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Rural living is simultaneously overly accommodated (as in we go out of our way to encourage policy, promote social mores, and expand technology which supports c
by eyelidlessness 4y ago
Rural living is simultaneously overly accommodated (as in we go out of our way to encourage policy, promote social mores, and expand technology which supports choosing to live in rural areas) and woefully abandoned (the problems discussed in this article, but I’d emphasize lack of access to things humans depend on generally like health care). I honestly think most of the solution is to stop over-accommodating. The vast majority of rural-living people don’t need to live so remotely from the resources they deserve, and they could live slightly closer together without any meaningful harm to their lives or preferences. To the extent people do need to live in rural areas, we should recognize they’re critical members of society and do all the things we already do to expedite movement of resources in more urban areas.
Per the article’s main theme: we should eliminate the time and place problem by mostly not living in remote locales where we don’t need to, and do whatever we can to minimize the impact of distance for those who have to.
- blamestross 4y agoWelcome to the old centralization decentralization cycle. The article talks about a lot of real issues with rural QoL. High QoL is more efficient when centralized but if you tolerate a lower QoL then the perspective shifts. Rural living is decentralized infrastructure and an important thing to preserve as a hedge against cataclysm. We really do need our whole last mile of 3rd world country not to get eaten by corporatism.
- alt227 4y agoThis becomes more complicated as QoL is subjective. For some people living in an urban environment, no matter how many resources are available, will always be a lower QoL than living in a rural area.
- specialist 4y agoYup. Left Behind vs Stay Behind. When the Stay Behind cohort has the power to veto, accommodation becomes extortion. Worse, Stay Behind often thwart efforts to help Left Behind. Every budget cycle, my state argues about funding public education. It'd be easy to write off the Left Behind, especially since the Stay Behind work to end public education, especially since rural areas are subsidized (accommodated). But the wiser, calmer nannies in the capital fight to keep the rural schools funded, as best able. Can't abandon people just because they were born in the wrong zip code. Then the Stay Behind always extracts some concessions to allow the nannies to help the Left Behind. Aka extortion. And Stay Behind despises the nannies for the effort.