As we know, Donald Trump won Rural America. He played on fear but also offered hope – i.e. bringing back coal and manufacturing. Things that many of us know will never happen given the state of energy markets and the global economy.
So what do we do? Rural America has the highest poverty rates. More people are leaving Rural America than moving to it. The share of the population age 65 and older is growing as young people leave for greater opportunities in urban areas.
How do we retain and attract residents to rural America then?
Well, old school economic development posits that people follow jobs. That’s it. Create jobs and your economy will grow. But it doesn’t really work that way now…People are heavily influenced by place and the amenities and attractions an area offers.
In fact, a 2016 report from the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University compared 1970s data and the 2000s. Yes, in the 1970s population growth followed employment growth, but in the early 2000s, in the state of Indiana, data indicated that relationship had ceased. However, their analysis shows that the effect of jobs following people did play a statistically significant role in county population growth. Their findings are consistent with over 25 published works. To be concise, people choose location and jobs follow.
One solution that has been pushed is place-based policy, which is centered around a concept called quality of place. Quality of place essentially operates as what unique qualities attract people to a place. Richard Florida, the famous urban scholar, coined the term in the early 2000s to describe why people – specifically young, educated people – choose to live somewhere.
Think about it like this. I’m moving to Louisville, Kentucky this June after I graduate from IU. Yes, I’m moving there because I have a job, but the reason I applied to the job in the first place was because of its location. I’m from the South originally, and Louisville is near my family’s home in Nashville, TN. But, it also has the Midwestern vibe that I’ve learned to love thanks to IU. Plus, they have some super cool things happening with bourbon and plenty of brew pubs and distilleries and other young professionals. And, it’s warm and close to my favorite outdoor climbing spot, Red River Gorge. Weather, regional location, brew pubs, outdoor recreation – all elements of quality of place.
Enter local economic development organizations (LDOs henceforth). LDOs emerged in the 1970s – predominately in the Midwest – to chase smokestacks – big, outside businesses predominately engaged in fields like manufacturing (hence smoke). They were built to operate on the notion that people follow jobs period, which we know is largely ineffective now. In the beginning, they were not created to attract people through efforts like place-based policy.
Let me give you some context – specific to rural America. LDOs in Rural America play an outsized role in economic development. They are the only professional organization working on economic development because rural government capacity is really limited. In rural Indiana counties, which are not unlike the rest of Rural America, there is often not a mayor and the governing body is part-time commissioners. The counties don’t have a parks department and many areas don’t have zoning. Those, who do government work, take on many roles like the building inspector also serving as animal control (yes, that’s real).
So, LDOs have their work cut out for them. But, what are they doing to foster economic development and attract people?
Well, based on the little available literature, they focus on business attraction – chasing smokestacks – and business retention and expansion. Business attraction, of course, is chasing smokestacks and is largely futile as shown by extensive statistical analysis. Business retention and expansion for local businesses is an important function though. But, do they go beyond this? Have they diversified their focus in recent years? Do they still have a predominant focus on business attraction? How do they interact with quality of place?
That’s what I sought to explore.
And what did I find?
Well, I looked at eight LDOs in Southwest Central Indiana, also known as the Indiana Uplands. I found that the majority (6/8) identified business retention and expansion as their primary mission, and half asserted that business attraction was a large part of their purpose. Only two claimed that quality of place and/or place-based policy as part of their mission. Three stated that workforce development is one of their active strategies.
What does this mean?
Traditional economic strategies – business retention, expansion, and attraction – still reign. But, it appears that rural LDOs may be expanding beyond traditional activities and diversifying their focus – with an emphasis on attracting and retaining people. Quality of place and workforce development are both emerging strategies.
How to move forward?
A couple of things. Rural LDOs can engage in small-scale, tactical urbanism activities such as:
- Launching an initiative with a local arts group to provide technical expertise for small-scale, placemaking projects such as crosswalk paintings, painted pianos, and other low-cost engagement techniques.
- Applying for a small grant to create outdoor cafes. Launching an outdoor Wi-Fi network for a downtown area essentially creates outdoor cafes by allowing residents to work outside.
- Posting wayfinding signage in the downtown area in order to enhance pedestrian focus and foster commercial development.
They can also diversify their activities beyond business retention, expansion, and attraction by:
- Young adult entrepreneur assistance
- Specialized recruitment of candidates for businesses
- Grant assistance to community organizations and efforts
In conclusion, Rural America is losing people and aging rapidly. One mechanism to combat these trends is LDOs. LDOs have predominately focused on traditional economic development activities, but may starting to diversify their approach to focus on attracting people through workforce development and place-based polices.
*All of these suggested policies and activities have been conducted by other LDOs and economic development organizations including the Lansing Economic Area Partnership, Revitalizing Waterbury, Otsego Economic Development Corporation, and Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation.
“What comes first, jobs or people?” article can be found here.
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