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- Info
The North American back-to-the-land movement
| Author: |
Jacob, Jeffery C. |
| Date: |
1996 |
| Periodical: |
Community Development Journal |
| Abstract: |
Over the past three decades there has been a fluctuating counter-stream migration from urban-to-rural North America. One segment of this `turnaround' migration is the back-to-the-land movement of former urban residents who move to the countryside to practice semi-subsistence agriculture and search for a simpler way of life. These relatively well-educated smallholders, many with professional degrees, move to rural areas that often exhibit high degrees of underdevelopment - high unemployment and intense resource extraction and pollution levels. Drawing on a United States nation-wide survey, the article seeks to determine the likelihood of the new rural residents joining their neighbors in community development and activist projects. The survey found that the back-to-the-landers held progressive views on environmental and social issues, but that their levels of community organizing and activism were much more modest. |
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