Problem? Or solution?<\/p>\n
Sarah Smarsh: Something Special Is Happening in Rural America<\/a>. Subtitle: There is a \u201cbrain gain\u201d afoot that suggests a national homecoming to less bustling spaces.<\/p>\n Writing from Wichita<\/p>\n \nThe nation\u2019s most populous cities, the bicoastal pillars of aspiration \u2014 New York City and Los Angeles \u2014 are experiencing population declines<\/a>, most likely driven by unaffordability. Other metros are experiencing growth, to be sure, especially in the South and West<\/a>. But there is an exodus afoot that suggests a national homecoming, across generations, to less bustling spaces. Last year, Gallup found that while roughly 80 percent of us live in urban areas, rural life was the most wished for<\/a>.<\/p>\n If happiness is what they seek, those folks are onto something. A 2018 study<\/a> by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health reported that in spite of economic and health concerns, most rural Americans are pretty dang happy and hopeful. Forty percent of rural adults said their lives came out better than they expected. A majority said they were better off financially than their parents at the same age and thought their kids would likewise ascend. As for cultural woes, those among them under age 50, as well as people of color, showed notably higher acknowledgment of discrimination and commitment to social progress. All in all, it was a picture not of a dying place but one that is progressing.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Problems for which that\u2019s not a solution:<\/p>\n NYT, Farhad Manjoo: It\u2019s the End of California as We Know It<\/a>, subtitled “The fires and the blackouts are connected to a larger problem in this state: a failure to live sustainably.”<\/p>\n It\u2019s not that California is worse; it\u2019s the leading edge.<\/p>\n \nThe long-term solutions to many of our problems are obvious<\/a>: To stave off fire and housing costs and so much else, the people of California should live together more densely. We should rely less on cars. And we should be more inclusive in the way we design infrastructure \u2014 transportation, the power grid, housing stock \u2014 aiming to design for the many rather than for the wealthy few.<\/p>\n …<\/p>\n If we redesigned our cities for the modern world, they\u2019d be taller and less stretched out into the fire-prone far reaches \u2014 what scientists call the wildland-urban interface<\/a>. Housing would be affordable because there\u2019d be more of it. You\u2019d be able to get around more cheaply because we\u2019d ditch cars and turn to buses and trains and other ways we know how to move around a lot of people at high speeds, for low prices. It wouldn\u2019t be the end of the California dream, but a reconceptualization \u2014 not as many endless blocks of backyards and swimming pools, but perhaps a new kind of more livable, more accessible life for all.<\/p>\n But who wants to do all this? Not the people of this state. Sure, we\u2019ll ban plastic bags and try to increase gas-mileage standards (until the federal government tries to stops po96us<\/a>, which of course it can, because our 40 million people get the same voting power in the Senate as Wyoming\u2019s 600,000).<\/p>\n But the big things still seem impossible here. In a state where 40 years ago, homeowners passed a constitutional amendment enshrining their demands for low property taxes forever<\/a>, where every initiative at increasing density still seems to fail<\/a>, where vital resources like electricity are managed by unscrupulous corporations<\/a> and where cars are still far and away the most beloved way to get around<\/a>, it\u2019s hard to imagine systemic change happening anytime soon.<\/p>\n And so we muddle on toward the end. All the leaves are burned and the sky is gray. California, as it\u2019s currently designed, will not survive the coming climate. Either we alter how we live here, or many of us won\u2019t live here anymore.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Problem? Or solution? Sarah Smarsh: Something Special Is Happening in Rural America. Subtitle: There is a \u201cbrain gain\u201d afoot that suggests a national homecoming to less bustling spaces. Writing from Wichita The nation\u2019s most populous cities, the bicoastal pillars of … Continue reading