Journal of Rural and Community Development
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A Window Into Park Life: Findings From a Resident Survey of Nine Mobile Home Park Communities in Vermont
Get PDFAffordable housing is a critical issue facing many rural communities. Mobile home parks are a form of affordable housing prevalent in rural areas that is being lost as parks close across the United States and few new parks are developed. Limited research on how residents view their parks and the public perception that mobile home parks are undesirable may diminish efforts to prevent park closures. This paper considers how mobile home residents view their quality of life and housing issues living in this type of rural community. Findings from a survey of two hundred and fifty-six residents at nine mobile home parks in Vermont are reported. Respondents were asked how they viewed their housing, neighborhood, park management, and infrastructure. Residents were found to have lower incomes than other households in the state. Most were satisfied with life in the park, though lower income residents were significantly happier with the social atmosphere than those with higher incomes. For many households mobile home parks are not transitional housing but are rather places they have lived, and plan to live, for many years. This research can aid rural planners improve and develop future affordable housing, including the evolution of the mobile home park.
Keywords: affordable housing, manufactured housing, mobile home parks, rural communitie
Action Research Helps Citizens Prepare Madison County, Florida Vision 2020
No full textMadison County, in North Central Florida, engages its citizens in a visioning process about every 10 years. This paper reports the process as it involved the three elements of participatory action research as described by Herr and Anderson (2005), participation, research and action. The participants included Madison citizens, business representatives and government officials as well as University of Florida faculty facilitators. The research was conducted in a series of meetings which involved data collection and description from the participants using a structured continuum of questions. The action part of the process was the actual reports from the citizen groups that took the issues and concerns as expressed in the small group setting and prepared a report to use with the county comprehensive plan and the Madison Development Council. Evaluations were positive and the comments indicated that participants looked forward to continuing to meet in their respective interest group to push their particular issue of concern.
Keywords: visioning process, participatory action research, quality criteria, validity criteri
An Evaluation of Iowa's Rural Main Street Program
Get PDFDespite its popularity, the Main Street Program has been subjected to little empirical research. This paper evaluates the economic benefits associated with the Rural Main Street Iowa program. This particular Main Street program is unique in that it targets very small communities with populations less than 5,000. The findings indicate that the Rural Main Street Iowa program has made a positive economic contribution to participating communities. Participants in the Rural Main Street Iowa program have experienced a degree of economic stability as indicated by their pull factors as well as a slight increase in the number of firms.
Keywords: Main Street Program, downtown revitalization, economic contribution, economic stability, pull facto
Determinants of Informal Credit Demand and Supply among Food Crop Farmers in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
Get PDFAbstract
This study was designed to examine the determinants of credit demand and supply in informal credit markets among food crop farmers in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted in selecting 96 credit-user, arable crop farmers and 24 informal credit sources from 6 villages. Primary data were collected from this total of 120 respondents through the use of a structured questionnaire. The simultaneous equation technique, using two stage least squares was employed to examine the determinants of credit supply and demand. Results of data analyses revealed that farm income, profit, education, and interest amount determined demand whereas liquidity, experience in lending and interest amount determined supply. It was from this study that informal credit suppliers consider several factors before supplying credit to the rural farmers. In line with the findings of this study, it was recommended that steps for reducing the high interest rates charged by informal credit suppliers should be taken. Education is an important factor influencing credit demand and use. Designing appropriate educational packages for farmers, both formal and informal such as evening schools and adult education programmes will be beneficial. Government and financial institutions should ensure that credit meant for farming are used for farming by putting in place measures to check abuse.
Keywords: Demand and Supply, informal credit, determinants, crop farmer
Development of a Systematic Approach to Project Selection for Rural Economic Development
Get PDFSusan Murray, Missouri University of Science & Technology
Amanda Alpaugh, United States Air Force
Karl Burgher, Missouri University of Science & Technology
Barry Flachsbart, Missouri University of Science & Technology
Cassie Elrod, Missouri University of Science & Technology
Projects can be an effective methodology for community economic development. An easy-to-use and easy-to-implement systematic nine-step approach to project portfolio selection is presented. A version of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and a scoring methodology are used in the project selection process and then the Benefit-to-Cost Ratio Method is applied to determine the acceptability of the public projects. The approach takes into account the unique needs, possible limited subject expertise, and possible technological constraints of small municipalities. The approach was successfully beta-tested by a group of community members involved in developing a project portfolio of taxpayer-owned projects ranging in budget from three hundred to over one-million U.S. dollars and the results of this test are presented.
Keywords: Analytical Hierarchy Process, Missouri, Systematic Approach, Economic Developmen
The New Decision-Makers in the Rural Landscape – Who Are Non-Farm Rural Landowners?
Get PDFRural areas are undergoing non-farm population growth as a result of various factors including changing lifestyle preferences, an aging population, and technological innovations which allow exurbanites to commute. This research investigated the rural non-farm landowner of Southern Ontario in order to describe their characteristics. It involved five preliminary focus groups with farm and non-farm landowners owning land in rural, urbanizing rural, and urbanized rural areas, and four final focus groups with non-farm rural landowners. The research also included a survey of 944 landowners in Southern Ontario. This mix of quantitative and qualitative data collection was intended to support a minor level of prediction (what will happen in the future as a result of the impact of this group?); process (working with the group under study to develop solutions through a research partnership); and generalization (as much as possible through the combination of methods). Study results suggest that the number and proportion of retirees and professionals in rural areas are increasing, and residents are more likely to live on or near their properties than in the past. Average property size has decreased, and education levels are increasing. Non-farm landowners should be considered separate and distinct from farmers, as they have different backgrounds, education levels relating to land use, and connections to the land. Policies and decisions relating to development and preservation need to treat these groups as having different priorities and perspectives on the issues. These results provide information which will assist with the development of new initiatives, support the continuation of successful programs, and enable the tracking and assessment of new and continuing conservation and stewardship initiatives for non-farm rural landowners
Valuing Community Attributes in Rural Counties of West Virginia Using Data Envelopment Analysis
Get PDFAs quality of life measures are related to increased economic activity, it becomes increasingly important to develop indicators as accurate measures of the well-being of the residents in a community. This study use Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to analyze community attributes of rural counties in West Virginia using variables determining quality of life. County level data is used to identify counties that are inefficient as measured in terms of socioeconomic factors. Desirable community attributes such as employment, median household income, median house value, health index, number of personal care establishments, and number of high school graduates were used as output variables. Input variables representing the undesirable characteristics of counties include population density, unemployment rate, per capita tax, number of persons below poverty, and crime rate. The analysis seeks to determine efficiency levels in the rural areas of the State. The results show that majority of the rural counties in the State lie on the efficiency frontier, while others are classified to be inefficient. The research findings that can be used as indicators of community performance and to evaluate counties in terms of creating quality of life are of interest to policy makers.
Keywords: data envelopment analysis, community attributes, output variables, input variables, efficiency levels, quality of life, principal components analysi
Bringing Clean Water to Rural Communities in Developing Countries: A Well for the Community in Agrippa Todzi, Togo
Get PDFThis paper presents a summary of a student funded project for the construction of a community water well in Agrippa Todzi, a small farming village in Togo. A survey was conducted to quantify daily water usage and investigate access to improved latrines in the village. Sixty eight percent of the survey participants reported having access to a clean water source. Based on estimates, the daily average water consumption per capita was near 17 L. Only 13% of respondents reported having access to an improved latrine. The completion of the project is a valuable contribution to the local water supply. The project provided a unique opportunity for international experience and service learning to the students involved.
Keywords: Drinking water, well, sanitation, Togo, rural communit
Casino Gambling Tourism-A View From Community: The Case of North Cyprus (TRNC)
Get PDFThis study is an investigation of a host community's perception of the social and cultural impacts of casino gambling in the major coastal tourist destination of Northern Cyprus, where it represents a vital source of income and employment for the area. The study is also an evaluation of this perception within the context of "tourism-host community? interaction, in respect to a general theory of community participation in the decision-making process. To achieve this aim, a survey questionnaire was applied to collect data from the Kyrenia district (the main venue for casino gambling activities) in Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The questionnaires were analyzed to access: (1) the general attitude towards casino gambling, (2) the social and cultural impacts of casino gambling on local residents, (3) the community?s concerns about the presence of casinos in their community, and (4) to develop a profile of respondents in respect of their attitudes towards gambling behaviour. Findings indicated that the respondents had a negative attitude towards casino gambling. The socio-cultural impacts that were cited most frequently were crime and domestic violence, prostitution, threat to the traditional way of life, social values, diminishing the historic, aesthetic value of Kyrenia town, and threatening the basis of family structure and life. Findings also revealed that tourism planners and developers need to be aware of the perceptions of the community and of actively encouraging community members involvement in any decision-making processes, connected to specific types of tourism - particularly gambling. Many casinos have been constructed on the coastal environment, which raises numerous concerns regarding the ecological impact of casinos on the health and sustainability of the coastal areas. The study revealed that there is no integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) in place which "emphasizes the integration of systems, co-ordination of policies and institutions, management concerns, development objectives andstakeholder interests across the different landscapes of the coastal zone" (Hope & Lekorwe, 1999, p. 853). The community's concerns were directed at the serious lack of awareness displayed towards these issues.
Keywords: Residents' attitudes; Casino Gambling; Tourism Development; Growth machine thesis; North Cyprus
Returning Home and Making a Living: Employment Strategies of Return Migrants to Rural U.S. Communities
Get PDFThis research focuses on return migration to rural areas in the United States and documents strategies that return migrants use for securing employment. Rural labor markets, due to their small size, limited diversity, and lower wage scale, can be challenging for people looking to make a living. To understand how these labor market constraints affect rural return migration, we draw on over 300 semi-structured interviews with stayers, outmigrants and return migrants. Conversations, conducted at 10- to 30-year high school reunions in geographically isolated rural U.S. communities, affirm the well-known challenges and significant barriers to employment in small towns. However, additional interviews with community and business leaders also document employers' difficulties in filling skilled work positions. Return migrants take on jobs both in the public and private sector, but quite a few carve niches through self-employment, mostly in service sectors. We also encountered a small number of return migrants who started internet-based businesses or otherwise worked remotely. A reoccurring theme highlights how return migrants accept career sacrifices in order to raise their children in a familiar, small-town environment. We conclude that return migrants can be a boost to the economic and social vitality of rural communities and that communities should make efforts to both attract and retain them.
Keywords: return migration, rural communities, rural labor markets, employment, geographic isolation, United State