Small towns, quaint and charming, ideally picturesque for a small family to grow up in with a white picket fence paired up with the mother, father and the 2.5 children. What happens when that serene local town, exuberantly bustling with business, progressively loses the aspects that kept it alive? The youth, boisterous and effervescent, grew up surrounded by the local businesses, schools and practices, but as the years wear on, living in that small town years down the road slowly grew to be less appealing. In The Heartland and the Rural Youth Exodus by Patrick J. Carr and Maria Kefalas equally argue that “small towns play an unwitting part in their own decline (Carr and Kefalas 33) when they forget to remember the “untapped resource of the …show more content…
Failing to return to the home town not only results from the people who pushed them to pursue their dreams, but also the fact that the youth can earn more from a big city than their little home town could provide. Carr and Kefalas make this point when they state, “Less than a generation the Heartlands most valuable export was no longer crops or hogs, but its educated young people” (24). Fundamentally this would seriously hit close to home with the doctors, business owners and teachers because they chose to stay in the community even though there are better offers else where outside of town. Additionally Carr and Kefalas point out that small towns can’t rely on their agriculture anymore because with they way the world is moving working in bigger cities brings more income and a fast paced environment. The audience would become more aware of their actions, after learning the fact that they were unaware of their actions, that they’d find a way to get the students back, perhaps offering them an intern position to reel them back into …show more content…
Now, a normal sized town contains fast-food joints, supermarkets, malls, and superstores, but a small town lacks that appeal. The small-town could be the most beautiful landscape known to man, but lack the necessary luxuries in life that a typical American would benefit from. Carr and Kefalas make this statement that emphasizes the town’s lack of appeal, “Indeed the most conspicuous aspects of the towns landscape may be the very things that are missing; malls, subdivisions, traffic and young people” (26). The authors clearly state that they realize that towns, such as the Heartland, are hurting because of the towns’ lack of modernization. For all intents and purposes, the town’s lack of being visually pleasing is driving away probable citizens, not only the native youth, and possible future employee’s away from a possible internship with the town. The citizens with a practice or business hurt from the towns inability to grow up and change along with the rest of the world, yet the town doesn’t realize what bringing in other businesses could potentially do for their small town. Creating more businesses such as malls, superstores and supermarkets would not only drive business up the roof, but it’ll also bring in revenue and draw the
...or present day cities Canada. Repeatedly there have been works of research that supports the idea that people are beginning to have the want and the need to live an area where there is walkability and convenience. From the perspective of a Millennial as society likes to call my generation, having the option to walk instead of drive is something to heavily consider when choosing a place to call home. The evidence as why people are moving is in a way demographically self-explanatory, a poor person would want to move from a city where crime is high, there is little to no property to invest in, and the schools seems are bad , to a place that boasts the opposite attributes.
“Could suburbs prosper independently of central cities? Probably. But would they prosper even more if they were a part of a better-integrated metropolis? The answer is almost certainly yes.” (p. 66)
Several works we have read thus far have criticized the prosperity of American suburbia. Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums, Philip Roth's Goodbye, Columbus, and an excerpt from Lawrence Ferlinghetti's poem "A Coney Island of the Mind" all pass judgement on the denizens of the middle-class and the materialism in which they surround themselves. However, each work does not make the same analysis, as the stories are told from different viewpoints.
In the passage “The Heartland and the Rural Youth Exodus”, the authors Carr and Kefalas both describe the different changes that happen to the youth. They depict the issues that arise when the youth leaves in search of bigger things that are outside of the small towns. Throughout the article, the issues of change in small towns is addressed and emphasized as a catastrophe for the future of these towns. The talk about the youth and towns fading away is not the only thing one thinks about when reading this article. The youth are not the only people being affected; the older generation parents of the youth are having to face the biggest change because they have the option of leaving or staying. This change can
While early 20th century America was an era of great economic advancement and material wealth, the prevalent growth in industry had a profound impact on small, rural communities. An expanding upper class did not signify prosperity for all. Those who were unable to rise in society were left behind, forced to live under harsh environmental conditions as factories polluted rural towns. As detailed by Nick while accompanying Tom to the city one
... motivation for wealthy individuals to return to the inner-city core but it also provides impetus for commercial and retail mixed-use to follow, increasing local revenue for cities (Duany, 2001). Proponents of gentrification profess that this increase in municipal revenue from sales and property taxes allows for the funding of city improvements, in the form of job opportunities, improved schools and parks, retail markets and increased sense of security and safety ((Davidson (2009), Ellen & O’Reagan (2007), Formoso et. al (2010)). Due to the increase in housing and private rental prices and the general decrease of the affordable housing stock in gentrifying areas, financially-precarious communities such as the elderly, female-headed households, and blue-collar workers can no longer afford to live in newly developed spaces ((Schill & Nathan (1983), Atkinson, (2000)).
...n social planning and happiness for the individual. A town is recognized for the individuals who live in it, not the business it seems to incorporate. Pullman had a disillusioned, egotistical regard for his workers. When asked about his intentions on building the model town, he commented: “Capital will not invest in sentiment, nor for sentimental considerations for the laboring class. But let it once be proved that enterprises of this kind are safe and profitable and we shall see great manufacturing corporations developing similar enterprises and thus a new era will be introduced in the history of labor.” Pullman never seemed to grasp how a workingman’s happiness must be fulfilled on a much deeper level than his mere physical settings. The leisurely enjoyment of oneself as well as an overall establishment of identity was the key. When Pullman planned his model town, it was a dream which he envisioned for himself. A dream which would increase his wealth, improve his business and make him renowned. In his heart, he might have never intentionally wanted to socially deprive his work force; it just so happened that the planning of the town did not take this into proper consideration.
With economic decline in full effect, the city of Anderson is on track to become a ghost town. Anderson is located in Northern California, 150 miles north of Sacramento, and a 10-minute drive to Redding. The primary source of the problem is in Anderson’s Downtown which is defined as I-5 to 273 and North Street to Balls Ferry (See Reference 1). Nearby attractions include the Sacramento River, Turtle Bay Exploration Park, and the Mt Shasta Mall (Things Web). However, all the main attractions are found in the Redding city. Why did Anderson become a “Bedroom City” to Redding (Kiser)? Some believe that because of the lack of popularity in Anderson, it is very hard to keep a business up and running before it is closed. Most citizens will go to a larger city to shop before they shop in their hometown because the big city will have more variety. Jeff Kiser,
There are many remote and bland places in America, but not many can top the Upper Midwest - at least, according to Debra Marquart, author of The Horizontal World. According to her experience growing up there, the entire region is remote, undistinguished, and unimpressive to even its early settlers. Generally, she depicts the area as a very montone and uninteresting place to be, a territory that must be crossed in order to find more interesting attractions. However, such a desolate wasteland can and does have its silver lining. To her ancestors, it was a beacon of hope as they immigrated from Russia; a movement that transformed a land of nothing into a future.
Creation of highway networks outside the city and subsequent growth of suburban communities transformed the way citizens worked lived and spent their leisure time. Downtown businesses closed or moved to malls inducing a reduction in downtown shopping and overall downtown commercial traffic.
With less than 5,000 residents living in Smallville, Ohio, it is an ideal small town where everyone knows each other, multiple generations of families live and grow and barely any crimes are committed. The main road leading into Smallville is like a never-ending run of corn fields, silos and dairy farms. It's an old town with old traditions. As brief as my residency was in Smallville, I witnessed the social injustices and educational issues that plague small town living.
The two major communities that individuals live in are urban and rural. Both types have both positive and negative aspects. The focus of this paper is on rural communities. From my research rural environments are not as popular as urban ones; however, the citizens who live in these communities are very happy with the lifestyle they chose. The word rural is generally associated with communities that lack accessibility to public services such as transit, shopping, and entertainment. This is generally used in communities where farming is a primary occupation. In my study I interviewed three individuals who identify as living in a rural community.
As farmers and small farming communities become more and more distanced from the land and one another, a greater dissatisfaction results in the farmer's perception of his/her life. In Kent Meyers' novel, "The River Warren," Two-Speed Crandall becomes a victim of this trend. To understand why this dissatisfaction is becoming more prevalent, we must look at the decline of more traditional methods of farming in favor of contemporary agriculture. Also, we must explore the disintegration of community in the lives of rural farmers. These two factors are inevitably correlated; a transition to industrial, corporate farming leads to the farmer feeling less a part of a farming community.
Imagine having to choose to reside in one place for the rest of your life. Which would you opt for? Some people would argue that the hyperactive lifestyle that a big city has to offer has more benefits than living in the country. However, others would contend that the calm and peaceful environment of the countryside is much more rewarding. Several people move from the city to a farm to get away from the hustle and bustle. Likewise, some farmers have traded in their tractors and animals to live a fast paced city life. Of course, not all large cities are the same nor are all of the places in the country identical. Realizing this, ten years ago, I decided to hang up the city life in Indiana to pursue a more laid back approach to life in rural Tennessee. Certainly, city life and life in the country have their benefits, but they also have distinguishable differences.
This hit me like a ton of bricks. Growing up in a small town has its advantages and disadvantages. I know how it feels to know that