Rural Regions: Another Frontier?

Rural Regions: Another Frontier?
Presented by: The New River Valley Planning District Commission and The College of Arts and Sciences of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Three conferences, in Radford, Dublin and Blacksburg, to provide a forum for citizens, public officials and scholars to discuss the shape of the rural region today and the prospect for the future.

“A farm is not a place to grow wealthy, it is a place to grow corn.”
How do people’s expectations affect public policy in rural regions?
Saturday, February 21, 1976, in Heth Hall on the Radford College Campus

Urban-Rural Co-existance: Is it Possible?
Does urban development mean benefits or disaster for nearby agricultural areas?
Saturday, February 28, 1976, at New River Community College, Dublin

Mobility and the Settled Life.
What goals should a modern rural society pursue?
Saturday, March 13, 1976, at the Donaldson Brown Continuing Education Center, VPl&SU, Blacksburg

Each conference will feature a panel discussion — with panelists drawn from business, government, agriculture, labor and the region’s academic communities — followed by small group workshops focusing on the critical issues raised during the panel discussions and question and answer periods. Your attendance is important.

There will be no “outside experts” or keynote speakers at these conferences. Rather, we want to hear residents of the New River Valley region discuss, analyze and define their region, and the public policy issues which need to be addressed. Your participation is essential.

Come along, come along, make no delay
Come from every nation, come from every way
Our lands are broad enough, don’t be alarmed
For Uncle Sam is rich enough to give us all a farm

It was another era indeed when pioneers settling America sang this song. Today, for better or worse, Uncle Sam’s condition isn’t quite the same, but the prospects of rural regions as a haven from “urban hassles” makes the question more pressing: What is a rural region? Is it defined by special rural values — values worth saving — or is it simply an area of our country skipped over by the prevailing urban society? Your opinion is important in this Bicentennial
Year. Speak out.

These conferences are sponsored by a grant from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy.

Ruralopolis?

In 1970, farmers, farm managers, farm laborers and farm foremen made up only 3% of the New River Valley’s labor force. At the same time, about 95% of the region’s land was devoted to agriculture, forestry or open space.

Defining the region is important to public officials and residents alike. They need to know what it is public policy should be guiding, and in what direction: Toward Suburbia? Metropolis? Ruralopolis?