Older blacks migrated to nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) communities in the 1990s to a degree not true of the past. Some of the nonmetro counties that attracted them are well-known retirement areas also favored by other retirees, mostly whites. Two-thirds of black retirement counties, however, are areas in the Old South that are not attracting other…

Using in-person questionnaires, 553 newcomers and 106 long-term residents were interviewed in late 1979 and early 1980 in 5 small northern California communities to explore the role of newcomers in developing the rural economy, and especially to analyze the resources emigrants bring with them: their skills, education, background, and business and…

Recent growth of rural communities and economies will change the role that community developers play. Based on the survey responses of 533 new migrants to five types of California rural communities, data indicate that the major role of community developers will be to coordinate and facilitate organizations in rural areas. (Author/SSH)

An analysis of rural population growth and its economic consequences in California, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Vermont helps explain the changing conditions in rural America and indicates the direction policy should take. Despite their distance from financial centers and their low density, rural areas are generally characterized by a more…

Eleven papers on rural economic development cover challenges and opportunities; employment trends affecting nonmetropolitan areas; status of nonmetropolitan women and minorities; case studies of Vermont, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and California; western urban and regional development; economic development in small cities; and rural policy…