Rural Futures with Dr. Connie Episode 17 Featuring Christiana McFarland

Rural Futures Institute Author

10/31/2018 Added

6 Plays

Description

Searchable Transcript

Search:

[00:00:00.380]On this podcast, we talk with rural mavericks,
[00:00:03.170]futurists and researchers
[00:00:04.930]to raise bold voices for rural people and places.
[00:00:08.490]I'm Katelyn, producer of the show,
[00:00:10.910]and I'm asking you to do your part.
[00:00:13.230]Support the Rural Futures Podcast
[00:00:15.200]by leaving a review which helps new listeners find us
[00:00:18.700]and become a sponsor by visiting
[00:00:20.870]ruralfutures.nebraska.edu/podcast.
[00:00:25.465](dance music)
[00:00:27.350]In terms of what the future looks like,
[00:00:29.050]again, I'm hopeful in those leaders
[00:00:31.000]who are on the ground and understand
[00:00:33.010]not only the constraints, but are starting to view
[00:00:35.890]their communities through an asset-driven lens
[00:00:37.830]as opposed to a deficit driven lens.
[00:00:42.460]Rural Futures, the podcast where we
[00:00:45.120]connect thought leaders and doers at the intersection
[00:00:48.120]of technology and what it means to be human.
[00:00:51.110]Every episode we talk with entrepreneurs,
[00:00:53.670]researchers, and achievers to create
[00:00:56.140]impact for generations to come.
[00:00:59.206]And now, here's Dr. Connie.
[00:01:01.710]Welcome back to the Rural Futures Podcast.
[00:01:03.970]I'm your host, Dr. Connie.
[00:01:05.380]And joining us today is researcher
[00:01:07.690]and maverick, Christy McFarland.
[00:01:09.810]She's the research director
[00:01:11.240]with the National League of Cities,
[00:01:13.240]and she's also pursuing a PhD at Virginia Tech
[00:01:16.140]to explore her amazing work even deeper
[00:01:19.190]which we'll talk about here in a minute.
[00:01:21.010]So Christy, tell us a little bit more about yourself.
[00:01:23.970]Thanks, Dr. Connie, it's great to be here with you.
[00:01:26.240]So I am a researcher with the National League of Cities.
[00:01:29.350]I always like to use the word applied
[00:01:31.250]before researcher, so I'm an applied researcher.
[00:01:33.850]We're very much with data,
[00:01:35.650]but also with leaders in local communities
[00:01:38.300]across the country and city staff as well.
[00:01:40.960]As you mentioned, I'm getting my PhD.
[00:01:43.350]I'm a perpetual student both
[00:01:44.780]in and outside of the classroom.
[00:01:47.000]Of course, I'm also a mom of two small kids, four and six.
[00:01:51.630]I also love to play tennis.
[00:01:54.330]Good, funny as I hear all that,
[00:01:55.470]it makes me wonder what you're not doing
[00:01:57.210]because just working and pursuing a PhD is a lot.
[00:02:01.340]Let alone when you throw in a family,
[00:02:03.470]and you wanna have a life outside of that as well.
[00:02:07.234]Yes, it's definite a lot.
[00:02:08.719]But my husband and I have a great partnership in that way.
[00:02:11.990]I think in this modern era when you
[00:02:13.940]have a lot times dual career couples
[00:02:16.516]or couples with kids or dogs
[00:02:18.730]or all these other responsibilities you have to have
[00:02:22.010]some sort of partnership or team on your side
[00:02:24.170]to make it all work.
[00:02:25.770]Tell us a little bit more about yourself
[00:02:28.100]as a leader and how you create
[00:02:30.810]this full life that you're experiencing.
[00:02:34.570]That's a really interesting question.
[00:02:36.120]And it's something that I've needed
[00:02:37.730]to reflect on because I think it's a role
[00:02:40.790]that I've grown into.
[00:02:42.400]I would say a defining characteristics
[00:02:44.340]of my leadership style really is
[00:02:46.390]to lean into uncertainty.
[00:02:48.160]And I think that goes for my professional
[00:02:49.970]and personal life as well.
[00:02:52.140]Specifically, on the professional side,
[00:02:54.640]what I've realized over the past few years,
[00:02:57.250]is that we are often confronted
[00:02:59.400]with some predominate narratives
[00:03:01.070]whether it's in the media or just
[00:03:03.240]in our professional circles or whatnot.
[00:03:05.020]And specifically, in my role
[00:03:07.150]with the National League of Cities,
[00:03:08.300]and there's been a lot of attention
[00:03:09.740]on local communities and geography
[00:03:11.540]and the role that cities and towns play
[00:03:13.660]in the broader national economy.
[00:03:15.560]And really understanding what the perspective is
[00:03:18.650]from a national media driven, maybe political perspective,
[00:03:22.920]and then what we're really hearing
[00:03:24.100]on the ground from those people who are
[00:03:26.790]in the trenches every day really working
[00:03:28.420]to build better communities.
[00:03:30.130]Being able to identify where I see those disconnects
[00:03:32.750]and where there may be some uncertainty and gray areas,
[00:03:35.310]and really using those as the opportunities
[00:03:37.870]for a research direction and as a guide
[00:03:41.400]for where the next great research idea may come from.
[00:03:44.573](dance music)
[00:03:47.190]So tell us a little bit more about your work
[00:03:49.820]around exploring the rural-urban,
[00:03:53.890]both conversation but diving a little deeper into that,
[00:03:56.800]economy and for the coexistence of that economy
[00:04:00.790]and the importance of the relationship
[00:04:02.930]between rural and urban areas.
[00:04:05.360]I have been very struck over the past few years
[00:04:08.560]with the very disparate outcomes
[00:04:11.600]that truly do exist in some rural and urban communities
[00:04:15.600]but also the overriding narrative
[00:04:17.180]about the fate and the relationship
[00:04:19.590]between urban and rural communities.
[00:04:21.270]I think most of what we've been hearing
[00:04:22.680]and most of what tends to understood
[00:04:25.360]about urban and rural communities
[00:04:26.600]is that they do not operate in the same world at all.
[00:04:30.160]And that's not actually the case.
[00:04:31.670]When we drill down and we really
[00:04:34.100]get a handle on what is happening in urban
[00:04:36.280]and rural places, we find yes,
[00:04:38.440]rural communities very much are stressed
[00:04:40.650]at a foundational level.
[00:04:42.160]But they also operate within a regional economy,
[00:04:44.330]and we're finding many places where
[00:04:47.020]rural communities are leveraging their assets
[00:04:49.200]to build relationships in a broader, regional economy.
[00:04:52.550]You had referenced Virginia urban-rural economic divide,
[00:04:55.550]and what we found in that research
[00:04:57.610]is that again, yes there are some significant divides
[00:05:00.510]between urban and rural communities,
[00:05:01.940]particularly when we're talking about things
[00:05:03.610]like education and broadband access.
[00:05:06.130]And we know that those are critically important
[00:05:07.960]to the economic prospects of any place.
[00:05:10.340]But, we also found some other interesting findings
[00:05:14.070]that point really to opportunities
[00:05:16.330]for more shared prosperity
[00:05:18.290]between urban and rural communities.
[00:05:20.280]In many states across the country,
[00:05:22.010]we found that business is an export
[00:05:25.000]and that's very critically important to economic growth.
[00:05:29.011]We found that rural communities
[00:05:30.560]have a growing share of businesses that export
[00:05:32.680]whether that's through manufacturing
[00:05:33.940]or agriculture or otherwise.
[00:05:35.530]So we know that there are opportunities and assets there.
[00:05:38.540]We also find that many rural communities
[00:05:40.770]are outpacing their urban counterparts
[00:05:42.810]in their contributions to state GDP.
[00:05:45.750]So again, we see that there are glimmers of opportunity.
[00:05:49.540]There are particular places that are leveraging
[00:05:51.400]their unique assets.
[00:05:52.490]They're building stronger relationships
[00:05:54.160]with their urban counterparts,
[00:05:55.760]and we're seeing that there are possibilities there.
[00:05:58.110]Well, I so appreciate this work.
[00:05:59.943]I just returned on a trip from Ohio
[00:06:02.330]where I was able to meet with a number of ag leaders.
[00:06:06.490]And the number of stories that people tell
[00:06:09.160]about, you know, one woman, for example,
[00:06:11.850]actually runs a multi-state ag insurance agency
[00:06:15.760]with a number of partners.
[00:06:16.940]And one of her partners was telling me
[00:06:18.940]that her brother lives in a rural area of Ohio
[00:06:22.620]but has worked with Japan to develop edible soybeans.
[00:06:26.980]And that market has grown so much
[00:06:30.470]that his business has really expanded.
[00:06:32.910]So it's an international business.
[00:06:35.360]It started from a person living in a rural Ohio.
[00:06:39.040]But the segment, the customer segment
[00:06:41.650]they serve is very urban.
[00:06:43.980]And so, I think those economies really
[00:06:46.080]come together in incredible ways.
[00:06:48.690]And sometimes we just don't recognize it like we should.
[00:06:52.580]I think that's a really good point.
[00:06:53.600]Up until, the past 20 or 30 years or so,
[00:06:57.120]I think what we have been seeing in terms
[00:06:59.760]of how the economy operated is just that
[00:07:02.700]smaller places would catch up
[00:07:04.700]with larger places and vice versa.
[00:07:06.410]And things would sort of take care
[00:07:07.550]of themselves through the economy.
[00:07:09.630]That's not necessarily the case anymore,
[00:07:11.750]and we need to be much more intentional
[00:07:14.620]about our economic development strategies
[00:07:16.390]if we wanna see shared prosperity.
[00:07:18.380]So like you were saying, really getting able
[00:07:20.350]to isolate and understand what the assets are
[00:07:22.940]in particular places.
[00:07:24.940]Well, and one of the quotes I love
[00:07:26.230]from the report you were talking about was,
[00:07:29.050]it's time for the narrative to shift
[00:07:31.050]from urban versus rural to a shared economic future.
[00:07:34.650]Bridging the economic divide between urban and rural areas
[00:07:37.630]will require states, regions, and localities
[00:07:41.040]to understand and bolster the relationship
[00:07:43.240]between urban and rural areas
[00:07:45.380]in economically meaningful and strategic ways.
[00:07:48.890]I think that just that summarizes
[00:07:51.450]a lot of this so well but also helps people
[00:07:55.120]reframe some of the questions that we need to be asking
[00:07:58.810]to create a more sustainable future
[00:08:01.350]for our country and also the world.
[00:08:04.060]I think this conversation around the urban-rural divide
[00:08:06.480]really forces us to think a little bit differently
[00:08:09.710]about the future both of leadership,
[00:08:12.050]of economic development, of the way
[00:08:13.860]that we approach our communities.
[00:08:16.380]Specifically, on the leadership front,
[00:08:19.080]we talked about the fact
[00:08:20.240]that in the past the economy sort of sorted itself out
[00:08:23.460]in ways that we're not seeing anymore.
[00:08:26.010]So in that way it really does require
[00:08:28.340]governments at all levels as well as partners
[00:08:31.540]from private sector, nonprofits, and others
[00:08:34.250]to really come together and to teach a collaboration
[00:08:36.640]to think about intentional ways
[00:08:39.110]to improve the economic outcomes,
[00:08:41.180]not only of rural communities
[00:08:42.730]but ways that urban and rural communities can work together.
[00:08:45.010]Because I really feel like that's where
[00:08:47.150]the leverage is going to be.
[00:08:48.880]And again, in terms of economic development
[00:08:51.770]as a field and how we're thinking about that
[00:08:53.930]and how that field is evolving,
[00:08:55.790]again, becoming much more intentional
[00:08:57.610]and strategic and it requires that leadership.
[00:09:00.090]But it doesn't mean working against
[00:09:02.050]the economic forces that are occurring
[00:09:04.290]to make large communities economically viable.
[00:09:07.740]It doesn't mean that rural communities
[00:09:09.390]need to be working against that,
[00:09:10.780]or it doesn't mean that rural communities
[00:09:12.300]even need to try to replicate what's happening
[00:09:15.410]in large communities.
[00:09:17.020]What it means for the future for rural economies
[00:09:19.480]is that economic developers across the country
[00:09:22.600]need to take stock of what assets exist locally,
[00:09:27.010]how do those play within a regional economy
[00:09:29.670]and how can they potentially complement
[00:09:31.350]what's happening in the urban area?
[00:09:33.180]Is there an exciting urban market
[00:09:34.920]that really can be served by some rural interests as well?
[00:09:38.260]And I really feel that that's the way of the future.
[00:09:41.310]Well, give us some examples of the communities
[00:09:43.350]you see working in this way
[00:09:45.440]where they're really thinking about how do they link
[00:09:48.100]these systems in rural and urban together
[00:09:51.000]to create a more vibrant economy,
[00:09:53.380]but also a more thriving area for people to live?
[00:09:57.700]There are examples across the country, and I think
[00:09:59.720]those are the important stories to lift up, right?
[00:10:02.110]We're working right now in the state of Virginia,
[00:10:04.920]for example, trying really to understand
[00:10:07.730]what are the assets that are unique
[00:10:09.270]to rural parts of the state
[00:10:11.420]and how do those align potentially
[00:10:13.760]with what the needs are of more urban areas of the state.
[00:10:16.880]So that's one example.
[00:10:18.480]We know that Oregon is home of the top hops growers
[00:10:23.580]which I find to be really interesting.
[00:10:26.070]And the rural growers of hops in that state
[00:10:29.810]really rely on the sophisticated tastes
[00:10:31.640]of their urban consumers within the state
[00:10:33.660]of Oregon as well.
[00:10:34.640]So, the entrepreneurs who are growing hops
[00:10:37.700]are relying the specialized beer palate
[00:10:40.590]of those in the urban area.
[00:10:41.927]Purifying the type of hops that they're growing
[00:10:44.830]and then expand to the global market.
[00:10:46.950]So that type of relationship between urban and rural
[00:10:49.370]is not only a direct market for rural entrepreneurs
[00:10:52.660]in the urban area, but also sort of a test bed
[00:10:55.670]before they're able to branch out and be successful
[00:10:58.070]in the global marketplace as well.
[00:11:00.620]Well, I think that that shows an exciting linkage, right?
[00:11:03.380]So thinking about how do we work together
[00:11:05.780]within this space.
[00:11:06.810]So we are co-testing and co-creating these products together
[00:11:11.740]so we aren't just growing something over here
[00:11:14.660]that might not fit the palate of the audiences
[00:11:18.150]we're trying to serve but really zoning in
[00:11:20.180]on those audiences and being very entrepreneurial
[00:11:22.770]in terms of how to create the products
[00:11:25.330]that people really want to buy.
[00:11:27.353](dance music)
[00:11:29.910]So and a lot of this really centers
[00:11:31.790]around the food systems.
[00:11:33.210]Expanding those food system beyond the farms
[00:11:36.380]and really helping people understand what that means.
[00:11:39.340]We all eat; we all wear clothes.
[00:11:41.250]I think these are important pieces
[00:11:43.840]of what rural does provide.
[00:11:46.150]But tell us a little bit more
[00:11:47.770]about those states that maybe don't have
[00:11:50.230]a strong ag sector.
[00:11:52.030]What advice would you give them in the rural-urban connect?
[00:11:56.630]Again, I think it's critically important
[00:11:58.670]to understand regionally what are going to be
[00:12:01.250]the drivers of the economy within that region going forward.
[00:12:04.990]And are there complements in both
[00:12:06.440]the urban and rural communities
[00:12:08.180]to help realize that growth in the long term?
[00:12:11.150]So again, it doesn't necessarily need to mean
[00:12:13.180]that rural communities are replicating success
[00:12:15.020]of urban areas or that they just need to wait
[00:12:17.670]for urban area growth to sort of trickle down
[00:12:20.570]to rural communities.
[00:12:21.980]There really can be a synergy there
[00:12:24.530]particularly when working through a regional perspective.
[00:12:28.360]Now thank you.
[00:12:29.193]I know we've talked to a few states.
[00:12:30.970]Leaders from South Carolina, for example,
[00:12:33.360]that are really struggling around, okay, what do we do here?
[00:12:37.650]Because states like Nebraska,
[00:12:40.040]others have this strong rural sector
[00:12:42.820]and that strong rural sector really is
[00:12:45.380]the bread and butter of the state in so many ways.
[00:12:47.730]But also is what really bolsters our rural sector.
[00:12:51.980]And I think that's important,
[00:12:53.090]but other states don't necessarily have that.
[00:12:55.670]And so thinking about how do we expand it here
[00:12:58.320]in places like Nebraska but also
[00:13:01.430]learn to together with states like South Carolina
[00:13:03.860]that don't feel their ag sector
[00:13:05.550]is what really makes their rural areas prosperous.
[00:13:09.410]So thinking about it in new and different ways,
[00:13:11.680]I think is just so important for everyone.
[00:13:14.690]Yeah, I think that's right.
[00:13:15.730]And there are also, like you had mentioned,
[00:13:18.360]there are also states that have thriving rural areas.
[00:13:21.980]And I think what we're finding in a lot of those places too,
[00:13:25.480]is that you get urban and rural communities
[00:13:28.060]are linked together because of the growth
[00:13:29.810]that's happening in rural communities.
[00:13:31.390]So for example, with gas and oil production
[00:13:33.760]and extraction in the northern states, for example,
[00:13:37.640]thinking about the services that are required
[00:13:39.630]whether it's the drill services or otherwise
[00:13:41.620]to help that industry continue to grow.
[00:13:44.600]We're seeing those type of service sector jobs
[00:13:46.780]grow in the urban areas but they're very much connected
[00:13:49.530]to what is happening in the rural places as well.
[00:13:52.037](dance music)
[00:13:53.450]Welcome to Bold Voices,
[00:13:54.980]our segment with rockstar students
[00:13:56.780]from the University of Nebraska
[00:13:58.730]who are making a difference in rural.
[00:14:01.900]Hey podcast listeners, it's Katy,
[00:14:03.730]production specialist of the Rural Futures Podcast.
[00:14:06.640]With me today is Sydney Armbruster,
[00:14:08.470]a senior Disease and Human Health major
[00:14:10.520]at Peru State College.
[00:14:11.760]Welcome Sydney.
[00:14:12.850]Hello, thanks for having me Katy.
[00:14:14.700]Yeah, we're so happy you came on the show.
[00:14:16.710]Can you start out by telling our listeners
[00:14:18.410]a little bit about who you are?
[00:14:20.850]I really have a passion for helping people
[00:14:22.780]and learning about the human body,
[00:14:24.200]and I hope to become a physician assistant someday.
[00:14:27.440]So I know you have a rural background.
[00:14:29.400]Tell our listeners a little bit
[00:14:30.830]about your connection to rural.
[00:14:33.350]I'm originally from Fall City, Nebraska,
[00:14:35.680]which is a rural community.
[00:14:37.360]My specific interests in rural
[00:14:38.920]is in the healthcare field.
[00:14:40.310]And I hope to be able to help out
[00:14:41.690]and serve in underprivileged areas
[00:14:43.470]when I get licensed as physician assistant.
[00:14:46.220]So, you got to contribute
[00:14:47.630]to the Rural Futures Institute
[00:14:49.150]through our Serviceship project this summer.
[00:14:51.140]Can you talk about a little bit about that?
[00:14:53.110]I got sent to the Omaha Municipal Land Bank.
[00:14:55.770]And once I got to Omaha, I learned a whole new world
[00:14:58.430]but joined Housing and Healthcare
[00:15:00.540]which really interested me,
[00:15:01.890]but was something that I never even thought of before.
[00:15:04.460]We basically worked with foreclosed houses.
[00:15:07.450]We worked with the foreclosure team
[00:15:09.190]to get those houses, and then we sell those houses.
[00:15:12.320]And then whoever buys the house
[00:15:14.380]has nine months to redevelop that house.
[00:15:16.760]So actually we're bettering the communities
[00:15:19.090]in more than one way.
[00:15:20.440]It made me grow as a person and will definitely shape
[00:15:22.830]how I practice medicine in the future.
[00:15:24.980]How do you think that those skills
[00:15:26.860]would translate into a more rural community?
[00:15:29.980]Right now there's a lot of housing crisises
[00:15:32.610]in rural areas.
[00:15:33.930]And Land Bank is actually working
[00:15:35.790]on moving their services to rural areas
[00:15:39.150]because of the crisis.
[00:15:40.530]And it would work the exact same way
[00:15:42.490]we work in those underdeveloped parts
[00:15:44.500]of the communities and hopefully get them
[00:15:46.530]back up to functioning pace.
[00:15:48.950]And it would affect the community
[00:15:50.180]just as much as it does in urban areas.
[00:15:52.850]How has the Rural Futures Institute
[00:15:54.860]impacted your college career and your future plans?
[00:15:58.620]RSI has been one of the best experience
[00:16:00.900]of my college career thus far.
[00:16:03.010]I've gained friendships, mentors, and many memories.
[00:16:05.890]It definitely opened my horizons
[00:16:07.490]to what the world has to offer
[00:16:09.060]and how many people are working
[00:16:10.200]for positive change in the world today.
[00:16:12.590]Well, thank you so much, Sydney,
[00:16:14.250]for talking to me today
[00:16:15.630]and discussing this interesting intersection
[00:16:18.470]between housing and healthcare
[00:16:19.810]and how it really affects both urban and rural.
[00:16:23.510]Thanks for having me, Katy.
[00:16:24.966](dance music)
[00:16:29.240]Okay, Christy, I'm gonna ask you
[00:16:31.100]to put your futurist hat on now for a second.
[00:16:34.290]I want you to think about
[00:16:36.040]how do you think these changes will impact the future?
[00:16:39.160]How do you see the rural-urban dynamic evolving?
[00:16:42.430]I think that the urban-rural dynamic
[00:16:45.170]will evolve to a place where,
[00:16:47.390]from what I know about city leaders
[00:16:48.880]in other community leaders and town leaders
[00:16:50.750]across the country, they will find a way.
[00:16:53.430]There are solutions when the right people are at the table.
[00:16:56.540]And my sense is that we're getting
[00:16:57.720]to a critical point where we need
[00:17:00.370]to really start identifying solutions
[00:17:03.470]that work for both urban and rural communities
[00:17:05.240]and for shared prosperity within the regions.
[00:17:07.540]In terms of what the future looks like,
[00:17:09.210]again, I'm hopeful in those leaders
[00:17:11.260]who are on the ground and understand
[00:17:13.260]not only the constraints but are starting
[00:17:15.590]to view their communities through an asset-driven lens
[00:17:18.240]as opposed to deficit-driven lens.
[00:17:19.910]And when you do that I think the possibilities
[00:17:21.810]really become more apparent.
[00:17:23.860]And again, we are seeing that in communities
[00:17:25.490]across the country, and I'm hopeful
[00:17:27.360]that others will take that lead as well.
[00:17:29.660]Yeah, I so agree.
[00:17:30.620]I know there's challenges,
[00:17:32.240]and we at Rural Futures Institute
[00:17:34.220]aren't trying to diminish those challenges at all
[00:17:36.520]but surely think more on the mindset
[00:17:39.780]of possibility and abundance and what can be created.
[00:17:43.710]I think it's so important.
[00:17:44.960]So we are actually recognizing
[00:17:46.680]that there's opportunity here
[00:17:48.670]rather than just focusing on the challenges.
[00:17:51.803](dance music)
[00:17:54.160]Now I know you're one of the people
[00:17:55.740]on this planet that really takes her work very seriously,
[00:17:58.880]but also gets out there and experiences
[00:18:02.850]these crops and these rural areas for herself.
[00:18:06.260]So I'd love for you to share with our audience
[00:18:09.280]what you do for fun that also helps you
[00:18:12.580]think of the research and push your research forward.
[00:18:15.540]Yeah, I want medicine!
[00:18:16.460]I have become recent whisky hobbyist if that's a word.
[00:18:20.320]We very much enjoy getting out into Virginia
[00:18:23.910]and exploring the distilleries that are local here.
[00:18:27.350]There are quite a few in Virginia
[00:18:29.160]and it's just been a really fun experience.
[00:18:31.270]I think, when we get out to these places
[00:18:33.430]it's very interesting to see, for example,
[00:18:36.230]the methods that are used when these distilleries
[00:18:38.930]are dealing with different types of grains.
[00:18:40.650]It's not a high-tech type of process.
[00:18:43.420]It's very much being able to feel
[00:18:46.170]and to smell all of the different grains
[00:18:48.280]that are going into whether it's rye or bourbon or whatnot.
[00:18:51.550]It's a great experience
[00:18:52.840]really to get up close and personal
[00:18:55.390]with the products that we love to taste test
[00:18:58.130]for ourselves back at home.
[00:18:59.550]And to have an experience not only with the products
[00:19:02.480]but also with the people that are making it.
[00:19:04.300]But I think this is just a huge asset.
[00:19:06.670]Rural communities definitely have,
[00:19:08.300]a little later today I get to go down to Kimmel Orchard.
[00:19:12.560]And it's a 90-acre orchard famous for apples
[00:19:15.530]but has a variety of fruits and vegetables as well.
[00:19:18.410]And every fall, they have an AppleJack festival
[00:19:21.260]in Nebraska City which is a town of about 7,000 people
[00:19:24.440]in southeast Nebraska.
[00:19:26.310]And literally, 50 to 70,000 people
[00:19:29.110]will come down there and participate
[00:19:31.820]in that festival over the course of a three-day period.
[00:19:35.240]And it's been named one of the best festivals
[00:19:38.040]in the nation for a small town.
[00:19:40.400]But it's such a great economic boon
[00:19:42.560]for the area, but it also just provides
[00:19:45.180]that experience you're talking about.
[00:19:47.060]People coming from rural and urban areas alike
[00:19:50.510]to be able to pick apples and get outside,
[00:19:53.580]have some family fun.
[00:19:54.970]But really get to also experience
[00:19:57.720]what a great apple, what great products
[00:20:01.080]and produce actually taste like
[00:20:02.860]straight from the place it is grown and produced.
[00:20:06.290]And on the side of education,
[00:20:08.980]it really has allowed us to really relate
[00:20:11.840]to people in a different way
[00:20:13.080]through the lens of food and agriculture.
[00:20:15.850]We talk about the university work
[00:20:17.327]and the work in extension and research and that stays.
[00:20:20.220]And so those are just amazing places and assets to have
[00:20:24.570]so that we can all come together around these issues
[00:20:27.610]and help grow our economies but also the quality
[00:20:30.770]of our lives together.
[00:20:32.372](dance music)
[00:20:34.900]So, Christy, tell us a little bit more about your work
[00:20:39.440]and what you're doing in work with your PhD
[00:20:42.840]and what your research looks like.
[00:20:45.881]So we had done this initial research
[00:20:48.990]on the urban-rural economic divide
[00:20:51.300]and wanting to understand where there are opportunities
[00:20:54.090]for regional economic development
[00:20:56.010]that helps strengthen and see prosperity
[00:20:58.100]throughout regions as opposed to just
[00:20:59.750]to build parts of regions.
[00:21:01.770]For my PhD work, what I'm looking at is in covering
[00:21:04.960]that a little bit more, so really understanding
[00:21:06.840]what are the connections from an economic development lens,
[00:21:10.070]whether that's different types of industry
[00:21:11.850]and how are they connected?
[00:21:13.500]I'm looking specifically at the ability of conglomeration
[00:21:17.510]and clusters, economic clusters,
[00:21:19.330]to help facilitate regional economic development.
[00:21:22.880]And I think recently when we think about conglomeration
[00:21:26.500]which is sort of the clustering
[00:21:27.620]of economic activity along one smaller place,
[00:21:30.540]we think of that as the key driver
[00:21:32.190]of divergence among urban and rural communities
[00:21:34.370]across the country.
[00:21:35.580]But we've really only looked at that
[00:21:36.930]through the lens of major regions across the country
[00:21:40.197]and maybe why are the coasts doing better
[00:21:42.100]and the Midwest is not doing as well.
[00:21:45.200]But we haven't really taken the approach
[00:21:46.600]of really understanding, okay, let's dig deeper into regions
[00:21:49.900]that include both urban and rural counterparts
[00:21:51.860]and understand can this cluster of economic activity
[00:21:56.020]encompass both urban and rural communities
[00:21:57.840]and help bridge urban and rural economy
[00:21:59.930]in a more productive way, building whole region?
[00:22:02.860]The work you're doing really, I think,
[00:22:04.880]is an incredible innovation in research itself
[00:22:08.820]in terms of changing the narrative
[00:22:10.720]but also adding the substance behind it that it needs.
[00:22:15.390]So as we come up even to more elections
[00:22:17.990]and the topic of rural versus urban reemerges
[00:22:21.870]in the media in the narrative,
[00:22:23.560]I'm excited that so many of us now
[00:22:25.760]can use the work you're doing
[00:22:27.200]to really have a different, more robust conversation
[00:22:29.940]around this issue.
[00:22:31.700]Yeah, I think it's really important
[00:22:32.900]that we have the information.
[00:22:34.450]I think one side of the story has been told very well.
[00:22:37.920]And again, it's not to say that rural communities
[00:22:40.850]don't have their challenges because they certainly do.
[00:22:43.190]But it's also important for the other side
[00:22:44.630]of the story to be told as well
[00:22:45.870]so that we can start to look towards solutions.
[00:22:49.070]I'm with the National League of Cities.
[00:22:51.080]Cities are certainly in our name,
[00:22:52.360]so I've gotten some funny looks
[00:22:54.240]when I start to have this conversation with people.
[00:22:57.010]But we really do represent cities and towns
[00:22:59.690]of all sizes across the country.
[00:23:01.570]So our interest really is in strengthening
[00:23:03.930]the economy and the quality of life
[00:23:05.780]in communities across the country whether large or small.
[00:23:08.920]Yeah, I appreciate that point because I think that is,
[00:23:11.840]like a person hears the word city
[00:23:13.270]and you automatically think of like New York.
[00:23:15.730]You don't think of West Point, Nebraska.
[00:23:17.930]So appreciate you bringing that forward
[00:23:19.710]because the work you're doing,
[00:23:21.590]really I think is helpful to anyone
[00:23:23.540]working in this space at all.
[00:23:25.440]There's a lotta good statistics.
[00:23:27.220]I think there's great examples of communities
[00:23:29.520]really kind of rethinking their economic future
[00:23:32.840]but also sustainability and growth.
[00:23:35.450]And your work's really unleashing a whole new conversation
[00:23:39.430]that we all need to be a part of and help support.
[00:23:42.560]From my sense, too, again although we certainly
[00:23:45.370]represent cities and towns across the spectrum
[00:23:48.070]and this research really is in the vein
[00:23:51.610]of trying to support economic growth throughout regions,
[00:23:55.360]there is also an incentive I would say
[00:23:58.409]for more urban communities to start
[00:24:00.560]thinking with this frame as well.
[00:24:02.820]Particularly as communities start to grow,
[00:24:05.540]they're becoming more unaffordable.
[00:24:07.250]There are problems with transportation and traffic issues.
[00:24:10.410]And it's going to be incumbent
[00:24:12.800]on urban communities as well to think
[00:24:14.273]in a more regional frame in order to help balance
[00:24:17.740]some of these negative consequences of growth.
[00:24:20.010]Yeah, in Nebraska what we're seeing is
[00:24:22.610]really the growth happening in those micropolitan areas.
[00:24:25.840]So, the areas that are not considered
[00:24:29.110]major urban centers but are big enough
[00:24:32.330]that people wanna live there but still have
[00:24:34.730]that quality of life, the space,
[00:24:37.240]more affordable housing, great schools.
[00:24:40.930]And so I think this is something
[00:24:42.820]that's really part of this narrative, right?
[00:24:45.120]People really want this quality of life,
[00:24:47.360]and now people are so mobile.
[00:24:48.800]I mean, here we are both working from home
[00:24:51.460]to record this podcast that they can do that.
[00:24:54.808]And I think there's so many ways
[00:24:56.050]we can help people realize their potential
[00:24:58.370]wherever they want to live.
[00:25:00.500]But both rural and urban areas can think about that.
[00:25:03.180]Like what do people want?
[00:25:04.590]What are they looking for?
[00:25:05.670]And how do we become providers of that lifestyle?
[00:25:10.470]As long as people are connected,
[00:25:12.480]they can do so much now from anywhere in the world,
[00:25:15.330]and that is really shifting the possibilities
[00:25:18.260]around where people want to live,
[00:25:20.530]but also where they can live.
[00:25:22.640]Yeah, I think that's right.
[00:25:24.320]We can't underestimate the importance
[00:25:26.710]and the vitality of our urban areas
[00:25:30.350]and the reason why they are successful.
[00:25:33.170]People still do wanna be near other people,
[00:25:35.190]but there are others.
[00:25:37.220]And there are other ways to be successful
[00:25:39.360]as long as those connections are made
[00:25:42.460]in a strategic way and an economically viable way.
[00:25:45.580]And maybe we just haven't gotten there yet,
[00:25:47.550]but I think that is the path
[00:25:48.900]we need to continue to go down.
[00:25:51.309](dance music)
[00:25:53.920]So Christy, what parting words of wisdom
[00:25:56.010]would you like to leave our audience with today?
[00:25:58.770]I hope that the research that we've done
[00:26:01.290]at the National League of Cities
[00:26:02.490]and that we'll continue to do
[00:26:03.650]and also the work that you all are doing,
[00:26:05.740]really can help people change their direction a little bit
[00:26:09.430]just in terms of taking the way that we see the world
[00:26:12.290]and putting an asset-driven lens
[00:26:14.140]on the work that we do because I think that really
[00:26:16.269]can open up some new possibilities.
[00:26:18.290]Great, thank you so much, Christy!
[00:26:19.810]We appreciate the work you're doing
[00:26:21.420]and your time to come on the podcast.
[00:26:23.380]Thank you.
[00:26:24.484](dance music)
[00:26:26.100]Thanks for listening to Rural Futures with Dr. Connie.
[00:26:28.630]Spread these bold voices for rural via social media.
[00:26:31.500]We're at Rural Futures on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
[00:26:36.830]Next up we have rural maverick
[00:26:38.540]Matt Dennis of O'Neill, Nebraska.
[00:26:40.960]Matt is co-founder of Handlebend,
[00:26:42.830]a high-end copper mug company shipping across the world
[00:26:45.990]and staying purposefully true to its rural roots.
[00:26:49.740]If we had done this in Omaha,
[00:26:52.220]I don't think it would have the same feel
[00:26:54.730]and the same storyline as it does in rural Nebraska.
[00:26:59.280]I benefit that to part of the success
[00:27:01.280]is this whole story behind it being the child
[00:27:04.990]of a rural community, and well, that whole story
[00:27:08.030]that we can sell with the experience.

The screen size you are trying to search captions on is too small!

You can always jump over to MediaHub and check it out there.

Comments

0 Comments

Rural Futures with Dr. Connie Episode 17 Featuring Christiana McFarland

Description

Searchable Transcript

Comments icon comment

Related Channels

Comments