Rural Transformations and Rural Policies in the US and UK

This book examines the transformations of rural society and economy in the UK and US during the last half-century, and explores the significance of these trends and changes for community sustainability, quality of life and the environment. While both the UK and US are highly urbanised, rural people and communities continue to contribute to national identity, economic development and social solidarity, as well as to environmental quality. Contributors explore the degree to which rural people exhibit agency and autonomy, rather than being merely passive in the face of exogenous forces of change in a globalised world. They also illuminate very different policy approaches to rural policy in two advanced capitalist societies often thought to be similar, and show how fundamental differences in rural policy approaches of the US and the UK are based on different social ideologies and values that shape policies relating to rural areas. This book will help to stimulate transatlantic dialogue on rural scholarship and rural policy analysis, while also contributing to theory and policy development. It will be of interest to researchers, students and everyone involved in the policy and practice of rural development.

Mark Shucksmith is Professor of Planning at Newcastle University. 

David L. Brown is Professor and Chair of Development Sociology, Co-Director of the Community & Regional Development Institute, and Director of Graduate Studies in Demography at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

Sally Shortall is a Reader in Sociology in Queen’s University Belfast.

Jo Vergunst is a Lecturer in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Aberdeen.

Mildred Warner is a Professor of City and Regional Planning at Cornell University.