For many years, developers have placed near total reliance on increased productivity in agriculture, greater exploitation of natural resources, and the addition of new manufacturing industries as strategies for community economic development in nonmetropolitan areas. The concentration on expanding goods producing industries is unnecessarily…

This report discusses trends affecting the future of rural development in Kentucky and describes strategies for leveraging more positive outcomes for rural communities. In addition to the enduring legacies of rural poverty, inadequate infrastructure, low educational attainment, and joblessness, contemporary rural Kentucky is also characterized by…