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Albrecht, Don. E. Rethinking Rural: Global Community and Economic Development in the Small Town West. Washington State University Press, 2014.
When many of us think of the rural American West we conjure up images of vast open landscapes sparsely dotted with small, tightly-knit and isolated farming and ranching communities. In Rethinking Rural: Global Community and Economic Development in the Small Town West, Don Albrecht explores the historical and contemporary drivers of development and change in the rural West. He suggests that a new image of the rural West is emerging as the ecological, economic, and social impacts of globalization alter rural landscapes and communities. Albrecht's basic premise in this book is that new opportunities exist for rural West communities in today's modern world if they are willing to embrace change, be innovative, capitalize on their assets, and develop their human capacity.
Rethinking Rural is framed around three distinct sociological eras that occurred in the rural American West over the last century and a half: 1) Small Town in Isolation; 2) Small Town in Mass Society; and 3) Small Town in Global Society. As Albrecht illustrates, the impacts experienced by diverse rural West communities during and between these eras varied. Some rural communities near metropolitan areas and major transportation routes thrived when they were successful in attracting manufacturing companies. Whereas, others struggled to survive if they were unable to attract manufacturing during the 'Small Town in Mass Society' era and endured both demographic and economic decline. Today, in the 'Small Town in Global Society' era, many rural communities in the American West encounter both challenges and opportunities associated with globalization, rapidly changing technologies, and decreasing or increasing populations.
As a rural sociologist and Director of the Western Rural Development Center at Utah State University, Albrecht is well versed on the challenges and opportunities that have and will impact rural West communities. This book is based on his years of work in the rural West and on thirteen strategic roundtable planning sessions he conducted in 2009 with rural West communities. From these roundtable planning sessions, Albrecht identified three main concerns for rural West communities as they merge into a new global era: sustainable use of natural resources, the creation of vibrant economies, and enhancing educational, and livelihoods...