Research Opportunity: Governing Urban and Rural Poverty

This research opportunity is part of the Urban Studies Research Program. Students who participate will work with their faculty mentor, and will also share their findings at a research symposium with students and faculty working on other projects. To learn more about the Urban Studies Research Program, see our website.

Project Title: Governing Urban and Rural Poverty

Faculty Member: Michelle Wilde Anderson

Abstract: Decades of cuts to local government have wreaked havoc on communities left behind by the modern economy. Some of these discarded places are rural, others are urban. Some are conservative, some are progressive. Some are the most diverse communities in America, others are segregated. All are routinely trashed by outsiders for their poverty and their politics. Mostly, their governments are just broke. When a high-poverty city or county has run out of services to cut, properties to sell, bills to defer, and risky loans to take, what should its leaders do to ameliorate the harms of concentrated poverty? In the spring of 2022, I will be publishing a book for a general audience on these topics, which is called “The Fight to Save the Town: Reimagining Discarded America.” Following its publication, I will be publishing a website, twitter stream, long-form feature articles, an academic article, and other content continuing to develop the themes in the book. My summer 2022 RA would be involved in several of these projects, depending on their interest/experience.