Harvard Kennedy School students in Rural Virginia
Monday, May 20, 2013
Taking our cities back
I am in a part of America that few Americans know it exists and even fewer have seen. Rural and semi-urban South-West Virginia, a region that was different times at the heart of coal and trains production, the textile industry, and later furniture, is now trying to stay afloat as it deals with unprecedented and rising poverty levels. Roanoke, the first city in our itinerary has almost 100,000 inhabitants, a quarter of which are under the poverty level. Instead of giving up, local authorities are fighting as hard as they can to keep the town alive and to move it forward. A tour we received explained to us all the efforts that have been done in recent decades to revitalize the community. What is interesting about the authority's strategy is that they did not have mega projects that cost hundreds of milions of dollars, but instead had multiple smaller projects. The old proverb that you should not put all your eggs in one basked has been wisely followed in Roanoke. From the many small scale projects, one refurbished building there, one small contruction over here, one rebuilt complex over there, some failed, but most succeeded, giving the town a slow, but constant push to move ahead. It's like geometric distribution, instead of throwing one big rock in a pont, it's better to throw many smaller rock, if your goal is to create waves. The most interesting part of the authority's strategy however, is how they choose where to invest the little money that they have in order to reduce crime and make neighborhood livable. By trying to buy "problem buildings" where crime is concentrated, they bring massive improvement to surrounding areas, improvement that could be achieved much harder if the entire neighborhood was to be rebuilt. Once one or two problem buildings are taken care of, the whole vibe of the community changes.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
And so, it starts...
Hello! I'm introducing our blog for the Harvard Kennedy School's trip to Rural Virginia. Sponsored by the Dean of Students Office and the Center for Public Leadership, the Leadership Service Seminars ("LSS") are experiential learning treks to areas within the U.S. that HKS students might not otherwise have a chance to visit. LSS Virginia focuses on issues of economic and community development in more rural areas, in particular the Roanoke Valley and Southside regions.
We chose to study this area for a number of reasons. For decades, manufacturing, textiles, and tobacco farming formed the economic backbone of this region of Virginia. However, macroeconomic shifts in the latter part of the 20th Century led to factory closings, fallow fields and persistent unemployment even before the Great Recession.
But various efforts are currently underway to spur development and revitalization. These span traditional entrepreneurship and capital access; workforce development and education; and tourism driven by arts, culture, and the beautiful landscape. These models are being led by various groups from the public, private and non-profit sectors. We see the collective progress in this area as evidence of the various ways in which stakeholders from all sectors can—and should—work together to drive economic development in rural areas.
We have a diverse group of nine students and two outstanding staff members. Three of our students, including myself, are Virginia natives; three are international students; I'll let them introduce themselves as the week goes on. Each of us is interested in the ways in which different groups can work together to improve both quality of life and access to economic opportunities for people in rural areas.
This trip is near and dear to my heart, in particular. I grew up in Rocky Mount, VA, a small town located about 30 miles due south of Roanoke. My father and other members of my family worked in factories across the Southside region of the state, and were among the nearly 10,000 people to lose their jobs as plants began to close in the mid-1990s. In many ways, this experience had an indelible impact on my family and the way I thought about my own journey.
All that said, that is past; and it is heartening to see the progress made in recent years throughout the region. I'm excited to learn more about the ways in which each of these communities is pressing forward and sowing the seeds of future growth.
Each of our group members will be posting throughout the week, sharing both our reflections and (hopefully!) lots of great pictures (still need to find that camera...).
We look forward to sharing our week with you!
Signing off for now...
Dan
Where we'll be and when:
We chose to study this area for a number of reasons. For decades, manufacturing, textiles, and tobacco farming formed the economic backbone of this region of Virginia. However, macroeconomic shifts in the latter part of the 20th Century led to factory closings, fallow fields and persistent unemployment even before the Great Recession.
But various efforts are currently underway to spur development and revitalization. These span traditional entrepreneurship and capital access; workforce development and education; and tourism driven by arts, culture, and the beautiful landscape. These models are being led by various groups from the public, private and non-profit sectors. We see the collective progress in this area as evidence of the various ways in which stakeholders from all sectors can—and should—work together to drive economic development in rural areas.
We have a diverse group of nine students and two outstanding staff members. Three of our students, including myself, are Virginia natives; three are international students; I'll let them introduce themselves as the week goes on. Each of us is interested in the ways in which different groups can work together to improve both quality of life and access to economic opportunities for people in rural areas.
This trip is near and dear to my heart, in particular. I grew up in Rocky Mount, VA, a small town located about 30 miles due south of Roanoke. My father and other members of my family worked in factories across the Southside region of the state, and were among the nearly 10,000 people to lose their jobs as plants began to close in the mid-1990s. In many ways, this experience had an indelible impact on my family and the way I thought about my own journey.
All that said, that is past; and it is heartening to see the progress made in recent years throughout the region. I'm excited to learn more about the ways in which each of these communities is pressing forward and sowing the seeds of future growth.
Each of our group members will be posting throughout the week, sharing both our reflections and (hopefully!) lots of great pictures (still need to find that camera...).
We look forward to sharing our week with you!
Signing off for now...
Dan
Where we'll be and when:
- Sunday/Monday: Roanoke
- Monday/Tuesday: Blacksburg / Virginia Tech
- Tuesday/Wednesday: Floyd/Rocky Mount
- Wednesday/Thursday: Franklin County
- Thursday: Martinsville
- Friday: Danville
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