Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Search - Hollowing Out the Middle: The Rural Brain Drain and What It Means for America

Hollowing Out the Middle: The Rural Brain Drain and What It Means for America
Hollowing Out the Middle The Rural Brain Drain and What It Means for America
Author: Patrick Carr, Maria J. Kefalas
Watch the book trailer for Hollowing Out the Middle In 2001, with funding from the MacArthur Foundation, sociologists Patrick J. Carr and Maria J. Kefalas moved to Iowa to understand the rural brain drain and the exodus of young people from America’s countryside. Articles and books—notably Richard Florida’s The Rise o...  more »—celebrate the migration of highly productive and creative workers to key cities. But what happens to the towns that they desert, and to the people who are left behind? To answer that question, Carr and Kefalas moved to "Ellis," a small town of two thousand. Ellis is typical of many places struggling to survive, and Iowa is typical of many states in the Heartland, aging rapidly. One reason is that many small towns simply aren’t regenerating, but another is that its educated young people are leaving in droves. In Ellis, Carr and Kefalas met the working-class "stayers," trying to survive in the region’s dying agro-industrial economy; the high-achieving and college-bound "achievers," who often leave for good; the "seekers" who head off to war to see what the world beyond offers; and the "returners," who eventually circle back to their hometowns. What surprised Carr and Kefalas most, was that adults in the community were playing a pivotal part in the town’s decline by pushing the best and brightest young people to leave, and by underinvesting in those who choose to stay—even though these young people are their best chance for a future. The emptying out of small towns is a national concern, but there are strategies for arresting the process and creating sustainable, thriving communities. Hollowing Out the Middle is a wake-up call we cannot afford to ignore—not only because sixty million Americans still live in rural communities and small towns, but because our nation’s economic health and future is tied to the Heartland.
ISBN-13: 9780807042380
ISBN-10: 0807042382
Publication Date: 10/1/2009
Pages: 224
Rating:
  ?
0 stars, based on 0 rating
Publisher: Beacon Press
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

Book Wiki

Common Title
Original Publication Date (YYYY-MM-DD)
Real Places
Fictional Places

Genres:


Back to the Top ↑
By using this Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms of Use. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
US Patent Number 7,877,315 | Copyright © 2004 - 2024 PaperBackSwap.com. All Rights Reserved.