通过研究重新定义一个地区

The economic history of Hickory and Catawba County is written on the walls at Lenoir-赖恩表示 University. Campus buildings share names with many of the magnates who built the manufacturing industry in and around Hickory in the 19th and 20th centuries — Shuford, ·莫瑞兹, Cloninger, Rudisill, 弗里茨, 赖恩表示.

山科里在1870年被合并为一个城市, 仅在勒努瓦-莱恩公司成立前21年, 所以小镇和大学在真正意义上是一起成长的, 尽管他们走的是不同的道路. 而LR经历了相对稳定和持续的发展, Hickory has followed a path with greater flux in recent decades as the economy has shifted from one based almost entirely in manufacturing to one with greater emphasis on information and service.

“The formula driving economic development here in Hickory is the same one driving development all over the United States right now, but it’s especially pronounced in small and mid-sized cities throughout Appalachia,” 凯瑟琳·格洛夫博士.D.勒努瓦-雷恩学院社会学助理教授.

“匹兹堡, 伯明翰, 查塔努加, Greenville — all these cities have used the same logic that Hickory has put in place to revitalize the city,她补充道。. “振兴闹市区. 让它对喜欢户外娱乐的人更有吸引力. 增加夜生活的选择. 完善技术基础设施和公用事业. We’re seeing cities throughout the region making deliberate efforts to grow business and become more attractive to middle-class families.”

学者

Specializing in political economy — an area of study that explores the intersection of politics, economics and social structures — Gerlaugh has spent years studying cities that have pivoted from a production-oriented economy to a tourism and service-oriented economy to sustain growth.

这是我在田纳西大学(University of 田纳西州)写论文的重点, looking at how cities in Appalachia were adjusting to the decline of manufacturing and resource extraction in the region. 例如, 查塔努加, 田纳西州, was engaged in this process of expanding tourism and service — with high-end restaurants, 现场音乐和活动, 扩大公园和休闲空间,格洛夫解释道. “I’m now taking the premise of that dissertation and applying it to Hickory and the surrounding area.”

虽然最初不是来自阿巴拉契亚, Gerlaugh has been steeped in Appalachian culture since her undergraduate days at Centre College in Danville, 肯塔基州. 她住在布恩, 北卡罗莱纳, 整整五年, beginning 工作 on a master’s degree at Appalachian State before transferring to 印第安纳州 University-Purdue University in Fort Wayne, 印第安纳州.

“When I left Boone, I knew I would be back in this area, and when I went to 田纳西州 to do my Ph.D. 工作, my long-range goal was to move back to Western 北卡罗莱纳 and continue to study Appalachia,格洛夫说。. “我还想在一所小型文理学院任教, so joining the faculty at LR perfectly aligned with my research focus and teaching goals.”

这项研究

Gerlaugh’s research combines an analysis of trends in cities taking deliberate action to refresh their economies, interviews and data investigating how those trends have been adopted in Hickory — and how the local culture and economy are responding to those changes.

振兴需要纳税人的钱来投资基础设施, so redevelopment requires buy-in from citizens and deliberate will from local governments.

“很长一段时间以来，市中心的联合广场真的没什么活动. 那里很空, but then the city established a farmer’s market and began hosting regional musical acts,格洛夫解释道. “那, 2019年夏天, 他们基本上重塑了整个联合广场, 是什么提高了在那里举办的活动的受欢迎程度.”

In 2021, 该市还建立了一个覆盖市中心大部分地区的社会区, which allows people to consume alcoholic beverages in designated containers — from licensed bars and restaurants — while outdoors anywhere in the district.

The payoff of the revitalization of the downtown area comes with increased consumer traffic, 这允许再投资. 近年来, Hickory has landed on multiple lists of the top places to live in the United States, 这意味着税基的增长和更多的再投资.

“On Saturdays, people flood the farmers market, which supports local farmers and local businesses. 然后他们会去诸如“观念”和“山胡桃车站”之类的地方吃午饭. 他们在商店购物，”格洛夫观察到. “The cities that have been really successful in turning around economic lows started with the downtown areas.”

将消费者吸引到当地拥有的零售店, restaurants and services in the area also rejects the economic structures that led to the downturn for production-based cities around the nation, 尤其是在阿巴拉契亚地区.

“全球网赌十大网站已经被大型零售模式烧了，”格洛夫说. “That model is what caused jobs to move to areas where labor and environmental resources are cheapest. 当社区为自己投资时, 当全球网赌十大网站重振商业，创造就业机会时, 这就形成了在这里创建和维持公司的动力. 这是发动机，但它需要公共投资来获得汽油.”

结果

振兴项目往往导致短期内发展不平衡, 这意味着并不是一个城市的每个人都能从新的增长中受益. 例如, when economies pivot toward a service focus while revitalization drives up property values, it becomes challenging for the 工作ers driving the revitalization to find affordable housing in an area now suddenly bursting with appeal.

“有很多方法可以恢复这种平衡，”格洛夫说. “I hope that research such as mine will guide the way to innovative solutions to uneven development, or even models of redevelopment that provide for greater equity during the economic transition.”

Gerlaugh will continue her research with assistance from a grant from the Appalachian College Association (ACA). She hopes academic study along with the changes and the spread of revitalization through the region will also shift the perceptions and stereotypes that surround the Appalachian region, 包括北卡西部.

“There’s still a mentality of feeling superior to Appalachia in the greater American culture, which is a contributor to some of the social and political polarization we’re seeing now, 也,格洛夫说。. “These transformations — especially if they come with more even development — can change that mentality, 把人们聚集在一起，弥合这些差距. 这里有很多机会，还有很多进步有待实现.”