Back To The Land, Again

People have talked about the decline of rural America since the census began to track it. The Statistical Atlas of 1874 was the first to distinguish urban from rural population. In the July 1897 issue of The Atlantic "The Future of Rural New England" told the story of a struggling township. Its defunct mill and abandoned farms a result of the death and departure of its people. The author concludes that the primitive, rugged, wholesome life is gone. Wendell Berry wrote back in the 70's about how agribusiness removes farming from its cultural context. Causing families to move away from the land and their roots. He called this The Unsettling of America. That we are still talking about it shows the decline has not been linear. The back to the land movement which made Berry popular helped the rural population outgrow urban for the first time in 150 years. In the 90's there was a rural rebound. People living longer meant more births than deaths. While more people moved to the country than left. A mix of retirees, professionals, and blue-collar workers grown tired of city life. But the trend continues. In 1970 1 in 4 Americans lived in the country. Down to only 1 in 8 by 2022. Young people still seek their fortunes elsewhere. Start their families elsewhere. And too few of them return. Yet despite its difficulties rural America is making a comeback.

The new American Dream is a house in the country. Not a three-bedroom ranch, on a quarter acre of manicured lawn, in a quiet suburban neighborhood. People want land again. But most will not come to work it. They will use technology to overcome the friction of distance and create an arbitrage between their urban salary and rural cost of living. The rise of remote work brought an influx of residents and economic activity to rural communities. It brought new tensions too. Few things are as frustrating to a third generation local, as an outsider with a laptop job outbidding them on a home. So those who come should listen more than they speak, and ensure they understand a place before they try to get involved. Becoming students of the local culture. Not trying to change it. But there are benefits to fresh eyes on longstanding problems, and the renewed energy that newcomers bring. Anyone who moves to the country for stringer community and more access to nature is going to want to protect those things. The commoditization of the rural has long meant wealth leaving the area to accrue in far off urban centers. But remote workers who orient their spending toward local agriculture and craft production reverse some of that flow. While not an end in itself smart entrepreneurs can use this infusion of cash to fund what comes next.

The fading post-war consensus and increasing fragility of globalism are an opportunity for rural revival. A revival that must come from the land. We need to move past the era of cheap crap imported via long supply to chains to discount and big-box stores. To one of self-reliant regional craft economies. A craft economy is one where artisanal labor plays a significant role in the production of goods. They promote entrepreneurship, decentralize production, and help diversify away from extractive industries. It starts with agriculture. Producers supply raw materials to local artisans, who then cater to the needs of the agricultural community. This "local first" approach increases resiliency and fosters a sense of place and shared identity. With the goal of scaling up to be able to offer high quality products that have a story outside of the community. Artisans who practice traditional crafts safeguard cultural heritage and create local pride. Farmers' markets, community supported agriculture, and other direct to consumer sales of agricultural products strengthens the connection between consumers and their food. Which makes them more interested in food quality and sustainable practices. A rural revival hangs on making our small towns into vibrant centers of local production. Not just one of countless consumer nodes in a vast global economy.

At the risk of belaboring the point a revival of rural America means more people living in it. In my work on the local planning board people stress over and over that they want us to preserve the rural character of the town. To protect its sense of place. Which can lead to an unfortunate tendency in some who move to a little village like mine to want to turn off the vacancy sign and lock the door behind themselves. As if they could preserve it for all time by doing so. But I promise you all that does is hasten its decline. Instead, they should focus on attracting the right kind of people. People move to a rural area for some combination of less congestion, stronger community, being close to nature, and slower pace of life. You want people who will commit to your town, doing their part to preserve those things. Not rootless single people or those who live in a vacation home five months out of the year. You want to attract families. Married people with school aged children. Having a good school helps. But will not matter if working families cannot afford to buy a house there. You cannot control what they earn, or mortgage rates, or the economy. All you can do is make it as easy as possible to build a single-family home in your community, so you get more of them. Which creates downward pressure on local housing prices. Your own home value will not appreciate as much, but if you already live there, you are never moving anyway, right?

Rural America has seen more than one revival, and it is due for another. Rural areas saw positive net migration of half a percent after the pandemic, while urban areas had a mirror image decline. Recent increases to urban population are almost all due to tripling of international migration. Whether the trend will hold remains to be seen. But I feel like it is. Now I write about rural life and culture, so I know there is also an echo chamber. A real rural revival needs to get beyond the aesthetics of the flood of celebrities which bought large agricultural properties these last few years. And the growing number of rural influencers share their idyllic country lifestyles on Instagram and TikTok. It needs to get people on the land. To mint farmers and homesteaders and crunchy moms by the thousands. We need to wake up. The last few years have been an aberration. A stupid time when our guiding principles became increasingly abstract, and we transformed society in service to ever smaller segments of it to the detriment of the rest. It is not what we are meant for. We need to return to real things.