaccountable. 

Bydefiningaplace,theCEDapproachbeginstorecognizedifferencesthatimpactandshapethedevelopmentstrategy.Accordingly,thestrategiesthatevolveinvolvedifferentapproachestocommunitydevelopment.[3]

Thedominantrubricfordefiningaplaceasruralisonebasedonpopulationdensity. 

Undersuchmeasures,ruralcommunitiesaredefinedbypopulationdensityeitherstandingaloneor,inlimitedcircumstances,whencoupledwithotherfactors. 

Thedensityrubricrunsthroughnumerousfederalpoliciesandservesasashorthandmeasureforstatingwhenaplacemovesfromonequalitytoanother.

Anothermannerofdefiningwhatisrural,andonethatisbettersuitedtothisdiscussion,istoconsiderthescarcityofresourcesortheextractivenatureofthelocaleconomy. 

Inthismeasureplacesthatproduceresourcesthatareextractedbyotherplacesandthatlackinvestmentfromwithoutcouldbecalledrural,particularlyinthesensedescribedbySenatorAbourezk. 

AstheCEDapproachfundamentallyrelatestohowaplaceisdefined,itisimportanttoconsiderthedefinitionsofbothdensityandscarcitybecause,bydoingso,thechallengesoftheCEDapproachinaruralcontextbecomemoreevident.

A. 

RuralbytheNumbers

Thenotionthatruralisauniquebutdefinableplacerunsthroughmanymajorareasofpublicpolicy,includingmanythatimpactthepoor. 

Despitethisprevalence,thereisnosingleorconsistentdefinitionofwhatitmeanstoberural. 

Forexample,threedistinctagenciesprovidedefinitionsforruralthatarewidelyused:

theU.S.CensusBureau,theOfficeofManagementandBudget,andtheU.S.DepartmentofAgriculture（USDA）.[4]Althoughthereissomevarianceamongeachofthesedefinitions,theyeachdefineruralpredominantlybypopulationdensity,althoughtherequireddensityleveltobeconsideredruralvaries.

TheU.S.CensusBureaudefinesruralthroughaprocessofexclusion,thatis,everyplacethatisnotanurbanareaisrural. 

Urbanareasconsistofterritory,population,andhousingunitsinplacesof2,500ormorepeopleincorporatedascities,villages,boroughs,andtowns,butexcludingtheruralportionsof"

extendedcities."

[5]Ruralencompasseseverythingelse,thatis,"

allterritory,populationandhousingunitslocatedoutsideofurbanizedareasandurbanclusterswithapopulationof2,500orless."

[6]

TheCensusBureaurecognizesthatsomeurbanareassodominateotherareasthattheymaybeseenascapturingruralcommunities,anditprovidesadefinitionforthisextendedcity:

"

AnextendedcityisanincorporatedplacethatcontainslargeexpansesofsparselypopulatedterritoryforwhichtheCensusBureauprovidesseparateurbanandruralpopulationcountsandlandareafigures."

[7]

TheOfficeofManagementandBudget（OMB）definitionreflectsasimilarapproach,althoughtheOMBreliesonadistinctionbetweenmetropolitanandnonmetropolitancounties. 

Metropolitancountiesofferurbanizedareaswithapopulationofmorethan50,000andtotalpopulationsof100,000ormore.[8]Anycountythatdoesnothavesuchpopulationlevelsis"

non-metro,"

i.e.,rural.[9]TheadvantageoftheOMBapproachwhencomparedwiththeCensusBureauapproachisthatitcapturesfamilieslivingintownswithfewerthan2,500peoplethat,thoughrelativelysmallthemselves,maybeclosetolargenonruralareas. 

Asaresult,theOMBdefinitioncapturespeoplewithinnonmetroareasthattheCensusBureaurecognizeswithintheruraldesignation.[10]

IncontrasttothesomewhatdichotomousapproachofboththeCensusBureauandtheOMBdefinitions,USDAtakesamorenuancedstance. 

USDAhasdevelopedtheERSRuralDefinitiondataproduct,whichallowsuserstocomparedataforanygivencommunityagainstdatafromninerepresentativeruraldefinitions. 

Thecomparisonresultsinaclassificationthatalignsagainsttherepresentativecommunity.[11]Whatisunique,andcompelling,abouttheUSDAapproachistheabilityprovidedtouserstoseevarioussocioeconomicindicators,includingpopulation,education,andpoverty,includedinthedefinitionofrural. 

USDA'

sRuralDefinitiondataapproachmovestowardameasurethatbetterreflectstherealitythatruralisdefinedbymorethanpopulationdensityalone. 

TheUSDAapproachisanimprovementoverthoseoftheCensusBureauorOMB,anditrecognizesthatpopulationdensityinitselfisaninadequatemeasureofwhatisrural. 

Althoughitmaynotbepossibletocreateacomprehensivematrixtomeasureanddefinewhatitmeanstoberural,thedefinitionthatisusedmustbothrecognizedifferenceandallowforsuchdifferencetobevalued.[12]

Althoughastrictlyquantitativemeasurefordefininganareaasruralprovidessomeadministrativeefficiency,theapproachfailstorecognizethedepthofplaceandthepeoplewholiveinthesecommunities. 

ThelocallydefinedanddrivendevelopmentprojectsthattypifyCEDallowformeaningfulalternatives.

B. 

RuralasaFunctionofResources

Afunctionalmeasuremayalsobeusedtodefinecommunities. 

Suchameasurewouldincludetheprevalenceandpersistenceofpoverty,theavailabilityofusefulresources,andtheinvestmentthatismadebyboththeprivatephilanthropicandpublicsectors. 

Areaswithcombinedhighprevalenceandpersistenceofpoverty,lowlevelsofresourcesforlocaluse,andlowlevelsofinvestmentcanbeidentifiedasruralw