But what about this country’s nonmetro areas, or its rural regions? How have they fended since the Great Recession? And what has been the role of the rural creative class in their economic recovery?
Department of Agriculture economist Timothy Wojan, who along with David McGranahan wrote one of the pioneering studies of the rural creative class, just released a new study examining how rural areas with larger shares of the creative class performed between 2007 and 2011.
3 comments:
This makes 100% sense to me. Of course there is going to be growth in an area that has active minds engaging in the world around it.what did surprise me, however, was the degree and accuracy with how true it is. The information age + Creativity + proximity to urban centers = success. What I want to take a look at now is the kind of work coming out of those areas. To see what can come about out of those areas, to see what happens when rural mindset meets the information age, I think would be really interesting, especially since rural areas tend to be poorer than metropolitan areas, and most of the art that is prominent in our culture today is art born of privilege and money. Thoughts. (Shoutout to my wood bending friends).
After spending summer after summer working in an extremely rural area of New Hampshire, I can vehemently say that this notion is true. There's something about being in a small secluded town that allows you to think more broadly. For me, it was the noise. I love cities and the convenience and the hustle and bustle. But they're so loud! Being in the woods or in a small town where it's quieter and less hectic is so much more creatively stimulating. You're able to focus on your art and your life without distractions. This article was a little difficult to get into, but after closer reading, it actually makes a lot of sense and the author did a great job breaking down this idea using graphs and maps.
I’ve worked for a few theatres that called rural towns home, and more often than not they were one of the cornerstones of the community. Still to this day those places are very near and dear to my heart. They pushed me to grow as a collaborator and artist, not just a technician. Environments such as those in creative rural communities create a unique atmosphere. Festival after festival, art show after art show, theatre and music, and I’m glad to see that these communities are growing. Hopefully this trend continues, this country needs to find value in the arts again. Well, we need to find value in a lot of things again, but the bigger the difference that the creative class make on the economy the less art and band and drama programs that will be cut.
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