Enjoyed reading your post and perhaps the term deleterious is a bit one dimensional. However, in my recent travels around the foothills for this regional media initiative (Saving The Sierra: Voices of Conservation In Action, which hosts this blog), I have yet to hear anyone at any public gathering cheering the influx of new folks into their rural communities. On the contrary, there is much concern and even more talk about what to do to somehow stop it or at least mitigate the perceived negative impacts. Sure, there are bound to be benefits from this particular demographic shift that aren't recognized at these meetings (e.g., folks come to meetings with lattes and gourmet deli food that probably wouldn't be available without the new economic base and growing demand for such items); Still, I get the impression that many folks feel overwhelmed by people leaving the burbs and creating exurban, sprawl style developments on the fringes of towns. The overwhelm manifests in talk about traffic as much as in talk about feeling forced into "either/or" land use decisions that will likely diminish the area's working landscapes. I don't have a proposal, a policy solution, or even a theory/paper to share on this phenomena at the moment (though I am reading Tim Duane's Shaping The Sierra: Nature, Culture, and Conflict in the Changing West which has plenty of such info that I'd recommend to anyone interested). I'd sure like to hear more about what folks in the Sierra foothills think about the population explosion they are experiencing, what they think should or could be done to retain their social fabric and community identity, and how they envision working with newcomers to keep their rural lifestyles and lifeways vibrant.
Lets hear from the foothills.
jesikah maria ross, Co-Project Director Saving The Sierra: Voices of Conservtion In Action
Change is coming--ready or not
Bill,
Enjoyed reading your post and perhaps the term deleterious is a bit one dimensional. However, in my recent travels around the foothills for this regional media initiative (Saving The Sierra: Voices of Conservation In Action, which hosts this blog), I have yet to hear anyone at any public gathering cheering the influx of new folks into their rural communities. On the contrary, there is much concern and even more talk about what to do to somehow stop it or at least mitigate the perceived negative impacts. Sure, there are bound to be benefits from this particular demographic shift that aren't recognized at these meetings (e.g., folks come to meetings with lattes and gourmet deli food that probably wouldn't be available without the new economic base and growing demand for such items); Still, I get the impression that many folks feel overwhelmed by people leaving the burbs and creating exurban, sprawl style developments on the fringes of towns. The overwhelm manifests in talk about traffic as much as in talk about feeling forced into "either/or" land use decisions that will likely diminish the area's working landscapes. I don't have a proposal, a policy solution, or even a theory/paper to share on this phenomena at the moment (though I am reading Tim Duane's Shaping The Sierra: Nature, Culture, and Conflict in the Changing West which has plenty of such info that I'd recommend to anyone interested). I'd sure like to hear more about what folks in the Sierra foothills think about the population explosion they are experiencing, what they think should or could be done to retain their social fabric and community identity, and how they envision working with newcomers to keep their rural lifestyles and lifeways vibrant.
Lets hear from the foothills.
jesikah maria ross, Co-Project Director Saving The Sierra: Voices of Conservtion In Action