What I’ve Been reading

Journal articles

Rurality as a Key Factor for Place Attachment in the Great Plains

Selected quotes: 

“Research on residential mobility has often focused on why people leave a place, rather than why they choose to stay” (p. 1).

“Research on rural and urban dwellers suggests that people who live in the country are more attached to their homes and local areas than people in urban areas” (p. 3).

“A rural place is defined as an absence of the urban” (according to the United States Census Bureau - p. 8).

“This local attachment is the result of relationships that have developed over time, as family ties and general familiarity have led to many rural residents having a strong sense of belonging to the community” (p. 14).

“We are convinced that, rather than indicating an unreflective connection to community and landscape, rootedness describes an emotional attachment born out of time spent in place and reflection on that experience” (p. 15).

“Such work may also go a long way in challenging narratives of rural places as empty or placeless” (p. 15).

“Is there a relationship between the time spent in a rural environment or community and the development of a strong attachment to a place?…Does rural living offer a qualitatively different kind of deep involvement with place…one that builds an entirely different sense of place?” (p. 16).

“As the Great Plains and other rural areas of the United States continue to hollow out, what is lost in terms of contented rural immobility?” (p. 16).

“We see a need for coordinated research projects that allow for in-depth qualitative research with rural residents along an extended set of research sites, creating a means to compare differences among place. We suggest that the outcome of such research will be of interest…to those who live and work in rural communities. Rural migration research will benefit individuals and groups who are concerned about the vitality of rural communities” (p. 17).

A region “where rural depopulation has endured, but deep-rooted attachment to place remains” (p. 17).

My Notes:

I didn’t feel this paper provided groundbreaking information to me, but it legitimized things I already feel. Ties to family and ancestors increase a sense of attachment to a place. It was interesting to me that research is finding generally people from rural areas have a stronger sense of attachment to their place than people in urban areas, and that they often express more contentedness with their place, too (at least those who have stayed).

Also important to know is that place attachment really comes from time spent in a place. I’ve felt this too — that one community art project is not going to necessarily strengthen a sense of attachment for people in a place. It takes time, depth, people, history…etc. for those emotional bonds to become strong. “To know a place well requires long residence and deep involvement” (Tuan as quoted by Husa & Morse, p. 16).

Reference: Husa, A., & Morse, C. E. (2020). RURALITY AS a KEY FACTOR FOR PLACE ATTACHMENT IN THE GREAT PLAINS. Geographical Review, 112(1), 27–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/00167428.2020.1786384

Other media

Why Rural Places Need Living Cultural Archives

“A rural place is not culturally empty because it is hard to find online. Often, its richest knowledge is held in relationships, memories, practices, and places that conventional archives do not know how to capture.”

This idea of rural cultural archives is fascinating! I love how they mention a living archive contains any and everything — food, nature, people’s stories, photos, art, music, etc. I also appreciate how they mention this must be useful to the community and how it can be useful - teaching history, introducing the community to a new resident or visitor, etc.

6 Quick Questions to Ask Before Starting a Creative Community Project

As mentioned above! I got to take a course with Jennifer last fall and work with the community of Slater, and I knew she’d be an expert resource for potentially working on a community project so I hopped over to her blog. There are so many good articles there, and this one seemed especially pertinent for what I’m looking to do.

The article outlines how to determine what sort of project you and the community will work on. It could be studio art, public art, or community art. Each bring a different level of engagement. It could strengthen a presence of art in the community, invite the community to participate, or help solve a larger challenge. These are all goals to discuss and agree upon at the beginning.

We The Many from Arts Midwest

Several case studies from smaller communities, including a few in Iowa, that received funding while this program operated to increase arts engagement.