Redefining a Region Through Research

勒努瓦-雷恩大学的墙上写着山科里和卡托巴县的经济史. 校园建筑与19世纪和20世纪在山科里及其周边地区建立制造业的许多巨头同名——舒福德, Moretz, Cloninger, Rudisill, Fritz, Rhyne.

Hickory was incorporated as a city in 1870, only 21 years before Lenoir-Rhyne was founded, so town and gown have grown up together in a very real sense, even as they have followed different trajectories. While LR has experienced relatively stable and consistent development, 近几十年来，随着经济从几乎完全以制造业为基础转向更加强调信息和服务业，山科里走的是一条变化更大的道路.

他说:“目前推动山胡桃经济发展的公式和推动美国各地经济发展的公式是一样的, 但在阿巴拉契亚地区的中小城市尤为明显,” said Katherine Gerlaugh, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociology at Lenoir-Rhyne.

“Pittsburgh, Birmingham, Chattanooga, 格林维尔——所有这些城市都使用了与希科里相同的逻辑来振兴城市,” she added. “Revitalize the downtown area. Make it more attractive to people who like outdoor recreation. Enhance the nightlife options. Improve technological infrastructure and utilities. 全球网赌十大网站看到，整个亚洲地区的城市都在有意识地努力发展业务，提高对中产阶级家庭的吸引力.”

The scholar

专攻政治经济学-一个探索政治交集的研究领域, 经济和社会结构——格洛夫花了数年时间研究那些从生产型经济转向旅游和服务型经济以维持经济增长的城市.

“That was the focus of my dissertation at the University of Tennessee, 看看阿巴拉契亚地区的城市如何适应该地区制造业和资源开采的衰退. For example, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 是否参与了扩大旅游和服务的过程——开设高端餐厅, live music and events, expanded parks and recreational spaces,” Gerlaugh explained. “我现在把那篇论文的前提应用到山核桃和周边地区.”

Although not from Appalachia originally, 格洛夫从她在丹维尔的中央学院读本科起就沉浸在阿巴拉契亚文化中, Kentucky. She lived in Boone, North Carolina, for five years, 开始在阿巴拉契亚州立大学攻读硕士学位，然后转到韦恩堡的印第安纳大学普渡大学, Indiana.

“当我离开布恩时，我知道我会回到这个地区，当我去田纳西州攻读博士学位时.D. work, 我的长期目标是搬回北卡罗来纳州西部，继续研究阿巴拉契亚地区,” said Gerlaugh. “I also wanted to teach at a small liberal arts college, 因此，加入LR的教职员工与我的研究重点和教学目标完全一致.”

The study

格洛夫的研究结合了对采取审慎行动振兴经济的城市趋势的分析, 采访和数据调查了这些趋势是如何在山核桃被采用的，以及当地的文化和经济是如何应对这些变化的.

Revitalization requires tax dollars for investment in infrastructure, 因此，再开发需要市民的支持和地方政府深思熟虑的意愿.

“For a long time, there really wasn’t much happening in Union Square, downtown. It was pretty empty, 但后来，这座城市建立了一个农贸市场，并开始举办地区性的音乐表演,” Gerlaugh explained. “Then, in summer of 2019, they essentially remade the whole space of Union Square, which boosted the popularity of the events happening there.”

In 2021, the city also established a social district covering much of downtown, 该法案允许人们在该地区的任何户外场所，从有执照的酒吧和餐馆，用指定的容器饮用酒精饮料.

市中心的复兴带来的回报是消费流量的增加, which allows for reinvestment. In recent years, 山核桃曾多次登上美国最宜居城市的榜单, which means growth in the tax base and even more reinvestment.

每逢周六，人们都会涌向支持当地农民和当地企业的农贸市场. Then they go to lunch at places like Notions and Hickory Station. They shop in the stores,” Gerlaugh observed. “真正成功地扭转经济低迷的城市是从市中心开始的.”

Pulling consumers to locally owned retail, 该地区的餐馆和服务业也拒绝了导致全国以生产为基础的城市经济衰退的经济结构, and especially in Appalachia.

“We’ve been burned by the big box retail model,” said Gerlaugh. “正是这种模式导致工作岗位转移到劳动力和环境资源最便宜的地区. When communities invest in themselves, when we bring business back and create jobs, that builds incentives to create and maintain companies here. That’s the engine, but it needs public investment to get the gas.”

The results

Revitalization projects often result in uneven development in the short term, which means not everyone in a given city benefits from new growth. For example, 当经济转向以服务业为中心，同时振兴推动房地产价值上升时, 对于推动复兴的工人来说，在一个突然充满吸引力的地区找到经济适用房变得很有挑战性.

“There are ways to regain that balance,” Gerlaugh said. “我希望像我这样的研究将为解决发展不平衡问题提供创新的解决方案, 甚至是在经济转型期间提供更大公平的再开发模式.”

Gerlaugh将在阿巴拉契亚大学协会(ACA)的资助下继续她的研究。. 她希望学术研究伴随着该地区的变化和复兴的传播，也将改变围绕阿巴拉契亚地区的看法和刻板印象, including Western North Carolina.

“在更大的美国文化中，仍然有一种感觉比阿巴拉契亚优越的心态, 是什么导致了全球网赌十大网站现在看到的社会和政治两极分化, as well,” said Gerlaugh. “这些转变——特别是如果它们伴随着更均匀的发展——可以改变这种心态, bring people together and bridge those gaps. There’s a lot of opportunity here and a lot of progress still to come.”