Rural Gentrification?:

Social, Cultural, and Economic Change in “Rural” North America

Changes in Rural North America Since the 1960s

• Industrialization of Agriculture• Rural Depopulation• Aging Demographics• Resource Depletion• Environmental Conflicts• Retirement Economies

How Rural Land Markets Work

• “Highest and best use”• Modest competition and relative stability• Minimal role of “speculator-developers”• Changing role of state actors• Role of finance capital• Real estate agents/brokers• Minimal role for builders• Appraiser, title companies, others

Rural “Rent-Gaps”

• Rural vs. urban investment and consequences for rural areas

• The emergence of “rent-gaps”• Narrowing of gaps in urban areas matched

by widening in some rural areas?• Changes in the nature of demand

(economic restructuring, social movements, new demographics)

Example and Interlinkages:Selective “Rural Gentrification”

• Expansion of markets for retirement property, hobby farms, etc.

• Pre-existing geography of environmental amenities

• Proximity to population centers• Preservation rather than development• Non-traditional class and cross-class

conflicts and alliances

Rural Gentrification andRural Cultural Change

• Types of areas impacted (accessibility vs. inaccessibility)

• New labor economies• Place-based environmental politics• Geographies of exclusion and insularity• Commodification of nature• Commodification of lifestyle• Change in rural landscape & culture

Types of Areas Impacted

New Labor Economies

Place-Based Environmental Politics

Geographies of Exclusion and Insularity

Commodification of Nature

Commodification ofLifestyle

Change in Rural Landscapeand Culture

Conclusions

• Rural gentrification is selective and highly class-based

• Unusual cross-class alliances have been crucial in facilitating the process

• Old economies have been fetishized and commodified

• New economies rely on cultures of environmental preservation and exclusions based on market processes + (in)accessibility

Could it Happen Here?

• Does northern Minnesota feature the conditions necessary for rural gentrification to happen?

• Would it be a good thing if it did happen?• Is it already happening???

DISCUSS!!!