Brian Dabson
Welcome to my website.
It is a work-in-progress which, I hope, will improve in its usefulness in the coming months and years.
It is an opportunity to collect in one place various strands of analysis and writing in rural and regional development over the past few years.
With your help, I would like it to be a foundation for continuing exploration into what it will take to create a more prosperous, healthier, equitable, and environmentally sustainable rural America.
Rural America is a special place – or more accurately a mosaic of many special places – where connection to the land is the defining characteristic, reinforced by history, culture, and lived experiences.
Equity in a rural context is complicated – in its relationship with urban and suburban America, in terms of who owns and controls the land and its resources, and the very present legacies of broken promises to Native peoples and of slavery and discrimination.
Yet, it still is a place of majestic and intimate landscapes, of resilient and resourceful people and communities, and a vital part of the United States, past, present and future.
Regional collaboration across jurisdictions, functions, and organizations offers the opportunity for more effective rural policy and practice. Regional approaches can bridge urban-rural divides and address geographic and racial inequity. Regional resilience comes from mobilizing all resources to meet the challenges of climate and economic disruptions.
The policy and practice of economic development in rural America is evolving but not fast enough to meet global and technological challenges. Entrepreneurship can be a powerful economic strategy that builds on rural assets for community and regional benefit. Investment in essential infrastructure, including housing, provides the foundation for rural renaissance.