Center for Rural Affairs Study Says Small Communities More Likely to Flourish via Entrepreneurial Growth than Through Attracting Industrial Businesses

By: Center for Rural Affairs
Publication: Newsletter

In the order listed in the center’s latest newsletter, the “undeniable facts” are:

(1) Trends reporting little or no hope for rural areas are wrong. “It takes great effort, but small rural communities can survive and even flourish.”
(2) Rural youth hope to return to their birthplace. “Every survey we have conducted indicates youth cares about the community and wants what is best for it and for them.”
(3) Young people dislike being “retained” and want growth opportunities like their parents had.
(4) “Entrepreneurial growth is the strongest mechanism for small community survival, not industrial business attraction.”
(5) Not all communities suffer from the same problems or require the same remedy. “We must recognize that only the community can address their problems. The best we can do is to provide resources for them to get the job done.”
 
For full story, please see: 
http://www.cfra.org/newsletter/current.htm