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Show Growing Pains Part of Rural Population Growth People in rural communities have been accustomed to thinking about problems that come with population decline. Now they need to think about problems that can come with population growth, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The new population trend in this country is one of growth in rural areas. For the first time this century, except for the Depression years, the population popula-tion of nonmetropolitan counties coun-ties is growing faster than the metropolitan population, (non-metro (non-metro counties are ones with no city as large as 50,000 population.) More rural residents resi-dents are choosing to stay in their home area instead of moving to cities, many rural migrants of the past are returning home, and more city natives are moving to rural areas. According to USDA, most rural communities want to get in on the new population growth. Growth is a sign of a community's economic vitality and is usually a source of community pride. The growth can result in increased employment em-ployment opportunities, upgraded up-graded skill levels among local workers, and improved local incomes. It can provide support sup-port for new public and private services and facilities long desired within the community. But, cautions USDA, rapid population growth can also strain communities to the point where local governments have a hard time providing essential services. It can exert extreme pressures on land resources. And it can cause social problems stemming from a rapid influx of newcomers to a small community. com-munity. David Brown, a sociologist with USDA's Economis Research Re-search Service (ERS), says communities experiencing growth and development need to be more aware of the effect of population growth on the community. They need to realize that an increase in population size is not the only population change in the composition of the population. For example, population growth can change the age composition of a community. The result will be increased demand for certain kinds of services. In towns growing through an influx of people in their retirement years, de mand for health care services can be expected to rise. Since poverty is more prevalent among the aged, the need for economic support of the elderly may increase in some of these towns. Retirees also can increase the demand for public transportation servi-Ces-already deficient 'in' most rural areas. In many growing areas, young adults in their twenties make up a large part of the increased population. A higher proportion of these people can increase demands for new housing. This means increased demand for fuel, water, sewer, and other housing-associated services. Since people in this age group are in the prime child-bearing years, the proportion pro-portion of young children in the area also can be expected to rise. This will mean greater demand for education, health, and recreation services eventually. event-ually. Another potential outcome of rural population growth is social antagonism. Brown says that this . happens as areas become more heterogeneous, especially if the values and life styles of newcomers are quite different from those of the native population. ERS researches studying rural law enforcement problems prob-lems predict that growing rural communities will face increased costs for law enforcement. en-forcement. Bill Sinclair, an ERS economist, says that rising rural crime rates are not the only reason. There also has been a general rise in people's expectations for quality police service. Sinclair also notes that a number of rural areas are served by older officers who work long hours for little pay. When one of these officers retires, two officers may have to be hired at twice the pay. Firefighting is another community com-munity service that faces increased demand as population popula-tion grows. Small rural communities com-munities growing through new-business new-business development find that a new factory or shopping center can mean an immediate increase in potential demand for local firefighting services. Changes in the use and value of land are another potential outcome of rural population growth. The demand de-mand for new homes can elevate property values, enticing entic-ing owners to sell prime agricultural land for residen tial use. Also, rising land values can lead to reassessment reassess-ment for tax purposes. This can mean that small farmers and persons with fixed incomes in-comes may be unable to raise the money to keep up with taxes. They may be forced to sell their property as a result. Brown notes that this process increases the value of a community's real estate but at a high human price. Rural leaders who are trying to encourage new development develop-ment in their area are cautioned by USDA that lack of proper planning for growth can result in undesirable and expensive forms of community development. The Department's Depart-ment's Rural Development Service (RDS) can identify available technical and financial finan-cial planning assistance for which rural communities are eligible to help them plan orderly development. In addition, addi-tion, RDS can provide preap-plication preap-plication counseling to community com-munity leaders who intend to apply for specific planning resources. As the Washington agency responsible for coordinating federal rural development efforts, RDS also can identify federal resources for which communities are eligible as they contemplate specific development de-velopment projects. These include housing, water and sewer, outdoor recreation, 'r health care, and other projects to help the community encour-age encour-age growth by improving the ' existing social and economic .. base. (For RDS assistance, ' write to Rural Development ; '.. Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, ' D.C. 20250.) RDS stresses, however, that ? no federal assistance covers the hard decision-making tht is involved when a community -J. starts to think about growth. Decisions about whether the community really wants - growth and the degree and ' type of growth to pursue-as V well as to live with for years to come-are local people's re- j sponsibility. |
