The Changing Rural Village in America: Demographic and Economic Trends Since 1950.

Abstract

An attempt is made to provide an assessment of rural village communities in the United States and to demonstrate on a national scale the process of change in village demographic and economic characteristics between 1950 and 1980 a period of major adjustment in response to urban-centered innovations and pressures. A village is defined as an incorporated place with a population of less than 2500. Data are taken from U.S. censuses for 1950 through 1980 a 1981 survey of mayors in 100 villages and other sources. The authors first examine village population change as a dependent variable in an effort to understand more about how the new population trends have been experienced by villages and whether this is accompanied by a change in factors associated with their growth and decline. Then [they] look at population characteristics of villages as related to their position in the settlement structure so that size and growth patterns are treated as independent variables. Next [they] consider trends in village economic activities...and the interrelations of trade population and other economic changes for villages differentiated by size and location. Particular attention is given to the recent turnaround in nonmetropolitan growth. (EXCERPT)