ABSTRACT
The U.S. has not had an explicit rural policy since the Country Life Commission in 1908. Instead, we have assumed that sectoral programs subsidizing agriculture, timber harvesting, mining, or manufacturing would solve the problems of rural development and rural poverty. And when those areas with the highest levels of subsidies were also areas of highest poverty, individual programs of income transfer were implemented to indirectly address problems of under and unequal development in rural places. Place was dealt with only in terms of infrastructure, with roads or housing or water systems or digital connectivity viewed as the magic bullet to offset the disadvantages of distance and dispersion. Only recently has the U.S. moved to place based programs. These programs, like those in Europe, present a different model of development, with drivers from within the community. Participatory community-led development has proved effective in creating jobs, income, and hope (J. Flora et al. 1997).
